Making Research Work demonstrates how research can be fostered andapplied more effectively to child care policy and practice. Drawingon a wealth of experience, current literature and governmentdocuments, the contributors present a comprehensive discussion ofkey contemporary issues relating to child care research.Recommendations are given for recognising and responding to boththe fundamental and the specialist issues that challenge thevarious stages of the research process. Practical guidelines aregiven for
* undertaking single-case design research

* appraising current child care literature and officialstatistics

* accessing hidden or hard-to-reach populations
* dissemination

* establishing a research centre

* preparing a research proposal to submit to a funding body

* commissioning and funding research
This book s practical approach and unique focus will appeal topractitioners, researchers, policy makers and students seeking tounderstand and enhance the relationship of research to policy andpractice in the child care context.

Dorota Iwaniec is a Professor of Social Work and Director of the Institute of Child Care Research at Queen's University of Belfast. She has extensive clinical and research experience of working with children and their families and, in particular, in failure to thrive, neglect, emotional abuse, and behavioural and emotional problems of children and adolescents. She has been researching failure-to-thrive children for the last 25 years and has recently completed a 20-year follow-up study. Prior to coming to Queen's University she worked as a social worker, researcher, and trainer in Leicester for nearly 30 years, both at the Social Services Department and at the Department of Child Health at Leicester Royal Infirmary.