Reframing Practitioner Research

The concept of scientist-practitioner has served as a bridge between the worlds of practice and scientific research since the 1960s (Reid, 1994). Schools of social work typically prepare master's-degree students to use both single-case designs to evaluate their own treatment effectiveness and rapid assessment instruments to monitor treatment progress and outcomes. In this way practitioners may contribute to the knowledge base of social work. Since the early 1980s, however, criticism of this model has been growing.