Teaching Note—Incorporating Journal Clubs Into Social Work Education: An Exploratory Model

Abstract

This article outlines the implementation of a journal club for master's and doctoral social work students interested in mental health practice. It defines educational journal clubs and discusses the history of journal clubs in medical education and the applicability of the model to social work education. The feasibility of implementing journal clubs in a school of social welfare is highlighted. The journal club received high ratings on student evaluations indicating participants thought it was a valuable addition to their education. Journal clubs align with the program mission and goals of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) set forth by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), and they can be an affordable, easily implemented, and sustainable supplement to traditional research curricula.

Instruction in research methodology is a key component of a master's in social work (MSW) curriculum. As the movement to increase the use of evidence-based interventions in social work practice gains momentum, it is increasingly important for MSW students to learn how to access and critically evaluate research studies. However, teaching research methodology is often a challenging endeavor. Many social work students enter research classes with apprehension and negative beliefs about research (Cameron & Este, 2008). Some students fear the statistical techniques taught in these courses will be too difficult for them to comprehend. Additionally, students who intend to become practitioners often feel that instruction in research will not be relevant to their future careers (Cameron & Este, 2008; Rodriguez & Toews, 2001).

Journal clubs may be an effective method to reduce student discomfort with research and demonstrate how research can inform practice. These clubs have been used in the medical field for more than 100 years (Ebbert, Montori, & Schultz, 2001). In a typical journal club, students meet as a group on a periodic basis and critically appraise research articles from relevant journals (Ebbert et al., 2001). The club participants choose articles applicable to their clinical practice (Deenadayalan, Grimmer-Somers, Prior, & Kumar, 2008). One systematic review of seven evaluations of medical journal clubs found that they increased students' knowledge of epidemiology and biostatistics (Ebbert et al., 2001). Additionally, participation in journal clubs augmented students' reading of medical journals and use of research in practice (Ebbert et al., 2001).

Journal clubs may also provide a concrete tool to help social work educators meet the recently revised EPAS (CSWE, 2008). Educational Policy 2.1.3 calls for educators to focus on the application of critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments. The policy states that social workers should be “knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment” (CSWE, 2008, p. 4). They should be able to critically evaluate and integrate scientific research into practice (CSWE, 2008). Educational Policy 2.1.6 requires that social workers “engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research” (CSWE, 2008, p. 5). The policies also require social workers to competently assess, intervene, and evaluate progress with clients (CSWE, 2008). Students need to build knowledge and critical appraisal skills to fulfill these charges. Because research provides the foundation for evidence-based practice, journal clubs may be one way to teach students these skills.

Based on our review of the literature, there are no published studies on the use of journal clubs in nonmedical disciplines. The purpose of this study was to build knowledge about a journal club relevant to social work, assess the feasibility of implementing a journal club into social work education, and assess student reactions to the journal club. To this end, student ratings of the journal club were compared with ratings of a master's-level research course. We hypothesized that the journal club would receive ratings as high as or higher than the research course.

METHOD

Course Development

In the 2009 fall semester a journal club focusing on mental health practice was implemented at a school of social welfare. Observations that students lacked a structured yet comfortable environment to critically evaluate, discuss, and connect current research to their practice motivated the faculty and student instructors to create and implement the journal club.

Because no published literature on journal clubs in the social sciences was found, the instructors modeled the course plan and syllabus after journal clubs in medicine. The specific components of effective medical journal clubs incorporated into the social work journal club included structural and content elements. The structural elements were having a clear purpose, keeping membership limited to one discipline (in this case mental health), mandatory attendance, regularly scheduled meetings, use of a trained leader, requirement for participants to read articles before each meeting, and use of structured format for discussions (Deenadayalan et al., 2008, pp. 905–906). The content elements included use of articles relevant to clinical practice and placing each article in a practice context at the culmination of each meeting (Deenadayalan et al., 2008, pp. 905–906). Tutorials on library database searching and statistics were added to the social work model in anticipation of the needs of social work students.

The goal of the journal club was to increase students' opportunities to read and discuss research. The underlying assumption was that increasing students' exposure to research might increase their comfort level and competency in direct practice research comprehension. As this teaching model is expanded, objectives of social work journal clubs may also include those similar to that of journal clubs in medical education: to increase student knowledge in their content area, increase student reading of journals in their field, and increase use of research in practice.

Recruitment

The school's academic coordinator was consulted to arrange course credit. The provision of course credit was essential to recruitment for several reasons. First, it allowed advertisement through the school's course calendar. Second, it provided a mechanism to require mandatory attendance. Third, because there were no school funds to support the journal club, the unit credit provided a way for the faculty adviser to receive teaching credit and for graduate student instructors to receive unit credit for their time.

