Research and Consultation in Children and Adult Social Care
If you are thinking about doing some research or consultation in social care, or if you are proposing that an external organisation should undertake research in social care locally, this section can tell you what you need to think about before you start.
The Council is keen to promote itself as a learning organisation. One way in which we further this aim is by encouraging research as a valuable learning tool. However we also have a duty of care to the people who use our services, their families and carers and to our staff who might be the subjects of any research. This is what the approvals process is there to do.
It is in everyone’s interests to ensure that research is carried out to a high standard. We count ‘research’ as including any study, survey or consultation intended to gather information, which involves access to anyone in any of these groups, either directly or indirectly, by internal or external researchers.
What does this mean?
Before starting your research you should contact the research co-ordinator (see contacts on the right) to discuss what you might want to do.
If your research, or any research activity by an external body, is in the Social Care field, and involves collecting information from or about people who use services, their friends/relatives, carers and employees of the Council, then it will need to be approved under the provisions of the Council’s Research Governance Framework.
This means you will need to submit a research application to the research co-ordinator in order to obtain the necessary approval to go ahead. If you are planning to undertake research within the Council but you think that the Research Governance Framework does not apply, please discuss this with the research co-ordinator.
For Social Care research, you will have to:
- Prepare a research proposal, which should cover the areas outlined in the research proposal guide (available on the right)
- Complete an application form for submission to the research co-ordinator. You can fill in our Research in Social Care Application Form online and then print off the results and send them in to us along with your research proposal.
If you are undertaking research through a university, your supervisor will provide advice and support in preparing your research proposal.
To find out more, please use the links on the left or contact us using the details on the right.
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