Abstract
This pocket book, Culturally Competent Research: Using Ethnography as a Meta-Framework, provides valuable information for those who want to research the concept of cultural competence. There is great diversity among people living in the United States. Without an understanding of cultural difference, it might be difficult for social work professionals to have a constructive relationship with clients. In this book, the authors ask readers “Have you ever thought about culture or cultural competence? How do you want to approach this knowledge in your life?” In this book, the authors provide insight into how researchers, social work professionals, and direct service providers can approach cultural differences. The authors, Mo Yee Lee and Amy Zaharlick, approach the subject through two different scholarly disciplines, social work and anthropology, though both specifically utilize ethnography as their overarching framework. Through working with people with diverse backgrounds, they define how much the concept of cultural competence is important to help those who have cultural diversity differences. In this sense, they use cross-cultural research as well as theory for people who are interested in cultural competence. The purpose of this book is to provide better culturally competent research guidelines for improving the structural knowledge of social work as a whole. The authors’ experiences cover a wide range of knowledge in this pocket book.
This pocket book consists of seven chapters. From basic knowledge to complicated knowledge, the authors demonstrate a step-by-step approach to undertaking culturally competent research. To be specific, Chapter 1 provides an understanding of the difference between being culturally competent and not being culturally competent. Chapter 2 gives readers insight into how social work researchers apprehend cultural knowledge and diverse cultural experiences from others, and also shows how to conduct cultural research with conceptual tools such as explicit versus implicit culture and cultural relativity versus ethnocentrism. This is an important fact for social work researchers as well as helping professionals. Due to the lack of diverse cultural knowledge, it might cause mistakes in providing appropriate services to people who come from different countries or cultures. Chapter 3 describes how to obtain cultural knowledge, when social work researchers want to conduct ethnographic research as a meta-framework. In practice and policy, the acquisition of cultural knowledge is based on finding solutions or helping key words. Chapter 3 also explains ethnography as meta-framework to connect a broad cultural perspective into research methodologies.
From Chapters 4 to 6, the authors explain the four phases of a research project and the issues and questions for social work researchers. With an ethnographic perspective, Chapter 4 focuses on a culturally competent research frame, design, and implementation of study. Table 4.1 is very helpful for thinking about each step for research processing. Chapter 5 provides guidelines on how to manage data, analyses, and interpretation for culturally competent research by using their own research examples. This allows social work researchers to follow culturally competent research practices. Chapter 6 lays out how people can utilize and report the results of culturally competent research. Furthermore, Chapter 6 describes two crucial points: the comparative perspective and the cross-cultural frame of reference in terms of an ethnographic as meta-framework. Chapter 7 reviews key information and allows social work researchers to be aware of the limitations of culturally competent research.
Overall, the pocket book is well conducted for readers who are interested in cultural competent research or practice. This pocket book has two major strengths. First, the authors provide a variety of examples as well as case studies to help readers easily comprehend why social work professionals have to consider cultural competence in their research or fields. Furthermore, when social work researchers who conduct culturally competent research have difficulties, this book will provide better guidelines to solving these difficulties.
On the other hand, the concept of cultural competence has wide-ranging perspectives and outcomes. This makes it problematic to generalize the finding from culturally competent research projects, even if the authors try to provide sufficient guidelines through this book. Nevertheless, the content of this book is highly useful for providing appropriate services to social workers who help clients with diverse cultural experiences, both from within the United States and immigrants from other countries. Zaharlick and Lee are particularly interested in guiding readers who are active in the fields of social work. This book also enables social workers, professionals, and social work researchers to better understand cultural competence. Through this information, social work researchers can build cultural competence knowledge in depth.