All doctoral students eventually experience an epistemological confrontation as they move toward being a scholar-practitioner. In a similar way, all doctoral students eventually lean toward one theoretical orientation, especially if they continue in their work as a practitioner in the social work field.
This course marks your first step in this epistemological and theoretical journey. Observe Chenoweth’s epistemological journey in her article as you embark on a similar one—although you may arrive at a different destination. As a part of this journey, all social work researchers formulate their own research identity, which involves an epistemological struggle about how the world is conceptualized and studied. As a doctoral student starting this journey, you will be asked to put aside some sources of knowing that you may be more comfortable with, such as experiences, intuition, and tradition, and cross over to the more empirical, theoretical, and philosophical understandings of knowledge.
This Assignment engages you in the process of self-reflection on your epistemological stance and theoretical orientation.
To prepare:
Review the following article listed in the Learning Resources: Chenoweth, L. (2016). The road behind and the journey ahead: Travels in epistemology. Qualitative Social Work, 15(5/6), 736–747. doi:10.1177/1473325016652685
Submit a 2 page reflection paper that addresses the following:
**As an emerging scholar-practitioner, briefly describe the topic you might study for your doctoral capstone (i.e., dissertation or DSW capstone project).
**Explain your epistemological stance and the epistemological paradigm with which you identify.
**Explain how this epistemological stance will influence how you study your potential doctoral capstone topic.
**Explain your theoretical orientation.
*Identify one specific theory you find yourself more inclined toward.
*Explain how this theory will influence your potential doctoral capstone topic.
**Explain how this theoretical orientation informs social change related to your research topic.
**Identify one specific theory you find yourself more inclined toward. Explain how this theory will influence your potential doctoral capstone topic.
**Explain how your personality, value system, worldview, strengths, and social work commitments influence your epistemological stance and your theoretical orientation.
**Explain how your response has changed since the beginning of this course.
Capstone topic:
Reducing Recidivism of people on parole and probation
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