Writing for Publication: Assessment of a Course for Social Work Doctoral Students.

The authors describe a for-credit course for Social Work PhD students called Writing for Publication and report on a study evaluating its success in supporting students to develop and submit a paper for publication in a refereed journal. The literature-informed course design, taught in collaboration with the university’s Writing Centre, includes didactic elements and a peer editing component. Seventeen of the 22 students who had taken the course completed an anonymous online survey asking whether they had submitted the paper and the outcome, whether the course had been helpful, in what ways, and in which other areas of the PhD program they were most helpful. The quantitative and qualitative data indicate that the course has been successful. A majority of students submitted an article to a peer-reviewed journal, and a majority found the course helpful in this regard as well as in other areas of the PhD program. Based on findings regarding the contributions of the course and student suggestions for improvement, we discuss considerations for strengthening the program in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]