• University of Edinburgh
• School of Social and Political Studies

Social Work

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Social Work at the University of Edinburgh is one of the highest rated centres of research in the UK.  In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) published in December 2008, the results of our joint submission with Social Policy, Nursing Studies and Community Health Sciences were:

• 65% of our research activity was rated 4* or 3*. This means that it is recognised as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
• We were ranked top Scottish university, and 7th UK-wide, based on both average grades, and the proportion of 4* research.
• Of the top 10 UK departments, we were one of the largest submissions - we returned the 4th highest number of staff of all submissions in the UK.

Much of our research starts from the premise that social work can make a difference in the lives of individuals and communities.  Social workers must have intellectual curiosity and a willingness to explore how things might be better for people who rely on services. As social work academics, we see our role as not only producing research and pursuing scholarship, but also encouraging the use of research in practice.

This University pays particular attention to the transfer of knowledge beyond its boundaries, reflecting one of the main themes in the Scottish Government's 'Changing Lives' agenda.  We welcome the findings of recent reports from the JUC-SWEC and SCIE on the current issues for social work research in Britain.

Although we conduct a large amount of our reseach in Scotland, reflecting our core interest in legislation, policy and practice here, we also have a commitment to research in the European and wider international arena. This wider approach is demonstrated by the research which is carried out by our PhD students.

We have been involved in a range of research projects on topics as diverse as children's hearings, the de-institutionalisation of care for adults with learning disabilities, and youth justice. Research is often carried out in collaboration with colleagues in the School of Social and Political Studies and in other areas including the School of Health in Social Science and the School of Education.  Social Work's research activity can be broadly grouped into five, sometimes overlapping areas:

• Governance of Welfare States
• Health and Social Care
• Children, Families and Relationships
• Professions and Professional Development
• Evaluation Research

In addition, academic researchers at times take on discrete projects which do not fit easily into the groupings above. To find out more about individuals' research activities, please see our staff profile pages.

Each year, there is a programme of research seminars at which researchers, academics and practitioners who are involved in research present their findings.