Abstract

The purpose of this content analysis was to analyze the past 25 years of research in two major social work journals, Social Work and Research on Social Work Practice, to provide a status update on the amount of ethnic-focused research being published within the discipline. This analysis examined trends in ethnic-focused publications, the change across time in percent of focused articles, the top topics studied, per ethnic group, the top funded topics, most and least involved funding agencies, geographical groupings of focused samples, the setting of the samples, measures used, and the percentage of samples based in a clinical versus non-clinical setting. Results showed there has been continued growth and improvement in quality and quantity of minority-focused research in both journals, although there is still room for growth within the discipline towards increased multicultural competence. While the majority of focused research studied African American and Latinos, little attention was given to Asian and Native American populations. Furthermore, while almost twice as many focused articles were funded, compared to non-focused articles, the types of topics being funded are still not as representative of the needs of ethnic minority populations as they could be. While the increase in ethnic focused research over the past 25 years is promising, additional focus within the field is warranted. Suggestions are given to improve the quality and quantity of ethnic-focused research over time.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Marriage and Family Therapy

Rights

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