Social Work Journals

The emergence of evidence-based practice as an important component of social work research and practice has contributed to the need to identify and utilize credible information. Social workers are increasingly utilizing findings from various studies to enhance their knowledge base and improve social work practice. An important aspect of utilizing research in social work is peer-reviewed journals, which are considered to provide credible information as compared to information from the Internet, particularly from search engines. In this regard, social workers are faced with the need to identify empirical research from peer reviewed journals in order to enhance their understanding and response to clients' situations.

Research studies from peer reviewed journals are important to the development of knowledge in social work because they provide accurate information based on empirical research. Unlike information from the Internet, peer reviewed journals provide accurate, reliable, valid, and up-to-date information since they are based on empirical research whose findings can be verified. Most of the information from the Internet relating to social work are difficult to verify since they are primarily based on personal views or opinions, which may not reflect accurate information relating to social work practice. Additionally, research studies from peer reviewed journals are important to the development of knowledge in social work because they help in development of a collective knowledge base and communicate information from scholars within the field (Solomon, 2007). Through this process, these studies help in development of knowledge in social work since they help develop scientific communities in which scholars interact and communicate relevant information relating to social work practice. Therefore, research studies from peer reviewed journals provide a suitable foundation for social work practitioners to obtain relevant information and knowledge in the field.

Given the significance of peer reviewed journals in development of knowledge, these journals can help inform social work practice decisions with clients, communities, agencies, and/or social work policies. The use of peer-reviewed journals in social work practice decisions with clients, communities, agencies, and/or social work policies is centered on the use of evidence-based practice in social work. For instance, when dealing with a case where an individual/spouse constantly returns to a violent partner despite efforts by the social worker to help him/her, evidence-based practice will provide a suitable foundation for dealing with this issue. In this case, the social worker will examine peer-reviewed journals that provide empirical research and findings on the most suitable treatments and services provided to clients. The social worker will examine the most effective results from the peer-reviewed journals that would be applicable in the situation (Kiefer, 2014). When examining the most effective treatments and services provided, the social worker will consult peer reviewed journals relating to domestic abuse cases to enhance his/her decisions on the effective intervention for the client.

Peer reviewed journals will provide a holistic base through which the social worker makes decisions based on the existing most effective treatments or services that can be provided to clients depending on what is displayed in empirical research. As a social work practitioner, peer reviewed journals will help me identify the most suitable and effective services/treatments relating to the issues facing the community. The information from the peer reviewed journals is then utilized in developing social work policies that contribute to better outcomes when addressing clients' issues. The social work policies will be based on existing evidence from empirical research, which in turn enhances the effectiveness of social work in dealing with the issues facing clients and communities.

References

Keifer, L. (2014, August). How Social Work Practitioners Evaluate Their Practice. Retrieved from St. Catherine University website: http://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1551&context=msw_papers

Solomon, D.J. (2007). The Role of Peer Review for Scholarly Journals in the Information Age. The Journal of Electronic Publishing, 10(1). Retrieved from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jep/3336451.0010.107?view=text;rgn=main