Methodological Issues in the Comparative Study of Schools of Social Work

Abstract

Comparative studies of schools of social work vary in methodology and findings. This paper critically reviews the available published and unpublished studies, indicating the methodological limits of four basic types: reputational, article counts, total production scores and citation counts. Variations in findings are probably due to the time period studied, the measures used and the individuals and sources used as samples. Caution should be exercised in drawing conclusions from any one study. Directions for future research are suggested.