The decision was made to advertise the course to MSW and doctoral students in hopes that the journal club would be applicable to both groups. The journal club was placed on the school's course calendar. Fliers were created with course information and goals and posted in community spaces. In addition, the graduate student instructors made brief presentations during MSW orientation, one core MSW course, and in the doctoral student lounge to encourage enrollment. The club's goal to increase exposure to practice-based research in a comfortable learning environment was emphasized in all of the recruiting methods. Most students who enrolled reported hearing about it from the announcement in the core MSW course; this appeared to be the most effective recruitment method. Fear about passing the required research methods course, interest in augmenting research methods training, and interest in understanding the state of current research on interventions used at internship were reported as reasons for joining.

The club included nine enrolled students, two graduate student instructors, and one faculty adviser. Eight of the participating students were enrolled in the MSW program, and one student participant was enrolled in the doctoral program. Doctoral student enrollment was low. After implementation, it was determined that the current instructional model was more applicable to MSW students because doctoral students have more advanced statistical and research methods training. In-depth discussion of research design and methods may be more interesting for doctoral students. However, the inclusion of doctoral student instructors for the MSW journal club was a viable part of the model. It provided training in course design, implementation, and teaching, all of which are important components of doctoral education.

Implementation

Journal club members met biweekly for 2 hours over a 15-week semester. During the first two meetings, the doctoral student instructors provided tutorials on the following topics: library search techniques, presentation guidelines, evidence-based practice, critical appraisal techniques, and formal statistical analysis. During the first class meeting, the instructors introduced the syllabus and discussed course procedures. The basic, step-by-step process of library database searching was demonstrated on the classroom Web-enabled computer and projector. Some students' experience with this process was very limited, so this proved to be a necessary training module. Next, presentation guidelines were discussed to give students a framework for expectations and provide a structure for how to read and analyze a research article. See Table 1 for the list of guiding questions.

TABLE 1 Guiding Questions for Journal Club Student Presenters

General Overview

1. What are the main objectives of the study? What research questions are the authors trying to answer?

2. What is the significance of the article to your practice?

Literature Review

3. Based on your knowledge, does the literature review seem comprehensive? After reading the literature review, do you understand the rationale for the study?

Methods

4. What is the target population (the population for which an inference is being made)? How well does the study population used correspond to the target population? Are there systematic differences, or biases?

5. What is the outcome variable? How was it measured? How well does the outcome variable used match the research question?

6. What are the explanatory variables or factors? How were they measured? Are there any other explanatory variables you would include in analysis?

7. How are the data summarized and presented—plots, tables, or other methods? Are there other summaries that you would have found helpful?

Analysis/Conclusion

8. Did the author(s) make fair conclusions based on the study (both strengths and limitations)?

Your Overall Analysis/Relationship to Your Practice

9. What did you like about this article?

10. What would you change about this study if you were to do it yourself? What do you wish the author(s) would have done differently?

11. After analyzing this article, would you change your practice?

In the second meeting, student instructors provided an overview of various definitions of evidence-based practice. Critical research appraisal techniques were discussed and modeled with an article presentation by one of the instructors using the guiding questions in Table 1. In addition, an overview of the use of statistical analysis was presented. The appropriate use of common statistical methods was clarified by providing examples of research questions that can be answered by various techniques. Specifically, types of variables and descriptive statistics were defined. Additionally, statistical tests, including chi-square, t-tests, analysis of variance, Kruskal–Wallis test, multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, Wilcoxon Mann–Whitney test, regression analyses, path and survival analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling, were described in terms of their functions and appropriate variables to use with each. This method appealed to the students and provided them with basic knowledge to complete most of the readings and article presentations. However, because it was an overview, it did not sufficiently prepare them to analyze or present every article. The instructors provided individual consultation as needed and brief in-class tutorials throughout the semester when a chosen article used complicated statistical or research methods.

In all subsequent meetings, participants presented articles related to mental health practice in social work and engaged in discussion about the articles. Each participant was responsible for one journal club meeting. Prior to the meeting, the participant chose an article and distributed it to the other club members to read. At the meeting, the participant gave a brief presentation about the article, led a discussion of the important findings and critiques, and highlighted how the research related to social work practice. The graduate student instructors and faculty adviser facilitated critical thinking and formal instruction as needed during the discussions. Articles included in the journal club were published in peer-reviewed journals after 2000. These were the only formal criteria, but many students asked for assistance choosing an article on a topic of interest. Instructors encouraged students to choose articles testing effectiveness of an intervention or otherwise reporting on studies of practices related to their work. There were two article presentations per meeting, and students were required to read the articles prior to class. At the end of the semester, students completed formal and informal evaluations of the journal club. See Figure 1 for an overview of the journal club instructional model.

FIGURE 1 Overview of the Social Work Journal Club Exploratory Model (color figure available online).

