Accomplishments and Future Directions for Social Work Research: Reflections as Editor-in-Chief

I have been honored to serve as Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of Social Work Research (SWR) for the past four years. As EIC, I have enjoyed the opportunity to become reacquainted with authors whose work I have known and respected during my academic career. Furthermore, I have been privileged to review and learn from the many young scholars who submit manuscripts to the journal. A team of consulting editors, statistical consultants, and NASW Press staff members has contributed greatly to maintaining and enhancing the reputation of the journal. As my term nears completion, I would like to take this opportunity to share accomplishments, identify unfinished business, and reflect on additional steps that are necessary to improve journal publications in social work. PUBLISHING TRENDS, 2005-2008 SWR, like other social work journals, fills an important role in disseminating knowledge about the etiology, prevention, and treatment of individual and social problems. It is interesting that academic journals tend to produce a niche in content and readership over time. For example, many readers would agree that articles published in SWR are the product of rigorous empirical investigation. Furthermore, most scholars would concur that a majority of manuscripts submitted to SWR use advanced analytical techniques to answer theoretical questions or test intervention strategies. Attention to sophistication and rigor in methodology has defined SWR for some time. Publication Highlights Journal editors place great emphasis on improving the efficiency, quality, and impact of their respective journals. First, editors are concerned with the number and quality of manuscripts that are submitted to their journals. The number of manuscripts submitted to SWR increased significantly between 2005 and 2008. This increase is encouraging because it demonstrates a growing recognition of the journal as an important dissemination outlet for social work research. Sixty full-length articles have been published in the journal since I assumed the role of EIC in 2005. Representing a wide range of schools, universities, and research centers in the United States and the world, authors of these articles addressed critical substantive topics including childhood and adolescent problem behavior, poverty and welfare reform, child welfare, mental health, gerontology, and substance abuse. I was particularly pleased to publish two manuscripts that were originally presented as part of the Aaron Rosen Lecture series at annual meetings of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). First, Claudia Coulton from Case Western Reserve University addressed the importance of community in social work research (Coulton, 2005). In a second Aaron Rosen lecture, J. David Hawkins of the University of Washington discussed advances in prevention and outlined ways in which social work can become more involved in prevention science (Hawkins, 2006). Including these two important articles in SWR was indeed an honor. I have encouraged the use of Research Notes as a means to publish shorter articles and decrease time to publication. Manuscripts published as notes are both substantive and methodological. For example, the journal has recently featured methodological research notes that should be useful to researchers, educators, and students (LeCroy & Krysik, 2007; Pandey & Bright, 2008). Finally, though an analysis of articles published in SWR since 2005 reveals a strong emphasis on quantitative research, additional efforts are needed to encourage the submission of more high-quality qualitative manuscripts. A special issue highlighting qualitative research might be considered in the future. Manuscript Guidelines and Submission Practices The SWR Editorial Board made several important changes in manuscript guidelines in the past several years. For example, the board voted to implement a shorter page limit for all manuscripts submitted to the journal. …