Abstract

This article examines the role and importance of intervention research in social work, namely to induce change to intentionally isolate or eradicate risk factors, activate and mobilise protective factors, reduce or eradicate harm, or introduce betterment beyond harm eradication. Intervention research is the main tool to support social work in understanding the outcomes of its interventions. This article outlines core components of the intervention research process. It elaborates on some of the serious challenges in intervention research. It concludes that to a certain extent, intervention research is a matter of life and death for the social work profession; understanding the effects of social work interventions is of monumental importance to the social work profession; intervention research is the most important purveyor of evidence on how social work interventions work; and intervention research is a very complex, costly, and time-consuming enterprise that is replete with challenges.