Social work and empowerment-based research: Possibilities, process and questions

Abstract

Social work research, emphasising the use of rigorous, scientific and evidence-based approaches, has a tendency to exclude the subjects or participants of research, from either acting in co-researcher capacity, or from significantly influencing the course that research involving them will take. This article highlights the need for an inclusive approach with an aim to empower participants, through their greater participation in and decision-making control over research. Three specific research strategies are discussed to illustrate empowerment-based research in social work: action research, collaborative enquiry, and kaupapa Maori research (where Maori self-determination and constructions of knowledge are the starting points for research), The article will discuss the possibilities and process of empowerment-based research in social work and highlight the emerging issues for researchers using this approach.