Use of Journal Clubs Within Senior Capstone Courses: Analysis of Perceived Gains in Reviewing Scientific Literature

Abstract

Whereas graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and medical students routinely use journal clubs as a way to read and stay abreast of new developments in the recent published literature, most undergraduate programs do not use journal clubs to teach how to read the scientific literature. Rather, students are told to read a scientific paper for class and then to present or use it in grade-based assignments, but without training as to how to critique the article. Up to 72% of graduating college seniors are not proficient in critical thinking skills, and there was little improvement in seniors tested in 2010 compared with those tested in 2004. 1 Finley A. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Making progress? What We Know About the Achievement of Liberal Education Outcomes. Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC2012 Google Scholar For dietetic students, the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics requires a core competency in “integrating scientific information and research into practice” with “interpretation of research literature” as one of the knowledge foundation cores. 2 Haubrick K. Molaison E.F. Allendorph J. ACEND Accreditation Standards for Dietitian Education Programs. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL2012 Google Scholar Published articles describing the use of an undergraduate journal club describe gains by undergraduates in their perceived abilities to review the literature. 3 Minerick A.R. Journal club: a forum to encourage graduate and undergraduate research students to critically review the literature. Chem Eng Educ. 2011; 45: 73-82 Google Scholar , 4 Roberts J. An undergraduate journal club experience. a lesson in critical thinking. J Coll Sci Teach. 2009; 38: 28-31 Google Scholar , 5 Robertson K. A journal club workshop that teaches undergraduates a systematic method for reading, interpreting, and presenting primary literature. J Coll Sci Teach. 2012; 41: 25-31 Google Scholar