JOURNAL CLUB FEEDBACK TEMPLATE
A good journal club teaches people to read evidence critically, not just to hear a summary of a paper. This template asks attendees whether the presenter helped them understand the methods and decide what the findings mean for practice, and collects ideas for the next paper.
Free plan available. No card required.The easy version of journal club feedback asks whether people liked the talk. This form asks the questions that separate a good journal club from a paper summary: did the presenter make the methods understandable, did they appraise the paper’s weaknesses, and did the room come away with a view on whether it should change practice.
For the presenter, that is useful evidence of two things curricula care about: teaching colleagues and applying critical appraisal. For whoever organises the meeting, the reports build up a picture of which papers and formats keep people coming back.
The last question asks for suggestions for the next paper. It is a small thing, but a journal club that picks papers its audience asked for is one people turn up to.
1 is not useful, 5 is extremely useful.
Rating, 1–5
Why it’s asked. A headline score for the presenter and a trend line for the organiser.
1 is unclear, 5 is very clear.
Rating, 1–5
Why it’s asked. Explaining study design and statistics clearly is the hardest part of presenting a paper, and the part worth getting feedback on.
Multiple choice · Yes, thoroughly · Somewhat · Not really
Why it’s asked. Distinguishes critical appraisal from summary. It is what turns a presentation into evidence of appraisal skills.
Multiple choice · Yes · Not yet — more evidence needed · No · Not sure
Why it’s asked. Shows whether the session got the room to a conclusion. A spread of answers can be a sign of a good discussion, not a bad talk.
Long text
Why it’s asked. Specific, quotable comments for the presenter’s reflection.
Long text
Why it’s asked. Gives the organiser a ready-made list of papers people actually want to discuss.
When the form closes — on a date you set, or when you close it — BetterForms writes the report for you: a chart for every question and every written answer, plus themes and an executive summary on plans that include analysis. Print it or save it as a PDF, share a read-only link, or export the raw responses to CSV or Google Sheets. Here is what people do with it.
Presenters can save the report as a PDF and add it to their e-portfolio for ARCP, alongside the paper and slides. It shows both teaching colleagues and applying critical appraisal — and how well the audience thought you did it.
Compare how well people felt the methods were explained with your own sense of how hard the paper was. It is a natural, specific starting point for a reflective entry on evidence-based practice.
If you run journal club, the suggestions question gives you a list of papers people asked for, and the scores show which formats worked best. Export responses to CSV or sync them to Google Sheets to keep a running record across meetings.
Organising or regularly presenting at journal club is worth recording. Reports from each meeting show it was valued, not just that it happened.
It opens in the editor as your own form. Change any question, then share it with a link or a QR code. Or start from a blank form and let AI draft the questions for you.
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