ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on research in an organisational setting. The organisation provides a range of family and early childhood services on a national basis. A team of researchers who came from applied and academic settings completed the research. In organisations that adopt reflective practice, research can play a central role in generating the information around which the action–reflection cycle is structured. In order for research in organisational contexts to be successful, thought must be given to the development of tools and techniques that are the least intrusive and disruptive to service delivery work. The research programme collected data from the Barnardos Family Support Service over a period of four years and used a range of data collection and analysis strategies. Data was collected retrospectively and prospectively, and included the statistical analysis of intervention and family patterns as well as qualitative techniques to explore in a detailed way the processes of family development and change.
