Social Work Research Guide

This guide is the starting point for identifying, locating, using, and evaluating  materials relating to Social Work in the Carmichael Library and on Internet.  If you need additional assistance, please Ask a Librarian or contact Kathleen Lowe,  Reference Librarian, at lowek@montevallo.edu or 205-665-6109.

Finding Library Materials     
Library Catalog
The Library Catalog is often the best place to begin research. Search by author, title, subject, keyword, or a variety of other specialized searches.

Examples of Library of Congress subject headings appropriate for the discipline of Social Work include:

• Social Service (not Social Work)

• Social Service - Research

• Social work with juvenile delinquents  

• Social work with the aged 

• Family social work

To obtain an authoritative list of subject headings check the Library of Congress Subject Headings, near the Ask Here desk.

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Call Numbers
Carmichael Library uses the Library of Congress system to organize its materials. 
Call number ranges for Social Work material include:

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Reference Materials
Reference materials include dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and indexes.  They are good starting points in the research process.

General sources are good starting points in the research process. Several examples of general reference materials available for use in the Carmichael Library include the following:

• Encyclopedia of Social Work  
  Ref  HV 35 .S6 19th

• Social Work Dictionary  
  Ref HV 12 .B37

• Social Workers' Desk Reference  
  Ref HV 40 .S6464

Specific reference sources in Social Work provide information on gender, age,  social issues and vocational guidance.    

• Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family  
  Ref HQ 9 .E52 1995

• Encyclopedia of Family Life 
  Ref HQ534 .E53 1999

• Encyclopedia of Aging 
  Ref HQ 1061 .E53 2001

• Encyclopedia of Women and Crime 
  Ref HV 6046 .E56 2000

• The Encyclopedia of Child Abuse 
  Ref HV 6626.5 C57

• Guide to Selecting and Applying to Master of Social Work Programs 
  Ref HV 11 .R44 2000

Statistics and directories to community resources provide detailed demographic information and listings of community services.

• Community Organization Directory : Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce  Ref HS 2513 .B47

• Community Resources Directory : A guide to human service programs, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, Walker and Blount Counties  Alabama 
  Ref HV 98 .A2 C6

• Kids Count Data Book  
  Ref. HQ 796 .U5 C37

• Alabama Kids Count Data Book  
  Ref HA 221 .A36 

• Statistical Abstract of the United States   
  Ref HA 201 .A1 

• Alabama Wage Survey  
  Ref HA 225 .W34 

• Atlas of Alabama Counties  
  Ref HA 226 .A75

• Alabama County Health Profiles 2002  
  Ref HA 221 .C6 2002

• Alabama Selected Maternal and Child Health Statistics  
  Ref HA 221 .A366

• Statistical Atlas of Alabama  
  Ref HA 225 .S72

• Status of Women in Alabama  
  Ref HA 221 .A2 S698

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Print Indexes
Social Work Abstracts is published quarterly by NASW, National Association of Social Workers.  Social Work Abstracts provides indexing to professional articles located in core social work journals.  It is an indispensable tool for locating professional journal articles in the field of social work.

• Social Work Abstracts is available in print only. 

• Recent copies are kept on Reserve at the Library's Circulation Desk 

• Bound volumes of Social Work Abstracts from  v. 1, 1964 - v. 39, 2004 are located on the Main Floor outside the Interlibrary Loan Office.

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Journals and Periodicals
Journals and periodicals are published at regular intervals in print and electronically.

Social Work periodicals available in the Carmichael Library include the following:

• 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

• School Social Work Journal

• Social Service Review

• Social Work

• Social Work in Health Care

• Social Work with Groups: a Journal of Community and Clinical Practice

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Electronic Resources
Databases

Electronic access to journal articles is available from the Databases  page.  Most databases can be searched using author, title or subject in either basic or advanced search formats. The results of a search will include either a citation, a citation and abstract, or a citation, abstract and full text of the article depending on the database searched.

Listed below are the databases pertaining to Social Work  that are available from the Databases page.  You can access these, and other databases, from the Databases by name page or the Databases by subject page.

• Academic Search Premier     Full Text  

• Expanded Academic ASAP     Full Text  

• PsycINFO     Full Text

• ERIC     Index and Abstracts

Additional information about specific databases is available at each database site. 

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Internet Links
Several recognized Social Works sites are listed below:

• America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well Being 2006

• Center for Disease Control

• Social Work Access Network

Additional Resources
Associations
Associations provide a forum for the exchange of ideas within a profession. 

• National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

• Association for Community Organization & Social Administration

• Child Welfare League of America

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Government Resources
The U.S. Government and the state of Alabama publish a large amount of data and resources both electronically and in print.  Government resources specific to Social Work  are listed below:

• Alabama Center for Health Statistics

• 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

• American FactFinder
  U.S. Census Bureau site for population, housing, economic and geographic data

• 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.

• United States Department of Health & Human Services
  The Department of Health and Human Services and it’s subsequent agencies oversee many of the laws relating to social work. 

• FirstGov.gov
  The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal. 
  Choose A-Z Agency Index for a complete listing of all US agencies

• KIDS COUNT ( a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation)

• National Center for Health Statistics

• Bureau of Justice Statistics 

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