How did we do it

We wanted to find out the unanswered questions about adult social work in England so that people can do research to help answer the questions.

To find these questions, the PSP asked people to complete a survey saying what their comments and questions about adult social work are.  This survey closed in January 2018.  We heard from nearly 500 people including those with care and support needs, their carers, social workers and other professionals who work with or alongside them. They told us about their experiences and their priorities for future social work research.

Following careful analysis of every survey response, a list of potential questions for research was developed.  Questions were checked against existing research evidence to make sure that they were not already answered. 

We then asked people to choose the questions from the list that they thought were the most important in their experience.  We heard from lots of people affected by social work.  

We held a workshop to discuss and agree the final order of priority of the questions in July 2018.  Social workers and the members of the public they work with were at the workshop.  This meant that when we agreed the most important questions, they were what social workers and people who need their help really wanted to see researched.

We are promoting the final list of the most important questions to researchers and the people who fund research.  They will then know what it is most important to research.