Success in Social Work Research Series

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IPA is a methodology for research that focuses on learning from lived experience. The course explores a holistic model of IPA that has a focus on creating new knowledge and making a difference for social work. IPA is ideal for practitioners and academics who want to gather rich data about the nature of people’s experiences and the meaning this has for people. The course would explore how IPA has a good fit with social work professional values and interventions offering an essential contribution to our work. Examples of studies will be used to illustrate the potential of IPA as one of the methods that can delve into lived experience and represent creative, detailed accounts as evidence to inform practice. The course would also provide an overview of the alignment of IPA with professional and regulatory standards in education and training in the UK social work education and continuing learning context.

Learning Outcomes - by the end of the course participants will be able to: -

•    describe IPA and how it fits with social work

•    plan or evaluate a study using a holistic model for social work IPA research

•    provide examples of knowledge and evidence from IPA relevant to practice

•    identify a strategy for further knowledge or skills development

Delivered by Dr Gillian Ferguson  & Sarah Vicary

Trainer bios:

Dr Gillian Ferguson, The Open University
Gillian is a Lecturer in Social Work at The Open University. She is an educational researcher and interested in professional learning, practice and workplace learning. She has worked in a broad variety of settings including direct practice, workforce development, advisory and regulatory roles, including as a social worker, community learning worker and academic. A primary research interest is the nature of workplace learning for social workers, the subject of Gillian’s original doctoral thesis “When David Bowie Created Ziggy Stardust” The Lived Experiences of Social Workers Learning Through Work, and subsequent publications. Gillian currently leads the impact phase of a Writing in Social Work Practice project. She is also involved in research into social workers responsibility for action on the climate ecological emergency.

Professor Sarah Vicary, The Open University
Sarah is Professor of Social Work and Mental Health at The Open University. Her research interests lie in the generation, dissemination and application of legal roles in Mental Health Social Work (MHSW) and are at the forefront of explorations of regulatory practices that restrict human behaviour. Underpinned by professional registration as a social worker, Sarah provides sustained authorship of field-leading outputs offering MHSW expertise and guidance impacting on government, regulatory policy makers and practitioners. Sarah is co-investigator on Interpreters For Mental Health Act Assessments.

This session will be held via MS Teams, joining links will be issued one day prior to the event date, for any queries please contact ProfDE@basw.co.uk.

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