Facilitating Writing by Practitioners: Survey of Practitioners Who Have Published

The profession would benefit if practitioners viewed disseminating knowledge, including writing for publication, as part of professional practice. The literature has acknowledged the importance of practitioners' contributions to the profession's knowledge base, but little is known about what facilitates practitioners' writing for publication or what barriers they experience. A survey was mailed to practitioners who had published in social work peer-reviewed journals to obtain information about practitioners' experiences and to solicit their ideas on what the profession, human services agencies, and schools of social work could do to enhance the ability of practitioners to write for publication. Practitioners' recommendations for efforts that might increase writing for publication include continued collaborative efforts between academic researchers and practitioners, as well as suggestions for what social work educators and social services agencies can do to enhance the ability of practitioners to write for publication.