Susan might start a process of scientific research by reviewing the literature on the subject of the full moon and unusual behavior. If her question is well answered by the current literature, she would decide that she does not need to reinvent the wheel by doing another study. If not, she would define the concept of unusual behavior, find a method of measuring it, collect data on this behavior when the moon was full and when it was not, analyze the data to see if unusual behavior was more prevalent when the moon was full than when it was not, and draw conclusions consistent with the results. That would exemplify the scientific method of inquiry.
Introduction
In this chapter, you will examine the nature of inquiry, with an emphasis on science as a guide for social work practice and research. You will see how science is different from other means of inquiry that you employ on a regular basis. In this regard, you will see how science and critical thinking are founded on similar principles and how certain commonsense phrases are related to various steps in the research process. In contrast to science, you will view mechanisms of inquiry that are flawed, with a special emphasis on pseudoscience as different from science. In essence, you will see how scientific research can contribute to the improvement of your practice decisions, even though it is not the only useful means for doing so.
In this chapter, you will implement certain learnings about the scientific method in the examination of current research on whether people’s behavior is influenced by the full moon. Do people act more strange during the full moon than at other times? You will see that common perceptions can be incorrect and how science can help you avoid such errors. You may have a perception about social work practice that is supported by scientific research, or it may be refuted by it. In either case, it is the intent of this chapter that you acquire an appreciation for how science can improve decision making.
You will acquire several competencies from this chapter. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
1 Distinguish between science as a way of learning from other means like experience, common sense, tradition, and so forth
2 Explain how scientific research can contribute to social work practice
3 Distinguish between science and pseudoscience
4 Identify the aspects of inquiry that make the process scientific
5 Report on how certain commonsense phrases and science can be used to report on research that addresses the question “Do people act differently when there is a full moon?”
6 Explain how common sense, critical thinking, and the scientific method are connected
7 Identify the steps in the process of scientific research
How Do We Know What We Know?
How did you come to your opinion about whether the full moon affects behavior? How about another opinion? Do you believe that giving clients homework to undertake between therapy sessions is effective? What about the view that long-term treatment for depression is justified when compared with short-term treatment because it is more cost-effective?
We come to our opinions in a variety of ways. Sometimes we believe something because it has been handed down to us from a source of authority, like our parents. Other times we come to hold a belief because it makes sense to us. Maybe we believe in a way of doing something because this is the way we have always done it. These are three of many ways by which we come to our opinions.
None of these ways is supported by science, which requires the systematic collection and analysis of data. We could ask ourselves if we have beliefs about social work practice based on scientific evidence. Do we know of scientific studies that show that a certain service is effective with regard to a certain outcome? Many human service agencies advertise that they use evidence-based practices. This means that their practices are supported by evidence. In other words, their services are supported by science. They don’t just ask for the opinions of staff and leave it at that. They subject their practice questions to scientific inquiry.
It Makes Sense to Me
Much of what we come to believe is supported by our own logical examination of the information we encounter in our daily lives. We ask ourselves if it makes sense to us. If we believe that homework was helpful to our learning in high school, then maybe we will believe that it makes sense for our clients to have homework between therapy sessions.
Sometimes we are convinced of a certain practice in social work because we were convinced of the logic of a service activity by someone. Perhaps it makes sense that we should involve the parents in the treatment of children because (a) we can learn more about the causes of the child’s behavior, (b) we can convey some knowledge to the parents that will help them improve the behavior of the child, and (c) the parents must be involved in the improvement of the child’s behavior for the service activities to work.
This basis for forming opinions is not founded on science, although any of them could be subjected to scientific inquiry. Instead, they are based on a particular logic that we embrace. But what if this logic is flawed? For many years, it was popularly believed in psychology that schizophrenia was caused by a form of parenting where the father was distant and the mother was controlling. This was the dominant belief among psychologists for a period of time, even though this theory was not supported by science. Finally, there were enough scientific studies to disclaim this idea and conclude that the brain of the schizophrenic is different. In other words, schizophrenics are the way they are because of genetics, not parenting.
Many new programs or services are sold on the basis that their practices make sense as a treatment for a given condition. But they do not become listed as evidence-based practices until they have been subjected to a sufficient amount of scientific studies. An example of a service that proved to make things worse was a program called Scared Straight. The idea of this program was that if at-risk youth were required to visit a prison where prisoners would tell them how bad prison life was, they would be scared enough to avoid a life of crime. This made a lot of sense to a lot of people, some of them important enough to ensure a good deal of funding for this program for a period of time before it was subjected to scientific study.
As you will see in a later part of this chapter, the evidence on the outcomes from this program suggested that at-risk youth who encountered this program were more likely to engage in criminal behavior than those who did not. So it was worse than being ineffective; it was making things worse.
It Is the Way We Have Done It
Social workers take jobs in agencies where they are taught how to deliver certain services. Their orientation program will include the collected opinions of staff and supervisors about how best to implement the service. Often social workers do not question these practices, nor do they subject them to scientific inquiry.
Should you, as a social worker, engage in practices that have been found to be effective and not to harm clients? Of course, you should! In fact, it is a requirement set forth in the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). At a minimum, you should review the literature with regard to service practices for this purpose.
Several decades ago, there were far fewer publications revealing evidence about social work practices. With the enormous number of such studies today, there is no excuse for a social worker to ignore all this evidence. And if there is little evidence, it seems that you would have an ethical obligation to engage in the scientific study of your practices. You will learn