3.5 The importance of analysis
Writing analysis can seem daunting to social workers irrespective of their experience but you can learn good skills in this from the early stages of your career. It requires you to not only collate factual information but also to use your knowledge and experience. The job of the writer is to select and present the factual information, apply their professional expertise based on knowledge and experience. In the following activity you will hear from Theresa and Lisa again. They explain how description is used alongside ‘claims’ and ‘judgements’.
Activity 10 Identifying analysis
Watch the video of Theresa and Lisa talking about analysis on social work writing. Lisa says that analysis is ‘threaded throughout all aspects of work’. As you watch the video make brief notes on how analysis is evident at the level of words and at the level of claims, or professional judgements that are reached.
Download this video clip.Video player: Video 2: What is analysis?
Transcript: Video 2: What is analysis?
THERESA LILLIS
Hello, Lisa. Thank you for joining me. We’re talking about and thinking about analysis. And clearly, analysis is absolutely crucial to everything that social workers are doing in their day to day practise. Can you say something about the kind of analysis that social workers do?
LISA LEWIS
Yeah. I think analysis is absolutely crucial to the work that social workers do. And it’s threaded throughout all aspects of the work, whether you’re working with children and families, the elderly, working with people with mental health problems and assessing them for services that they might require. And I think what can be challenging is that social workers will do this instinctively every day and talk it. But sometimes when it comes to writing it, people can find that really challenging.
THERESA LILLIS
I think from all the different texts I’ve seen, there’s different kinds of analysis going on in writing. I think it would be useful to look at some examples at the level of words. So example one says, ‘Her previous relationship had been abusive’.
LISA LEWIS
OK, so the fact that the social worker has chosen to use the word ‘abusive’ demonstrates her ability to analyse. The fact that this particular word has been chosen demonstrates a negative analysis of the relationship in question.
THERESA LILLIS
Example two, ‘She was dressed appropriately and appeared well’.
LISA LEWIS
This is more of a positive aspect in terms of the assessment from the social worker.
THERESA LILLIS
And example three, ‘She struggles to motivate herself’.
LISA LEWIS
That signals the challenges that somebody is facing.
THERESA LILLIS
So even at the level of the single words that social workers are using, they reflect the analysis that’s going on.
LISA LEWIS
Yeah. I agree. Yeah.
THERESA LILLIS
And of course, analysis is going on not just at the level of words but at larger statements and claims, I think, which are really important. If we look at example four, we can see how claims are explicitly linked to and based on descriptive evidence.
So example four, ‘David becomes agitated if his wife Alice leaves the room, and David goes in search of her. As such, David cannot remain safely on his own in his apartment, even for short periods. David also attempts to leave his premises unsupported to return to town. And therefore, he requires close monitoring to maintain his safety. Without Alice’s support, David cannot safely return home. And therefore, it’s my opinion that he requires 24 hour residential to meet his needs and maintain his safety’. Can you say something about what’s going on in that description and analysis there?
LISA LEWIS
So there are a number of things happening here. Firstly, we can see the description of the specific person and the situation. Secondly, we can see the claims made by the social worker based on the evidence. And thirdly, we can see a judgement by the social worker about what is needed. So the consequences are clearly based on the description and analysis.
THERESA LILLIS
Thank you, Lisa. So we’ve been looking at analysis and in example four, we saw explicit analysis. And of course, it’s the case that some forms or documents have sections called ‘Analysis’. So I think it be useful to have a look at an example of one of these sections.
So example 5 is from a child’s plan. And the social worker is required to write analysis. And you have that there in the heading, analysis, are we achieving good outcomes.
And it says, ‘Hannah appears settled within her foster placement and is having her needs met. She has appropriate contact sessions with important family members, which seem to be in line with her current needs and wishes and feelings. Hannah continues to struggle with her emotions and will be offered further support through the school doctor and court psychologist.’
LISA LEWIS
OK, so all of the comments here are analytical. She is making claims about whether the child is settled, whether she has appropriate contact with family members, and about her overall emotional state and well-being.
THERESA LILLIS
Yes, and I think what’s important to note here is that this is analysis, and the social worker is clearly reaching conclusions. But she’s not being categorical. We can see that she’s hedging some of her comments. She’s using ‘appears’, ‘seems to be’. So she’s being quite cautious. And presumably, we don’t know, because we don’t have the documentation, that’s because that’s what the evidence allows her to say.
I think it would be useful if we looked at a contrasting example. So if we look at example 6, and this is from a single assessment, it says, ‘The chronology indicates that there is a pattern of domestic violence and concerns around alcohol use. The risks include the children witnessing domestic disputes, which would harm the children’s emotional well-being and place them at risk of physical harm, especially if the violence and aggression took place in front of them. The children are vulnerable and need to have a home that is safe where the adults are not stressed and where their carers can prioritise their needs at all times’.
LISA LEWIS
OK, so here there is no hedging at all. But the use of words such as ‘include’ and ‘indicates’ are categorical statements used by the social worker. And I think we assume here that these statements will be evidenced elsewhere in the report. However, if they haven’t been evidenced, then there will be a problem.
THERESA LILLIS
So that’s a really important point about evidence. Let’s have a look at example 7. This is from a prospective adopters report. And it’s in a section entitled ‘Analysis’. We’ve been looking at these specific analysis sections.
And it says, ‘Carolyn’s childhood was stable and consistent, with adults providing care and warmth. And she will draw on this experience in her role as a parent’.
LISA LEWIS
OK, so if we were to take this extract just in isolation, we aren’t able to tell if the social worker’s analysis is based on evidence. However, for this specific example, we have been able to read the full report. And we know there’s evidence missing. Specifically, there’s an example from this applicant’s childhood that should have been included in the final analysis.
THERESA LILLIS
Let’s have a look at how the analysis might be revised to include that specific incident. So ‘Carolyn’s childhood was for the most part stable and consistent, with adults providing care and warmth. And she will draw on this experience in her role as a parent. The one specific incident which shocked her as a teenager was when her mother hit her for staying out late. Carolyn reflected that whilst this was not a way she would parent, she saw this as a one-off incident within an overall relationship of warmth and trust’. To what extent do you think inserting those comments changes the analysis?
LISA LEWIS
I think by adding that additional nuance of information you are creating a more robust rapport overall, which is a lot better.
THERESA LILLIS
Thank you very much, Lisa.
Video 2: What is analysis?
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Answer
Words… Many words we use involve analysis or evaluation. Examples discussed were:
- abusive
- negative and
- appropriate
- positive
Claims
Answer
Claims… are statements which indicate a professional view or conclusion about a particular situation. A claim follows on from careful description which counts as evidence for the claim being made. An example discussed was:
Without Alice’s support David cannot return safely home
[claim] following on from
David becomes agitated if his wife Alice leaves the room
…
David attempts to leave the premises unsupported
…[descriptions]
Re-watch the video of Theresa and Lisa talking about analysis and making claims in writing. Claims are a key part of expressing professional judgement. Note down the key points that Theresa and Lisa make about how claims should be written.
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Answer
Here are some points they discuss:
- Any claim needs to be based on evidence and much evidence in writing is expressed as relevant and careful description.
- Claims do not need to be overstated or exaggerated in writing in order to be convincing – using hedging language such as ‘appears settled...seem to be in line with’ may be more appropriate.
- Claims need to be carefully worded and in line with any description offered. If insufficient, irrelevant or vague description (evidence) is included in the written text, any claims made will not be convincing and may affect the outcomes of any report, such as services and resources.
For a more in-depth exploration of analysis you can find details in the Additional Resources section of this course.