PAGE 18 JOURNAL OF VASCULAR NURSING MARCH 2009

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Research Column

Practical Tips For Starting a Journal ClubSVN Research Committee

INTRODUCTION

A journal club can be defined as an educational meeting in

which a group of individuals discusses current articles, providing

a forum for a collective effort to keep up with the literature. There

are many advantages of participating in a journal club, including

keeping abreast of new knowledge, promoting awareness of cur-

rent nursing research findings, learning to critique and appraise re-

search, becoming familiar with the best current clinical research,

and encouraging research utilization. The journal club can also

promote a bridge between research and practice, fostering appli-

cation of research in the clinical setting.

Nursing research promotes a scientific basis for clinical nurs-

ing practice. Yet, many nurses hesitate to read research, often cit-

ing uncertainty about how to critique research and discuss

difficulties with interpretation. Reading research and promoting

understanding of the research process is important to translate re-

search findings into clinical practice.

The SVN Research Committee has developed the following

guidelines and practical tips to implementing a Journal Club.

We encourage nurses to consider use of a Journal Club to promote

and assist in critically analyzing research, promote a better under-

standing of the research process and to enhancer evidence-based

nursing practice.

Journal Club Definition: A group of individuals who meet to

discuss and analyze research that appears in professional journals.

A. Identify Purpose & Goals

1. Generally, the purpose is to generate questions and dis-

seminate knowledge

2. Potential goals: To improve critical literature appraisal

skills, to discuss controversies, to improve clinical prac-

tice, and to generate ideas for future research

B. Designate a Format (Who are the staff targeted for

participation?)

1. Unit-based (within a specific nursing unit)

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2. Hospital-based (all nurses within a facility)

3. Multidisciplinary (open to other disciplines, such as Re-

spiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, etc.)

4. Online/Internet (need the institution’s Informatics de-

partment to help set this up, if feasible)

5. Formal versus Informal (members do not follow

a checklist in the informal meetings)

C. Choose a Design (what to present at the meeting)

1. One article (most common and easiest to conduct)

a. Identify audience if 1 article design is chosen, select

a study that will appeal to the group

2. One topic (Examine several research studies on a single

topic, requires expertise to critique)

3. One journal (review all articles within a single journal;

NOTE: may not be all research articles)

D. Enlist Nursing Leadership Support

1. Not only support the concept, but support, attendance

and the ability of staff to leave the bedside

2. Financial assistance for snacks/meals

3. Determine if nursing Continuing Education may be

awarded by working with Staff Education

E. Designate a Leader

1. Person must be dedicated to the journal club concept

and have basic knowledge

2. Options: Advanced Practice Nurse, Educator, Nursing

Manager –

3. Leader’s responsibilities:

a. Schedule meetings

b. Disseminate article to be read

c. Develop discussion questions in advance

d. May also serve as discussion leader or rotate that as-

signment to interested members

F. Identify Length of Meeting/Location/Frequency/

Schedule

1. Length: 30 to 60 minutes (do not make any meet-

ing longer than 60 minutes; that prevent loss of

interest)

2. Location: Make it convenient for the nursing staff

3. Frequency: varies and depends upon resources (monthly/

bimonthly/quarterly, repeated)

4. Schedule: Consider ‘‘lunch & learn’’ meetings or break-

fast meetings; survey staff for preferences

G. Meeting Structure (running the Journal Club meetings)

1. First meeting

a. Establish purpose/goals and choose format/design/

length/frequency of meetings

b. Determine discussion leader requirements (present

the article and lead the critique)

c. Determine participant requirements (example: read-

ing the article before the meeting)

d. Perform a mock critique

2. Incorporate brief sessions at the beginning of the first

few meetings that cover:

a. What is included in a review of the literature

b. Different types of study designs – what each means

(quasi-experimental, descriptive)

c. Discussing P value and its meaning in statistics

3. All meetings

a. Discuss and analyze article and identify implications

for nursing

b. Evaluate each meeting

c. Identify topics for future review

H. Other Potential Journal Club Activities

1. Use a debate-team format during study critique

2. Write a letter to the editor regarding a study

3. Consider replicating a study

I. Develop a Standard Discussion/Review Analysis Checklist

(allows for consistency; see next page)

JOURNAL CLUB ARTICLE DISCUSSION REVIEWCRITIQUE CHECKLIST EXAMPLE

The overall goals of a research critique are to formulate a gen-

eral evaluation of the merits of a study and to evaluate its appli-

cability to clinical practice.

General targeted areas when critiquing a research article:

� The introduction and background information: Is the prob-

lem statement/introduction clearly described. Is it relevant

to the clinical topic selected, what are the objectives or

aims of the research article?

� The presentation of the article: Is the research question or

hypothesis clear. In the literature review: Is it informative,

is it research-based, and does it support the purpose/prob-

lem? Are the references current and from respected sources?

� What study design and methods are used to collect the data?

What is the sample size and characteristics?A What statis-

tics are utilized, and are they appropriate?

� What are the results and conclusions drawn by the author?

Any implications for clinical practice? Can the conclusions

be generalized to various settings and populations of

people?

A. Description of the Study

, What was the purpose of the research?

, Why is the research being conducted, and why is it con-

sidered significant?

, Were the research questions, objectives or hypothe-

sis(es) clearly stated?

B. Literature Evaluation

, Does the literature review seem thorough and recent

(within the last 5 years)?

, Does the content of the literature review relate directly

to the research problem?

C. Conceptual Framework

, Does the research use a theoretical or conceptual

model?

, Does the model guide the research and seem

appropriate?

D. Sample

, Who were the subjects?

, Were the inclusion/exclusion criteria specified?

, How representative is the sample?

, Was there any selection bias evident in the sample

selection?

E. Method and Design

, Describe the study design. Is it appropriate?

, How was the research conducted (the study procedure

itself) and the data collected?

, Were the subject’s rights protected?

, Was IRBE approval obtained?

F. Analysis

, How were the data analyzed?

, Do the selected statistical tests appear appropriate?

, Were the results significant?

G. Results

, What were the findings of the study?

, Are the results presented in a clear and understandable

way?

, How did the authors interpret the results?

, Were there any study limitations discussed?

H. Clinical Significance

, What were the implications of this study to clinical

nursing practice?

, How does the study contribute to the body of

knowledge?

, Could the study be replicated?

, What additional questions does the study raise?

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