In this issue we take on the broad topic of social work research and the BSW faculty member. To get some perspective on our responsibilities as faculty researchers, we first went to Joe Schriver, editor of the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, to get his understanding of research as part of our ethical obligation. Joe, provocative as usual, suggests that "we're moving from being dragged kicking and screaming to seeing research as a professional imperative." I guarantee you'll either love or hate this interview!

Joan Levy Zlotnik brings us up to date on the Institute for Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR) and its various initiatives. She introduces us to the most recent BPD Summer Policy Fellow and outlines IASWR's work at our upcoming BPD conference. Finally, she tells us about the new IASWR listserv providing information on funding opportunities and a host of other great resources for new and old researchers.

Dave Dempsey from the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research (ANSWER) gives the latest information on the National Center for Social Work Research Act. Although we don't expect the bill to pass this session, ANSWER is already working on strategies for passage during the 108th Congress. Read his article to find out the latest on this and other ANSWER initiatives.

Update associate editor Carol Williams reviews web resources for government documents useful in research. She has a lot of great web links in the article, all of which are live in our online Update fall issue. Start at www.bpdonline.org and follow the links to the Update on line.

Ginny Raymond emailed me this summer about the CSWE Board initiative to study single-system evaluation of interventions. She asked if she could put a notice of the research in the Update, and I told her it fit perfectly with this issue's theme. Read her article and find out if your program can participate.

We in academia may feel the real pinch of shrinking budgets, but we remain ideally suited to conducting community research and evaluation. Our resources, puny as they may be, are still better than those of most agencies, and we have a somewhat more objective view of our communities than our colleagues in public or private agencies. If social work practice is to keep pace with today's world, then we must shoulder our obligations to coax it toward a more empirical base.

Ralph Holcomb, Editor
rjholcomb@stthomas.edu

Click here to send an email message to Ralph Holcomb

Click here to visit the BPD Home Page, which, by the way, has lots of links to useful web based research tools