Group Work Practice Articles: Recommendations for Manuscript Development

Abstract

The editorial board for The Journal for Specialists in Group Work (JSGW) always appreciates the promise and opportunities provided by each new manuscript submitted to the journal for review. As the official publication of the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), we are deeply committed to publishing strong group work articles that can inform the practice of group work. This comes from our deep roots within the broader profession of counselor education and is informed by the scientist-practitioner model (Jones & Mehr, 2007) that serves as a foundation for our field. The scientist-practitioner model is a training (and we would suggest practice) model that integrates science with practice, whereas “each must continually inform the other” (Belar & Perry, 1992, pp. 72). What this means for our clinical-rooted profession is that research coming out of the field should be reflective of the practice taking place within that field, and practice that is occurring should be researched. As a specialty journal focused on group work, we are invested in securing rigorous articles that can inform the science and practice of group work. Although each of our submission categories reflect the scientist-practitioner model in some way, the category that most directly reflects this mission is the “Practice” category. The description of practice manuscripts can be found in the “Aims and Scope” page of our journal’s website and notes,