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Research Methods for Social Work, 10th Edition

Allen Rubin, Earl R. Babbie

  • Copyright 2025
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2024-07-24T00:00:00+0000')}}
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Research Methods for Social Work 10th Edition by Allen Rubin/Earl R. Babbie
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Overview

Rubin/Babbie's RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL WORK, 10th Edition, uses a clear and humorous style to balance quantitative and qualitative research techniques, illustrating how these methods complement one another and how they can be integrated in mixed-methods studies. Real-world examples help connect research and social work practices. Evidence-informed practice aligning with other accreditation requirements based on the EPAS guidelines is covered, along with coverage of social and racial justice research, including LGBTQ+ populations. Examples of published research studies, online research tools and illustrations are included. Areas receiving increased coverage include meta-analysis, conducting focus group interviews, within-group effect size benchmarks, propensity score matching, pragmatism in program evaluation and the influence of degree of certainty needed in inferring causality.

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Meet the Authors

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Allen Rubin

Allen Rubin has been doing and teaching research since 1976, when he received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He taught social work research at the University of Texas at Austin from 1979 through 2013 and at the University of Houston from 2013 through 2024. Renowned in social work, Dr. Rubin has written several research texts, published numerous research studies on social work practice and is a past president of the Society for Social Work and Research.

Earl R. Babbie

Dr. Earl Babbie is the Campbell Professor Emeritus in Behavioral Sciences at Chapman University in Southern California. He taught sociology at the University of Hawaii from 1968 through 1979 and took time off from teaching and research to write full time for eight years. He then joined the Chapman University faculty in 1987. Credited with defining research methods for the social sciences, Dr. Babbie has written several texts, including THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH, as well as numerous research articles and monographs. For 25 years he has been active in the American Sociological Association, where he served on the executive committee. He is also a past president of the Pacific Sociological Association and the California Sociological Association. Dr. Babbie received his A.B. from Harvard and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

What's New

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  • The 10th edition of this bestseller continues to incorporate the most current Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), as recommended by the Council on Social Work Education, while including new graphics, photos, figures, illustrative boxes and tables -- creating a lively presentation for visual learners.
  • Currency updates include social and racial justice research, research regarding LGBTQ+ populations and updated illustrations regarding racial disparities in child welfare, including controversy regarding the upEND movement to abolish the child welfare system.
  • New chapter on Meta-Analysis.

Features

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  • The text offers a balance of quantitative and qualitative research methods that equips students with insight into both methodological approaches. Rather than presenting a divisive or unbalanced picture, the text offers a balance of quantitative and qualitative research methods that equips students with insight into both methodological approaches and can be integrated in mixed-methods studies.
  • To ensure student comprehension, the text uses multiple examples that illustrate the material and its relevance for practice such as examples of published research studies, coverage of online research tools, how to conduct focus group interviews and a revised chapter on program evaluation, with a greater emphasis on pragmatism in outcome evaluations.
  • Helping students optimize their study efforts, each chapter provides helpful learning aids, including chapter outlines and overviews, "Main Points," review questions and exercises, clarifying charts and graphs. In addition, boxed features bring research content to life, illustrating its relevance to social work and its utility in informing social work practice.
  • The authors are highly regarded in their respective fields. A widely respected leader in social work, Allen Rubin is a past president of the Society for Social Work and Research. Earl Babbie is well respected in sociology and is the author of the best-selling research methods text in sociology.

Table of Contents

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Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN SOCIAL WORK.
1. Why Study Research?
2. Evidence-Informed Practice.
3. Factors Influencing the Research Process.
4. Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods of Inquiry.
Part II: THE ETHICAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH.
5. The Ethics and Politics of Social Work Research.
6. Culturally Competent Research.
Part III: PROBLEM FORMULATION AND MEASUREMENT.
7. Problem Formulation.
8. Conceptualization in Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiry.
9. Measurement.
10. Constructing Measurement Instruments.
Part IV: DESIGNS FOR EVALUATING PROGRAMS AND PRACTICE.
11. Causal Inference and Experimental Designs.
12. Quasi-Experimental Designs.
13. Single-Case Evaluation Designs.
Part V: DATA-COLLECTION METHODS WITH LARGE SOURCES OF DATA.
14. Sampling.
15. Surveys.
16 Secondary Analysis
17Content Analysis and Historical Analysis.
Part VI: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS.
18. Qualitative Research: General Principles.
19. Qualitative Research: Specific Methods.
20. Qualitative Data Analysis.
Part VII: ANALYSIS OF QUANTITATIVE DATA.
21. Descriptive Data Analysis.
22. Inferential Data Analysis.
23. Meta-analysis
Part VIII: Program Evaluation and Writing Research Proposals and Reports.
24. Program Evaluation.
25. Writing Research Proposals and Reports.
Appendix A: Statistics for Estimating Sampling Error.

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  • ISBN-10: 0357764749
  • ISBN-13: 9780357764749
  • RETAIL $84.95

  • ISBN-10: 0357764706
  • ISBN-13: 9780357764701
  • RETAIL $214.95
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