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Purpose:The need for psychometrically sound measurement approaches to social work educational outcomes assessment is increasing.Method:The research reported here describes an original and two replication studies of a new scale ( N = 550) designed to assess an individual's self-efficacy regarding social work competencies specified by the Council on Social Work Education as part of the accreditation of social work programs.Results:This new measure, the Self-Efficacy Regarding Social Work Competencies Scale (SERSWCS), generally performed in line with our expectations.Discussion:The SERSWCS is a measure that is based on substantial theoretical and empirical work, has preliminary evidence regarding the psychometric properties of the data it produces, can be used with large numbers of students in an efficient manner, is neither expensive or subject to user restrictions, and provides views of outcomes that have utility for pedagogical considerations at multiple curricular levels.

Objective: This article describes a bibliometric analysis of articles appearing in the journal Research on Social Work Practice (RSWP). Method: Descriptive and predictive analyses for the sample of 322 articles are presented. Results: The typical RSWP article was 15 pages long, had two authors and 28 references, and was cited for the first time 2 years after publication. The typical article was cited in two different years and for a total of three times during the publication year and six subsequent years. The overall sample of articles received a total of 1,139 citations during the year of publication and subsequent 6 years. Additional subsample analyses are presented. Conclusion: Articles published during RSWP's first decade had an impact.

Objective: The Evaluation Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) is being developed as an outcomes assessment instrument for social work courses focusing on evaluation. Method: This scale, based on social cognitive theory, was pretested, revised, and then used with a final sample of 85 master's-level students in the original study. Using a single-group, pretest-posttest retrospective design, the current study (N = 111) is a direct replication of the original ESE study. Results: In this replication, Cronbach's alphas for the ESE were .95 (pretest), .95 (posttest), and .96 (retrospective pretest). Evidence for the construct validity of the ESE is obtained. Conclusion: The results provide additional evidence supporting the psychometric properties of data obtained using the ESE, suggesting that it may be appropriate for use in educational outcomes assessment in general and accreditation-related research in particular.

Objective: Assessing the achievement of social work educational outcomes is a requirement of the Council on Social Work Education's Educational Policy and Standards (EPAS). The Evaluation Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) was created to assess student progress in advanced concentration courses focused on evaluation and thereby provide data regarding attainment of EPAS-related objectives. Method: This social cognitive theory—derived scale was pretested, revised, and then used with a final sample of 85 master's-level students in a single-group, pretest-posttest-retrospective pretest study. Results: Cronbach alphas for the ESE were .94 or greater. Evidence of both content and construct validity was obtained. Conclusion: The results provide evidence that supports the psychometric properties of data obtained using the ESE.

Objective: Bibliometrics is a method of examining scholarly communications. Concerns regarding the use of bibliometrics in general, and the impact factor score (IFS) in particular, have been discussed across disciplines including social work. Although there are frequent mentions in the literature of the IFS as an indicator of the impact or quality of scholars' work, little empirical work has been published regarding the validity of such use. Method: A proportionate, stratified, random sample, of n=323 articles was selected from 17 Web of Science listed social work journals published during the 1992 to 1994 period. Results: The relationship between journals'IFSs and the actual impact of articles published in those journals (predictive validity) was r= .41 (short term) and r = .42 (long term).Conclusion: The practice of using the IFS as a proxy indicator of article impact merits significant concern as well as further empirical investigation.

Purpose:The increasing role of systematic reviews in knowledge production demands greater rigor in the literature search process. The performance of the Social Work Abstracts (SWA) database has been examined multiple times over the past three decades. The current study is a replication within this line of research.Method:Issue-level coverage was examined for the same 33 SWA core journals and the same time period as our 2009 study.Results:The mean percentage of issues missing in the current study was 20%. The mean percentage of issues missing in the current study was significantly greater than the mean percentage of issues missing in the 2009 study.Discussion:The research of other groups, and that of our own, has failed to prompt the National Association of Social Workers Press (NASW-P) to act. SWA was failing, it is failing, and NASW-P has failed to correct those failures.

The Hospital Social Work Self-Efficacy Scale, based on Bandura's social cognitive theory, is intended to measure social workers' confidence regarding their ability to perform specific aspects of hospital social work. The scale was developed during an evaluation of a social work fieldwork program. The study reported here is a replication of that evaluation. New data regarding the reliability and validity of the scale are presented.

A replication of a previously reported fieldwork evaluation study is presented. The study involved a comparison of a typical, year-long fieldwork placement composed of three distinct rotations, each approximately 10 weeks in length. The sample included 23 social work students in a large, urban, public hospital. Changes in students' general sense of self-efficacy, self-efficacy regarding specific professional activities, and perceptions of both their ideal and actual work environment were assessed. In general, results very similar to the original study were observed. There were ho significant intergroup differences and virtually no changes in students' general sense of self-efficacy. There were no significant intergroup differences in student's self-efficacy regarding hospital social work, but for the group as a whole, there were significant increases over the course of the academic year. The trend was for rotation students to view the work environment more positively.