Discussion 3 - As a social work professional, how do you know

Discussion 3

This course is ultimately about acquiring knowledge that can be applied to practice. As a social work professional, how do you know what you know? It can be difficult to pinpoint, particularly if you have years of experience in a given field. You might gather knowledge from a supervisor or a more seasoned colleague, from what has happened in the past, from intuition, or from logic, among other sources. All of these ways of knowing can inform the decisions and actions of a social work professional and feed into evidence-based practice (EBP). What EBP demands also, though, is “evidence,” meaning the documented findings of scientific research studies.

In this Discussion, you explore different ways of knowing and their relationship to EBP in social work.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To prepare:

Review the Learning Resources introducing the research process and evidence-based practice.

Consider the many ways of knowing and determine which way(s) you rely on most in your personal or professional life.

Assignment below

Describe two different ways of knowing. Which of these do you rely on and why? Provide an example. Then, describe the danger of professionals relying on just one way of knowing. What might be a consequence of this reliance?