Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Qualitative Social Work
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Laird, S. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Evaluating Social Work Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Siobhan E. Laird

County Down, Northern Ireland, UK, laird_academic{at}yahoo.co.uk

Outcome analysis is a relatively recent innovation within the social work profession. However, the predominant research methodologies being generated by western scholars have limited application for practitioners working in developing countries. The current epistemological debate between positivist and phenomenological approaches to research are considered. The ethnocentric character of many quantitative techniques is explored and consequently qualitative approaches advanced in a developing country setting. This article also depicts the particular socio-economic and cultural context of sub-Saharan Africa and elaborates new concepts for the evaluation of outcome and the gathering of data in that region. Specifically, Amartya Sen's work on capabilities and Robert Chambers' work on Participatory Rural Appraisal are proposed as a foundation for constructing a more relevant and culturally consonant approach to outcome analysis and data collection respectively.

Key Words: Africa • ethnocentric • evaluation • outcome

Qualitative Social Work, Vol. 2, No. 3, 251-270 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/14733250030023003
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Qualitative ResearchHome page
L. Liebenberg
The visual image as discussion point: increasing validity in boundary crossing research
Qualitative Research, September 1, 2009; 9(4): 441 - 467.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Social WorkHome page
S. E. Laird
African Social Services in Peril: A Study of the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
Journal of Social Work, October 1, 2008; 8(4): 377 - 398.
[Abstract] [PDF]