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KEY FEATURES: A simple yet creative Task-Centered Case Management Model serves as an empirically tested social work framework for today's practice. . Compelling case studies and Internet references help readers understand current practice realities. . A candid, conversational tone in every chapter engages readers more meaningfully in the content. . Illustrative figures, tables, and graphs clarify important concepts and enhance understanding for visual learners. . A comprehensive glossary includes 101 commonly used case management terms to enhance reader understanding of the ever-increasing complexities of social work practice.

This study reports data on a case study which is really four individual but related studies which used the same data set. Data included U.S. national rankings published annually by U.S. News and World Report which rate universities and their respective departments. It also used a relatively new metric called the h-index which is available on a free software website called Publish or Perish by Harzing. This allows individuals to put any published authors name into a large data bank and retrieve instant information about their career citation impact scores on 19 different bibliometrics. These studies, written by social workers and spearheaded by the author, compared faculty in top 25 ranked social work schools to top psychology schools. Each study in succession improved methodologically on the previous one and over the four studies we found that social work scholars produced far less publication impact than did their psychology counterparts. We concluded that this was due to the absence of a research culture in social work. The case study describes the large data set used for data mining and describes how various methodological problems unearthed over time were reconciled. It illustrates how methodological knowledge-building strategies were developed and used over these four studies.

This article addresses a void in the literature about social work research and evaluation (R&E) designs, in particular related to the quality of its published work. Data were collected by reviewing three empirically oriented journals, Research on Social Work Practice, Journal of Social Service Research, and Social Work Research over three publication years 2005, 2006, and 2007. A total of N = 329 articles were content analyzed accordingly: research versus nonresearch, designs used, design objectives, sample sizes, primary statistics used, and outcomes. Main findings were (a) social work's R&E is uniquely characterized by a cohort of nonresearch studies, which assist in understanding our empirically published work; (b) the most frequently used designs were preexperimental (82.2%) and least frequently used were experimental (2.3%); (c) design objectives were equally dispersed across exploration, variable relationships, instrument development, and program/evaluation; (d) primary statistics used were parametric (82.2%); and (e) 96.7% of the studies specified outcomes within them. Implications are directed to better understanding the context of where social work R&E is conducted, not apologizing for the designs the author uses, and how one can and should strengthen our study designs to offset their concerns.

In an effort to bridge the long-standing schism between social work researchers and practitioners, Research on Social Work Practice ( RSWP) presents an additional structured abstract for inclusion in their published articles called the practitioner knowledge abstract (PKA). Its conceptualization and rationale are presented, as are some case examples. Its intent is to assist in disseminating empirical knowledge in nonthreatening ways to our practitioners, who are the very persons most likely to use and implement such information. This concept was developed by the author with the full endorsement of the editor and editorial board of RSWP. The journal felt the need to respond to current publication concerns voiced about the standards, review practices, scholarship, editorial processes, and readership of our professional social work journals. It is hoped that other core journals in the profession follow suit, if this idea is amenable to their mandates.

This invited response contends that Dr. Perry's main findings are really not that surprising nor should they be. It argues that he should have asked a different question rather than the one posed in his title. The reasons offered for social workers not differing from non–social workers in their respective performance of tasks at Florida's Department of Children and Families are the relative sameness in baccalaureate education at their foundation years, personality characteristics of those who enter helping professions in general, and the pervasive organizational culture in which they work. The response argues for an understanding of the sameness rather than an apology for the nondifference.

A checklist of factors to be considered by authors planning to submit an outcome study for editorial review and possible publication in the journal Research on Social Work Practice is presented. This list is intended to help authors assure themselves that their article is indeed appropriate for this journal. It is hoped that the presentation of this type of checklist will further advance the methodological rigor of research into the outcomes of social work practice and stimulate other research journals in our discipline to adopt similarly clear guidelines.

This article reviews the history of efforts to develop a comprehensive definition of social work practice, including the attempts by the Charity Organizational Societies and Settlement Houses, the scientific philanthropy movement, the Flexner conference, the Milford conference, the United Nations' survey, the Hollis-Taylor report, the 1958 working definition, the Boehm curriculum study, Barlett's analysis, the Madison meeting, the O'Hare meeting, the International Federation of Social Workers definition, and the Kentucky conference.