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Research Methods in Child Welfare Page xi (11 of 464)
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Foreword
This book is a welcome addition to the fi eld of child welfare. The past sev-
eral de cades have seen an increased emphasis on research and evaluation in
both public and private child welfare settings. This research and evaluation
on child welfare issues is occurring in academic as well as public and pri-
vate child ser vice agency settings. It is incumbent on those of us who seek
to improve the lives of children and their families to seek empirical evidence
to support our practice. With limited resources, we must identify promising
and evidence- based practices to serve as a basis for effective assessment, in-
terventions, and policies. Whether information collection involves simple
client satisfaction surveys, analysis of data in administrative databases, or
more complex randomized control studies, certain pro cesses and proce-
dures are important to follow to know that the information produced is valid
and reliable.
Research Methods in Child Welfare by Amy Baker with Benjamin Charvat
is a well- written and comprehensive book that discusses the underlying phi-
losophy of research, offers important considerations regarding research eth-
ics, and provides easily understandable information related to different
aspects of the conduct and dissemination of research and evaluation data.
Early chapters provide an overview of the child welfare context within which
research is conducted; later chapters provide step- by- step coverage of re-
