Interning in research as a social worker: Emily Smout

My path into research

Applying and getting permission

My research project

As part of my research, I have begun to explore the extent to which early adversity is a factor in children’s presentation across different services.

I have conducted a more extensive data review to understand my initial observations. I've found the trend has continued and currently in 57% of 100 case notes reviewed, children have had exposure to adversity, the majority in their early years. I have captured the range of adversity with a view to thinking about future service needs.

I have created and distributed a questionnaire to a range of different professionals, to understand more about children referred to their services and how their understanding of adversity influences their practice. I will also be conducting qualitative interviews with partner agencies to explore their understanding of the impact of adversity and how our systems could better work together to address this.

The results will be important to inform better service collaboration and integration. I aim to provide recommendations on how an understanding of children’s life experiences could inform decisions on diagnosis and education, health and care plans, as well as consider what interventions might be needed earlier to support families.

Tips for other social care practitioners considering research

• Be curious and don’t discount yourself from NIHR schemes before finding out more. My application called for a ‘clinical mentor’ and I was fortunate to have one in place through my contact with the Brain Story. The NIHR can put you in touch with mentors and assist with applications. If you are interested, reach out to the funding organisation and find out more.
• Reach out to your local ARC team. They have offered me lots of support. The world of research was completely new to me, and at times I have felt imposter syndrome seep in, but always less so once I asked for help.
• Believe in your value. Our role in front-line practice is so useful in research. We have access to systems and an understanding of how our services do or don’t work well together, so our influence and knowledge are really important.

The opportunity to complete this internship has supported my own professional development and increased my skills, knowledge and understanding of how to undertake research. Taking part has reinforced the importance of using my own organisation’s data to review needs, so our systems can work better for children and families.