Theoretical construction of Social Work’s object of study: an empirical analysis based on second cycle training

Abstract

Social Work’ object of study has traditionally been elaborated from a social intervention profesión matrix, being that only in the last decade of the twentieth century began to be built through a research-based knowledge matrix. Thus, this article seeks to deepen the theoretical construction of the object of study of Social Work using as a methodology a frequency and contingency keywords analysis of 132 Social Work Dissertations of ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon between 2009 and 2017, systematizing them into ad hoc categories that were created. The results show that currently the object of study of Social Work assumes new indicators such as reflective practice, ethics and deontology or human rights, although there is continuity in the study of the classic categories (childhood, family, old age, etc.). The article discusses the implications of these elements for the construction of the Social Work study object.