The Impact of Social Work Research Courses on Research Self-Efficacy for Social Work Students

This article reports on a study of research self-efficacy for a sample of BSW and MSW students at a large public university in the United States. This exploratory study examined gains in students' research confidence over the course of a semester according to when they had taken their required research course. BSW and MSW students taking a research class showed differential gains in research self-efficacy but ended up with similar levels at the end of the semester. Also, students who started their research course with lower levels of self-efficacy made substantially greater gains in their research confidence compared to students who started out with higher levels of self-efficacy. The findings are discussed in the context of the accrediting body of schools of social work in the United States, and have implications for how social work educators approach research instruction with social work students.