You may have heard the expression that you can’t truly understand someone until you’ve “walked a mile in their shoes.” To a certain extent, because it is based on felt and lived experience, qualitative research can approximate that level of understanding. Clients’ thoughts and feelings explored through an interview, for example, can be highly personal and authentic records.
Evidence-based practice calls for the use of research data to guide the development of social work interventions on the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. In terms of qualitative data, this means social workers develop interventions and programs that take into account the very real experiences conveyed. Given the increasing diversity that characterizes the landscape in the United States, social workers also need to consider culture when formulating interventions—and may even need to adapt a particular intervention to be more culturally sensitive and relevant.
In this Discussion, you interpret qualitative data and determine relevant practice recommendations that can be adapted to a diverse group.
Resources
To Prepare
Review the Matheson et al. article in the Learning Resources. Pay close attention to the Findings section, in which themes are conveyed and participants’ quotes are presented.
Also review the Fennig and the Marsiglia et al. articles on cultural adaptations of interventions and programs. In the Fennig article, focus on the surface structure and deep structure adaptations presented.
By Day 3
Post the following:
Using one of the participant quotes in the Findings section of the Matheson et al. study, analyze it by first identifying the main themes in the quote.
Provide an interpretation of the quote (what is the speaker saying?).
Discuss how this would specifically inform one intervention recommendation for social work practice with clients. Your recommendation can be on the micro, mezzo, or macro level (choose one).
Next, explain how you would adapt the practice recommendation that you identified so that it is culturally sensitive and relevant for a diverse cultural group (e.g., African American, Latinx, Asian American, or indigenous communities). Select only one group.
Choose a surface structure or deep structure adaptation that Fennig reviewed and provide two strategies for application with your selected group. Be as specific as you can, using citations to support your ideas.
This social-work discussion asks you to interpret qualitative findings (themes from the Matheson et al. article), draw practice recommendations, and adapt them to be culturally sensitive for a diverse group. Work from the participants’ lived experience to concrete, culturally responsive interventions.
Key takeaways
- Qualitative data captures lived experience — themes and participant quotes, not numbers.
- Interpret the Findings section: what themes mean for practice.
- Translate themes into micro, mezzo, and macro practice recommendations.
- Adapt interventions for cultural relevance — don’t apply them one-size-fits-all.
- Ground it in evidence-based practice and cite the article.
Interpret the qualitative findings
Focus on the Findings section of the Matheson et al. article — the themes the researchers identified and the participant voices behind them. Interpret what each theme reveals about clients’ thoughts, feelings, and needs. Qualitative interpretation means explaining meaning, not counting frequencies.
Develop practice recommendations
Turn the themes into evidence-based recommendations across levels:
- Micro: how you’d adjust direct practice with an individual client.
- Mezzo: group or family interventions and programs.
- Macro: policy or community-level responses.
Adapt for a diverse group
Show cultural humility: explain how you’d tailor the intervention to a specific diverse population — language, values, traditions, and barriers to access. Note that an intervention effective for one group may need adaptation to be relevant and respectful for another.
Format
Connect your recommendations to evidence-based practice, cite the Matheson et al. article, and use APA.