Evaluating social work: Progress and prospects

Within the past decade, evaluative research has achieved an established and well-regarded place within the repertoire of social work inquiry. Although increasingly wide-ranging and methodologically sophisticated, social work evaluation still has to contend with important challenges. These include taking greater account of the several audiences of research, namely, service users, practitioners, and policy makers; developing, through a variety of research methods, the range and quality of evidence of impact; and drawing research, policy and practice into closer union. To reach its full potential, social work research must focus both on individuals and their social worlds and must therefore be firmly rooted in the social sciences.