EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL-WORK INTERVENTION RESEARCH - INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL EVALUATIONS

This meta-analytic review synthesizes the findings of 88 relent (1990 to 1994) independent studies of the effectiveness of social work inter ventions and compares the findings of those studies based on authors' assessments of their practice experience (internal evaluations) and ot her evaluators' assessments (external evaluations). Overall, social wo rk interventions are effective; three-quarters of the clients who part icipate in social work interventions do better than the average client who does not. Also, the estimated rate of problem improvement among c lients who experience on intervention and are assessed by social worke r-researchers themselves is nearly 25 percent greater than the estimat ed rate assessed by other evaluators. Internal evaluations, which aris e from workers' day-to-day assessments of their own practice and accou nt for the vast majority of social work's knowledge base, may be thoug ht to precede external ones. However, at some point in the development of knowledge, external evaluation may enhance confidence in the effec tiveness of an intervention.