Welcome! This site is intended to be a link to research-based evidence about group work. The purpose is to make research evidence available to those who want to make group work demonstrably more effective and beneficial to participants. As the site develops, we will include more material. In the meantime, take advantage of the resources in the left column.
What is Evidence-Based Group Work (EBGW)? More fully described in the book to the right, EBGW is "a critical process of the judicious and skillful application in group
work of the best evidence, based on research merit, impact, and
applicability, using evaluation to ensure desired results are achieved”
(Macgowan, 2008, p. 3, click on book for more information). EBGW consists of the following four stages in which group workers 1) formulate a clinical question; 2) search for evidence to answer the question; 3) evaluate the
evidence for research merit, impact, and applicability (yielding best available evidence); and 4) apply the evidence
and evaluate for desired effects. This site was developed to help make the search for evidence—the second step in the process of EBGW—more efficient and effective. This site provides search terms and resources for finding group-based evidence. Please explore the links on the left.
A caveat! All information gathered through this site must be evaluated for research merit, clinical impact, and its applicability. For guides and checklists about how to evaluate the quality of information in these three areas, please consult the book above.
