Direct quotations in social work writing: multi-functionality and double voicing

Abstract Writing comprises a core area of social work as a substantial amount of time is spent on producing case notes, assessment reports, and other required documentation in order to progress cases; however, little research has been carried out on social workers’ writing and, in particular, the specific discursive and rhetorical devices employed to create effective texts. One rhetorical device often employed in order to include the voices of service users and their families is the use of quotations. This article explores the extent to which quotations are used across social work domains and text types, the different voices represented through quotations, and the perceived functions of the quotations. The study draws on three different data types: (1) a 1-million-word corpus of social workers’ writing; (2) social worker interviews (n = 81); (3) two case studies comprising texts, interviews with the social worker writer, and researcher observations. All data were collected within the WiSP project and were interrogated through a mix of computational and qualitative analysis to develop a taxonomy of functions of quotations. In addition to furthering our understanding of how quotations are employed in professional writing, the study has implications for social worker training and practice.