Alabama's Public Liberal Arts University

Carmichael Library

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Class Handouts ~ SWK322/Psyc322 Dr. Vaughn

 

The library research component of SWK322/PSYC322  teaches the skills necessary to locate and access appropriate professional literature, including research articles and data to describe a vulnerable client population. 

Students enrolled in SWK322/PSYC322 are expected to successfully complete a Literature Review paper and to locate newspaper articles on conditions in the  state of Alabama.  The following list of research sources, particularly the Library Databases, will assist you in your research.  

Contact Mrs. Kathy Lowe
Reference and Instruction Librarian 665-6109
lowek@montevallo,.edu
for additional assistance

Literature Review Assignment
Library Catalog
Professional journal articles in Library Databases
Social Work Abstracts (available in print only)
Census Data
Newspaper Articles
Specialized Reference sources
Interlibrary Loan
 

Social Work Research Guide

Books
Books in the Library can provide a wide variety of valuable information to the student of social work and psychology.  Use the Library Catalog to search the subject headings appropriate to your topic.

The red 5 volume print copy of the Library of Congress Subject Headings are located near the Reference Desk on the Main Floor, call number:

Cat. Z 695 .Z8 L524a 200

Suggested Library of Congress Subject headings :

Correct LC Subject Heading NOT 
Social Service Social Work
Family Social work  Social work with families
Psychiatric social work Social work with the mentally ill
Social work with criminals Social work with prisoners

Generally, searching the Library catalog using keywords as you would on Yahoo! or Google is not the most efficient way to locate library materials in the field of social work.

Using the Library of Congress Subject Headings retrieves the most accurate list of library materials.

WorldCat
Contains records of library materials worldwide. If a book you’re looking for is not available in our Library, consult WorldCat as well as the guidelines for Interlibrary Loan.

JOURNALS  
The Library subscribes to professional journals in the field of Social Work. Use the Catalog to locate specific formats and locations of particular issues you need.

  • FOR EXAMPLE
    The Catalog record for Social Service Review indicates the various formats;
    Microfiche
    Microfilm
    Bound
    Unbound and the various years and volumes the Library holds.

Characteristics of Research Journals 
(what to look for to be sure you have a professional journal article)

  • Scholarly journals generally have a sober, serious look. They often contain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.
  • Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies.
  • Are written by and for faculty, researchers or scholars
  • Uses scholarly or technical language
  • Tend to be longer articles about research
  • The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world
  • Are often refereed or peer reviewed (articles are reviewed by an editor and other specialists before being accepted for publication)
  • Book reviews and editorials are not considered scholarly articles, even when found in scholarly journals
  • Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization

    For example in the field of Social Work, NASW, the National Association of Social Workers, one of the premier professional organizations for social workers, publishes several journals :
    Social Work, Health & Social Work, Children & Schools, Social Work Research.  NASW also publishes Social Work Abstracts, an abstracting service that indexes over 400 leading social work journals.

 

Professional Journal articles 
The following databases will link you to articles in professional journals.

If you are unsure the journal article you choose from a Database is from a professional journal, please ask a Reference Librarian to assist you. 

When searching the databases I recommend you include the terms Social work in addition to client population and research topic

Example: social work AND elderly AND abuse

Academic Search Premier
Expanded Academic ASAP

PsycArticles
PsycINFO
Social Science Full text
ERIC
Provides access to leading journals in the field of education and counseling

Central Search
Central Search is a federated search engine for searching across the library's databases from one interface.

 

SOCIAL WORK JOURNALS in Carmichael Library
The following journals are available in print or microfiche in the Library.  Consult the Library catalog for exact holding information.

Affilia
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
Child Maltreatment
Journal of Community Practice
Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work
Journal of Family Violence
Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services
Journal of Gerontological Social Work
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Journal of Poverty
Journal of Public Child Welfare
Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions
Journals of Gerontology: Series B- Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences Research on Social Work Practice
Research on Social Work Practice
School Social Work Journal
Social Service Review
Social Work
Social Work in Health Care
Social Work with Groups 

 

SOCIAL WORK ABSTRACTS (available in print only )
Published quarterly by NASW, Social Work Abstracts is the primary source of articles on social work and social welfare.  About 450 journals are reviewed each year and approximately 450 abstracts are included in each issue.

Available at the Circulation Desk on Reserve

v. 43 no. 1-3  March 2007-September 2007 

Older editions located on the Main Floor outside the Reference Librarians offices
Social Work Abstracts 1965- 2006  (Index HV 1 .S6455)

Census data
US Census Bureau United States Department of Commerce
 

Census in Schools Educator Update, February 2007
Includes  A Child’s Day: 2003 [PDF] the third examination of children’s well-being and their daily activities based on the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Nearly 1 in 4 children in the 12- to 17-year-old age group were in a special class for gifted students or did advanced work in an academic subject.

Alabama Center for Health Statistics offers detailed vital statistics such as infant mortality and county-specific and state data on births, deaths, pregnancies, HIV, etc.

Alabama FactFinder
New website for 2002 US Census data on Alabama complied by University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration

Alabama State Data Center 
The Alabama State Data Center (ASDC) is a network of 27 public agencies working together through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of the Census to facilitate use and delivery of Census and other data to the public

Center for Business and Economic Research (University of Alabama)
A valuable site for Alabama statistical data and demographics  from the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration

KIDS COUNT ( a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation)
Print copy located in Ref. HQ796 .U5 C37

VOICES for Alabama's Children
Print copy located in Ref. HA221 .A36

Newspaper Articles
LexisNexis Academic Universe
LexisNexis Academic provides searchable access to a comprehensive spectrum of full-text information from over 5,600 sources, selected to meet academic research needs, including:

National and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, and non-English language sources.

Birmingham News Special Report on The Black Belt: Alabama's Third World
A year long series on the problems of the Alabama's Black Belt won the Public Service Award in the annual Alabama Press Association contest for 2002. 

ProQuest Newspapers
Provides access to full-text articles in the New York Times and other leading newspapers. 

Birmingham News Archives (1993- present)
Provides online access to headlines and the first paragraph of a news story from 1993- present. Use the online Archives to locate the first paragraph and the exact date of the story.  For full text access to the entire article, the Library provides a  microfilm copy of the Birmingham News from 1955- present.  If necessary, ask for assistance from a librarian in locating the particular article on microfilm.

Specialized Reference Resources
Consult the list of Suggested Reference Sources for social work research in the Reference Collection.

Interlibrary Loan

Time Management.  Locating the minimum amount of sources (10)  required for your Literature Review may involve asking another library for material. Often it takes weeks to receive the sources you request. Please work with Mrs. Lowe or Mrs. Patsy Sears early on in your research to assure that material you request from another library arrives in a timely manner