Abstract:

Journal club is identified as one specific tool to improve education in several areas (medical, engineering, etc). Although the benefits of a journal club are implicit, few empirical studies tie them to theory. The aim of the current experience was the development of an exercise of Journal club in a group of 50 graduate students to improve their specific skills in reading, comprehending, evaluating and discussing a scientific text. The students were divided in groups of work to analyze several papers of different topics on veterinary sciences. The literature chosen was of different quality, mainly measured by the impact factor in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) of the journal where is published. The students analyzed the appropriateness of the research design, the appropriateness of the methods used and the clarity in materials description. Also the validity of results, how useful was and if these results might lead to new research or to new applications in the field studied was discussed. Finally, criticism of discussion and conclusions part took place and references were analyzed. The students actively participate in this activity and they reported to be pleased as the Journal Club helped to be more familiar with the scientific literature and addition, it stimulated the improve in their skills of understanding and debating. In conclusion, this activity in Veterinary Sciences can be seen as a way of enhancing a future researcher's current thinking. The students’ experiences of learning through inquiry using Journal club lead to some benefits as knowledge accumulation, collaboration and peer-learning.

Keywords:

Journal club, Higher education, Veterinary sciences.