Professional Social Work Decision Making

Applications should be no more than 2000 words.

There is increasing scrutiny of professional social work decision making but there is limited rigorous research to provide an evidence base for judgements. The aim of this PhD is to improve our understanding of judgements and decisions in any area of professional social work practice. This topic links to one of the two University Social Work Research Clusters, which focuses on Decision making, Assessment, Risk and Evidence for practice. This study will build on previous research by staff and research students which have included risk and decision studies in child care, elder care, mental health, disability and criminal justice.

Whilst proposals using any robust design appropriate to the topic will be considered, there is an international strength within the university in the use of the factorial survey design using vignettes with randomized factors (Taylor, 2006) and we are keen to encourage further development of this. Specialist training can be provided; candidates proposing to use this design would need to be familiar with basic quantitative methods including ANOVA and linear regression.

Prospective candidates are invited to contact Dr Brian Taylor (bj.taylor@ulster.ac.uk) for a preliminary discussion, and should consider:

• the extent to which they could incorporate a systematic literature review, and
• the use of rigorous methods to study the chosen aspect of decision making.

The successful candidate for this PhD Proposal will need:

• understanding of social work services and issues in the selected area of study;
• awareness of systematic literature reviewing in health and social sciences; and
• basic knowledge and skills relevant to their proposed research methodology.
  
  This project might ideally suit a social work graduate (with or without completing the Assessed Year in Employment) who also has a first degree in psychology but it is not essential to meet both these requirements provided the necessary knowledge and skills are demonstrated. Applications should be in the region of 2000 words and should demonstrate an understanding of the proposed methodology and expected outcomes.
  
  Taylor BJ (2006) ‘Factorial surveys: Using vignettes to study professional judgement’, British Journal of Social Work, 36(7): 1187-1207