Reflexive Professionalism as a Second Generation of Evidence-Based Practice: Some Considerations on the Special Issue ``What Works? Modernizing the Knowledge-Base of Social Work

Otto H-U, Polutta A, Ziegler H. Reflexive Professionalism as a Second Generation of Evidence-Based Practice: Some Considerations on the Special Issue ``What Works? Modernizing the Knowledge-Base of Social Work. Research on social work practice. 2009;19(4):472-478.This article refers sympathetically to the thoughtful debates and positions in the Research on Social Work Practice (RSWP; Special Issue, July, 2008 issue) on "What Works? Modernizing the Knowledge-Base of Social Work." It highlights the need for empirical efficacy and effectiveness research in social work and appreciates empirical rigor demanded by leading proponents of an evidence-based social work practice. Yet it argues that these high standards of evolution are based on a methodological conceptualization of impact, which might be less than appropriate for social work. We propose a refashioning of efficacy and effectiveness research in social work that focuses on explaining and understanding of causal mechanism. We suggest a second generation of evidence-based practice, which is substantiated in the concept of reflexive professionalism