Resident professor Kenta Asakura, M.S.W. ’04, received the 2024 Best Research Note award from Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services (FIS) for his article titled Guidelines for Using Simulations in Qualitative Research on Social Work Practice Competencies.
Written with co-authors Katherine Occhiuto, Sarah Tarshis, Ruxandra Gheorghe and Sarah Todd, the paper looked at two simulation-based studies and literature on simulation in other contexts to provide step-by-step instructions for how to collect and analyze qualitative data using simulation in order to advance the quality of health and social services.
Getting published in academia is not a simple task and finding a home for this work wasn’t easy. The paper received three rejections before finally being accepted by FIS.
“As a mid-career scholar, I have become accustomed to the experience of rejections – like everyone else in academia, I've experienced way more rejections than success in grant applications and academic publishing,” says Asakura.
Co-authoring this paper with two doctoral students from institutions where he previously taught, Asakura notes that while the rejections felt hard, “it was important for me (and other co-authors, too) to show to these students as their mentor that this emotion-laden work is an integral part of scholarly work and research.” The rejections also gave the authors useful feedback from the peer review process, allowing them to strengthen their argument and ultimately find the appropriate home for their paper.
The research itself is a new and emerging field, and their paper, in particular, has a unique perspective. The authors assert that social work skills are context-dependent and require a set of skills that combine relational, cognitive, affective and procedural aspects. They argue that the nuances in simulation-based qualitative research can further empirical evidence of some of the more complex social work competencies, “especially those that are not strictly procedural or behavioral in nature, such as the worker’s use of values, ethics, cognition, affect, and relational capacity.” They are adding important knowledge to social work research and practice, and the doctoral students are gaining knowledge of how to navigate and make the most of the complex process of academic publishing.
The authors point to developing an inclusive framework as a needed next step in this type of research process, and that continued discussion around who is involved and how this method can support effective practice with marginalized populations is essential. As simulation is new to being used in qualitative social work research, their guidelines offer a starting point to discuss how simulation can best be used.
Cristina Mogro-Wilson, editor-in-chief of FIS says that this “important article discusses timely issues and significantly expands and deepens the body of knowledge in social work…[and] shows originality of thought and provides sound conceptualization.”
Asakura and his co-authors are excited to have received the Best Research Note award and are relieved that they found the right home for their paper. Asakura shares that FIS is one of his absolute favorite journals. “It’s the oldest social work journal, founded by Mary Richmond…and has such a strong commitment to advancing social work practice with marginalized communities through research and scholarly work.”
“This award is a nice reminder that we all have ideas that are worth sharing,” says Asakura.
The full article can be read on Sage Journals.
