Professor Ian Shaw. Presented at HKBU, 9 March 2011.

1. What Makes a
Research Career in
Social Work and Social
Science?
Ian Shaw
HKBU 9 March 2011

2. a very unremarkable school
boy

….into being a Probation Officer

a passion to write

undergraduate sociology.

a source of frameworks

3. organizing people

Cardiff University

4. The UK is not a place…





The practice/research relationship
Understanding the nature of social work as
an applied social science in relation to
disciplines like sociology
Qualitative research and evaluation
methodology, practitioner and action
research
Developing social work research strategies
Technology and professional practice

5. The History Man

“Well”, says Howard… “it’s a very
interesting story”. “The trouble is” says
Flora, picking up her handbag, and
feeling into its interior, “I’m not sure it
is. Isn’t a story usually a tale with
causes and motives? All I’ve told you
is what happened”. “Perhaps it’s a
very modern story”, says Howard, “a
chapter of accidents”.

6. My joys
Writing with my daughter
 Wrestling with ideas of how qualitative
methods can be translated and
counter-colonized for practice
 Founding and co-editing the journal
Qualitative Social Work
 Collaborating in trying to map the
discipline-like qualities of social work
research


7. More joys



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Spending six years chairing the key UK
social work research committee
Being part of international networks of
likeminded folk
Digging my heels in, with others, in
declining to yield to UK government
pressure to withdraw a fundamental
criticism; and
Working to launch a new European
conference for social work research.

8. The language of science

understand before claiming

vigorous arguments

partisan, sentimental unreflective
advocacy does nothing to help

9. Conversation

10. A short list

Shaw, I. (June 2011) Evaluating in Practice.
Second Edition. Aldershot: Ashgate
Publications

Shaw, I. and Lunt, N. (in press) ‘Navigating
Practitioner Research’ British Journal of
Social Work
Shaw, I. and Lunt, N (forthcoming)
‘Constructing practitioner research’ Social
Work Research


11. A Short list (2)

Hill, A. and Shaw, I. (2011) Social Work and
ICT London: Sage Publications.

Shaw, I., Morris, K and Edwards, A (2009)
‘Technology, Social Services and
Organizational Innovation or How Great
Expectations in London and Cardiff are
Dashed in Lowestoft and Cymtyrch’ Journal
of Social Work Practice 23 (4): 383-400.

12. A Short list (3)

Shaw, I. (2009) ‘Rereading The JackRoller: hidden histories in sociology
and social work’ Qualitative Inquiry,
15 (7): 1241-1264

Shaw, I. and Norton, M (2008) ‘Kinds
and Quality of Social Work Research’
Br Journal of Social Work 38 (5): 953970.