Integrating Lived Experience into Rigorous Social Work Research: Centering Embodied Knowledge In the Production of Evidence

Purpose
Social work research is central to advancing a just and inclusive democracy; however, dominant paradigms of knowledge production often marginalize the role of the researcher and practitioner’s lived experience in shaping inquiry. While the field emphasizes person-in-environment, limited attention is given to how experiences such as foster care involvement, neurodivergence, and immigration inform research questions, methodological choices, and engagement with communities. This gap has implications for whose knowledge is legitimized and how effectively research reflects and serves marginalized populations. Aligned with the 2027 SSWR conference theme, Social Work Research at the Service of Democracy: Advancing Rigorous Inquiry for the Common Good, this roundtable examines lived experience as a critical form of expertise that can strengthen the rigor, relevance, and impact of social work research.

Framing
This roundtable brings together scholar–practitioners who will discuss how their lived experience has informed research design, methodological decision-making, and community engagement across diverse contexts. Panelists will explore how reflexivity and positionality function as essential components of rigorous inquiry, particularly within qualitative and community-engaged research. The discussion will address key ethical and methodological considerations, including self-disclosure, boundary navigation, emotional labor, and power dynamics, as well as the ways institutional norms within academia and professional settings may constrain the integration of lived experience into research. Viewpoints will highlight how lived experience shapes what is studied, how participants are engaged, and how data is analyzed and findings are interpreted and disseminated.

Structure
The session will also include facilitated dialogue with participants and experiential activities to critically reflect on how lived experience can be ethically and rigorously integrated into their own research, teaching, and practice. The session will engage participants in reflexive examination of their positionality and its application to research design and methodological decision-making.

Relevance to Social Work
This session contributes to the advancement of social work research by expanding dominant definitions of rigor to include reflexivity, positionality, and culturally grounded ways of knowing, thereby strengthening the relevance and impact of research for diverse communities. Integrating lived experience into research processes enhances community engagement, builds trust with participants, and supports the development of more contextually grounded and meaningful findings. These shifts have direct implications for policy and practice, as research informed by lived experience is better positioned to generate actionable insights and inform interventions that reflect the lived realities of marginalized populations. By elevating lived experience as a legitimate form of knowledge, this roundtable advances epistemic justice and contributes to the democratization of knowledge production, aligning with social work’s commitment to equity, social justice, and the common good.