ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present findings from a thematic analysis of the research questions posed by social work scholars engaged in feminist research between 2011 and 2020. Building on our previous work focused on “What makes it feminist” (2010), we aim to understand what an examination of the queries that shape our research might reveal about feminist knowledge production in social work. We explore the research questions feminist social workers pose in English-language academic journals and discuss what we can glean about feminist inquiry in social work. Findings suggest that this body of feminist social work research that largely represents the Global North and West remains: (1) largely oriented around questions concerning women and “women’s issues”; (2) focused on questions of description and individual lived experience; and, (3) directed toward addressing gaps in the existing social work literature, rather than substantively challenging existing orthodoxy within the profession. These findings highlight limitations and suggest opportunities for feminist scholarship in social work: that we broaden the scope of our work to be inclusive of genders and sexualities, that our questions and frameworks extend to examine mezzo- and macro issues, and that we challenge ourselves to engage theories to frame our questions and analyses beyond description.
