Reframing social work research for Africa’s consumers of research products: a guiding tool

Abstract

Social acceptability remains the pinnacle of all research aspirations. This is particularly so for the social work profession that has endured the criticism of being foreign, particularly to Africa. This foreign badge of the social work profession has seen the profession struggling to find its feet on the policy arena. While academics and policy makers have written about reasons behind this limited problem, not many tools have been provided to aid assessment of African research. This article discusses the attributes that could improve social work research in Africa and proposes a model to enhance acceptability and measure potential to influence policy and practice.

Keywords: African research, social work, acceptability, evidence, policy, practice, decolonisation, indigenous