Throughout the semester, the graduate student instructors and faculty adviser met periodically to discuss the progress of the journal club. No significant problems with implementation occurred, and students participated adequately and appropriately. Some factors related to successful implementation included (a) the provision of clear expectations for student preparation, participation, and presentations as outlined previously; (b) a low time burden on students because the course met biweekly and students only presented once; and (c) the instructors assisted with class discussion, encouraged participation from each student, and redirected the discussion as needed to avoid problems associated with extremely talkative or quiet students.

Assessment

The main objective of the present study is to build knowledge about an innovative, exploratory social work educational technique. This study assessed feasibility of implementing a journal club in a school of social welfare and student satisfaction with the journal club course. It was hypothesized that implementation of the journal club would be feasible and the journal club would receive equal or higher ratings compared to the introductory research methods course on the standard course evaluations. We expected the journal club ratings to compare favorably to the research methods course, because the journal club course content was student driven and the atmosphere was informal, encouraging student investment and active participation in the course.

We assessed feasibility of implementing the journal club into social work education by conducting an informal discussion with students at the end of the semester and reflecting on our experience. Students provided information on recruiting and implementation factors that were the most successful. These included the use of a unit credit to encourage regular attendance, the perceived low time burden of the course, the importance of clear expectations, and the value of the tutorials. Our positive experience with implementation provides evidence for the feasibility of a journal club in a school of social welfare. Nine students enrolled and completed the course with a passing grade.

To address our second hypothesis, formal standard journal club course evaluations were compared to introductory research methods course evaluations. The evaluations were anonymous, but results for both courses were publicly available to members of the school community. Data were extracted from the publicly available evaluations, which included 16 items.

Students were asked to provide their level of agreement with 14 statements on a 5-point scale ranging from a score of 5 (strongly agree) to a score of 1 (strongly disagree). Two final questions asked students to rate the overall quality of the course and overall quality of the instructor on a 7-point scale ranging from 7 (extremely effective) to 1 (not at all effective). We focused our analysis on five questions most relevant to the goals of the journal club: (1) Is the course challenging? (2) Are the readings instructive? (3) Does the instructor promote critical thinking? (4) How do you rate the quality of this course? and (5) How do you rate the teaching effectiveness of this instructor?

A two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann–Whitney) test was computed for each of the five questions. The comparison course used was the spring 2009 introductory research course for master's-level students because the learning goals of these courses are similar to those of the journal club. As stated in the course description, the introductory research course aims to provide an overview of social welfare research designs and methods. It covers the following topics: research question and hypotheses formulation, use of theory, assessing study significance, writing literature reviews, research design, measurement, ethical treatment of participants, and diversity-competence in carrying out all of the above (Stone, 2010).

The journal club was acceptable to students as evidenced by the high scores on the course evaluations (see Table 2). In comparison to the introductory research methods course evaluations, the average journal club scores were higher for each question. A significantly higher score was found for journal club participants in response to the question that asked about the instructiveness of readings. In all the other questions, there was no significant difference between courses ratings. Although encouraging, these results must be viewed with caution, because the students who elected to take the journal club course were a self-selected group who may have also highly rated their introductory research course.

TABLE 2 Journal Club and Research Methods 2009 Evaluation Comparison

	Weighted Average Score JC	Weighted Average Score RM	Wilcoxon Rank-Sum (Mann–Whitney) z	P
Readings are instructive*	4.63	3.93	−2.33	.02*
Course is challenging	4.63	4.58	−.02	.98
Instructor promotes critical thinking	5.00	4.56	−1.76	.08
Quality of the course	6.38	5.73	−1.70	.09
Teaching effectiveness	6.25	6.05	−.07	.94
Note. JC = journal club; RM = research methods.
*p < .05.

DISCUSSION

The fact that the journal club received high ratings and that it was viewed as equally challenging as a master's-level research course suggests that journal clubs may be an affordable, easily implemented, and sustainable supplement to the traditional MSW research curriculum. The club was developed and taught by doctoral students in consultation with faculty; minimal faculty time or resources were required. Student participants provided the course content after the introductory tutorials, and therefore class preparation time was limited after the tutorials were completed.

If innovative social work curriculum is to be successful and sustainable it should align with the mission and goals of EPAS set forth by CSWE (2008). Journal clubs in social work correspond with the standards. In particular, journal clubs address the EPAS focus on the use of critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgment, use of research to inform practice, and the ability to assess and intervene with clients effectively. Journal clubs focusing on research related to practice can be particularly relevant to these goals.

The limitations of this study include the restricted scope of the information provided in the standard student evaluations. Because this was a feasibility study, outcome data focused on improvement in critical thinking skills, rates of incorporation of research material into practice, and other potential benefits of journal clubs were not collected. Future studies should focus on assessing outcomes observed in journal clubs in medicine, such as whether social work journal clubs increase student knowledge, increase student reading of journals in their field, or increase use of research in practice.

This study provides knowledge on the feasibility and acceptability of journal clubs in social work education. Journal clubs can augment the traditional research curriculum by giving students a chance to read and evaluate research and apply it to their practice.