KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN SOCIAL-WORK AND LEGAL PRACTICE

The gap between knowledge generated by systematic inquiry and its even tual use by practitioners has been a concern in social work for severa l decades. Explanations for the gap have been identified as the orient ation or attitudes of practitioners, the character of professional edu cation, and the nature of scientific inquiry. The structural character of both practice itself and its knowledge base have been overlooked a s an explanation, By comparing legal and social work practice, we sugg est that characteristics of social work practice and knowledge also im pede research utilization.