A checklist of factors to be considered by authors planning to submit an outcome study for editorial review and possible publication in the journal Research on Social Work Practice is presented. This list is intended to help authors assure themselves that their article is indeed appropriate for this journal. It is hoped that the presentation of this type of checklist will further advance the methodological rigor of research into the outcomes of social work practice and stimulate other research journals in our discipline to adopt similarly clear guidelines.
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Austin, D. (1999). A report on progress in the development of research resources in social work. Research on Social Work Practice9, 673-707.
3.
Bloom, M., Fischer, J., & Orme, J. (1999). Evaluating practice: Guidelines for the accountable profession. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
4.
Crombie, I. M. (1996). The pocket guide to critical appraisal. London: British Medical Journal.%
5.
Fellin, P., Tripodi, T., & Meyer, H. (Eds.). (1969). Exemplars of social work research. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.
6.
Fraser, M., Jenson, J., & Lewis, R. E. (1993). Research training in social work: The continuum is not a continuum. Journal of Social Work Education29, 46-62.
7.
Greenhalgh, T. (1997). How to read a paper; getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about). British Medical Journal315, 243-246.
8.
Grinnell, R., Jr., & Royer, M. (1983). Authors of articles in social work journals. Journal of Social Service Research6(3/4), 150-164.%
9.
Guyatt, G. H., Sackett, D. L., Sinclair, J. C., Hayward, R., Cook, D. J., & Cook, R. J. (1995). User's guide to the medical literature. IX. A method for grading health care recommendations. Journal of the American Medical Association274, 1800-1804.
10.
Holosko, M. J. (2006). A primer for critiquing social research: A student guide. Belmont, CA: Thomson Nelson, Brooks/Cole.%
11.
Holosko, M. J., & Leslie, D. R. (1998). Obstacles to conducting empirically based practice. In J. S. Wodarski & B. Thyer (Eds.), Handbook of empirical social work practice (Vol. 2, Social problems and practice issues, pp. 433-453). New York: John Wiley.%
12.
Hudson, W. W. (1982). The clinical measurement package: A field manual. Homewood, IL: Dorsey.
13.
Jaeschke, R., Guyatt, G. H., & Sackett, D. L. (1994). User's guide to the medical literature. III. How to use an article about a diagnostic test. A. Are the results of the study valid?Journal of the American Medical Association271, 389-391.%
14.
National Association of Social Workers. (2005). Perspectives: Peer review & publication standards in social work journals: The Miami statement. Social Work Research29, 119-121.
15.
Oxman, A. D., Sackett, D. S., & Guyatt, G. H. (1993). User's guides to the medical literature. I. How to get started. Journal of the American Medical Association270, 2093-2095.
16.
Reid, W. J. (1994). The empirical practice movement. Social Service Review, 68, 165-184.%
17.
Rosen, A. (1983). Barriers to utilization of research by social work practitioners. Journal of Social Service Research6, 1-15.%
18.
Shera, W. (2001). Guidelines for ensuring quality of social work doctoral dissertations. Arete 25(1), 103-114.
19.
Spencer, L., Richie, J., Lewis, J., & Dillon, L. (2003). Quality in qualitative evaluation: A framework for assessing evidence. London: Cabinet Office, Government Chief Social Researcher's Office.%
20.
Thyer, B. A. (1989). First principles of practice research. British Journal of Social Work, 19, 309-323.%
21.
Thyer, B. A. (1991). Guidelines for evaluating outcome studies on social work practice. Research on Social Work Practice1, 76-91.%
22.
Thyer, B. A. (1994). Successful publishing in scholarly journals. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.%
23.
Thyer, B. A. (2000). Editorial: A decade of Research on Social Work Practice. Research on Social Work Practice10, 5-8.%
24.
Thyer, B. A. (2005). A comprehensive listing of social work journals. Research on Social Work Practice15, 310-311.%
25.
Tripodi, T., Fellin, P., & Meyer, H. (1983). The assessment of social research (2nd ed.). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock.
