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Research

Research represents the lifeblood of everything we do. We approach social welfare and social work with the same intellectual rigor with which medical schools pioneer new stroke treatments, physicists explore the fabric of the universe and business schools analyze best practices in investment finance.

We bridge theory and practice by systematically testing ideas and methods in research settings and translating the results into the field. This empirical approach enriches our academic programs and advances social policy and practice.

Our wide-ranging research appears in a variety of academic publications and makes headlines in main stream media outlets.

Our research centers and networks are renowned for conducting groundbreaking work and providing critical services. See our most recent research news stories on our News and Events section.

Recent BC GSSW faculty in the news

Stephanie Berzin's article "Difficulties in the Transition to Adulthood: Using Propensity Scoring to Understand What Makes Foster Youth Vulnerable" published in Social Service Review, received the prestigious 2009 Frank R. Breul Memorial Prize.
Sloan Center on Aging and Work Director Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes was interviewed about age discrimination in the current economic climate on public radio KQED-San Francisco's "Forum." Listen to the interview.

Research at GSSW

The mission of the new National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services is to help ensure that all home and community-based services programs offer their participants the option to direct their own care. This new center is home to our nationally recognized Cash and Counseling program which works to improve support services for the disabled and the elderly and to develop inclusive communities for both populations.

The Center on Aging & Work focuses its research on one of the defining issues of the 21st Century, to help the business community promote workplace flexibility and prepare for the opportunities and challenges associated with an aging workforce.

The Sloan Work and Family Research Network provides support for research and teaching, promotes best practices in the workplace, and offers resources for legislators on issues affecting working families and their workplaces.

The new Institute on Aging at Boston College is headed by GSSW Professor James Lubben, the School's Louise McMahon Ahearn Professor. Lubben is a leading scholar in social gerontology with an active research agenda examining social support networks among older populations. He is also the National Director of the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program in Geriatric Social Work.

The Institute on Aging will provide an integrated framework for fundraising, research, teaching, and knowledge dissemination for three aging research centers at Boston College, two of them housed at the GSSW: The Sloan Center on Aging and Work and the Center for the Study of Home and Community Life, as well as the Carroll School of Management's Center for Retirement Research.