FCC Research Guides: Sociology and Social Work: Social Work Resources

Best Resources for Background Information about Social Work

Gale Virtual Reference Library ("Gale Ebooks") This link opens in a new window
The Library's Wikipedia! Search a number of specialized encyclopedias in biography, law, business, substance abuse, multiculturalism, education and more.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Overviews of current controversies in public policy.

Wikipedia
Great source for finding background information if used correctly. See the Using Wikipedia for Academic Research video for more.

Academic Peer-Reviewed Journals in Social Work

Most disciplines have Journals dedicated to the study and practice of that discipline, and Social Work is no exception. Professional Social Workers routinely read, and often publish, articles in these types of journals to stay up-to-date on the latest findings and ideas in the field.
Search Tip: Once you click on a journal title below, click on the "Search within this publication" link on the Journal homepage. This will add a command to the search box to do a search just in that journal. ONE MORE THING: make sure to add parentheses around the command and the Journal Name before doing your search. So a good search would look like this: (JN "Social Work") addiction

Social Work Journals available in Academic Search Premier:

Social Work
Publishes articles on all aspects of social work and social welfare that yield new insights into established practices, evaluate new techniques and research, examine current social problems, or provide critical analysis on problems in the profession.
Social Work Education
Presents a forum for international debate on important issues & provides an opportunity for the expression of new ideas & proposals on the structure & content of social care & social work education, training & development.
Social Work Research
Publishes articles, review articles and commentary focusing on social work and practice-based research, evaluation and research studies contributing to knowledge about social work issues and problems.

Social Work Journals available in JSTOR:

Search Tip: Once you click on the journal title below, use the small search box found at the top right of the Journal's home page, to search only in this Journal.

Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
A peer-reviewed publication dedicated to presenting innovative, rigorous original research on social problems, intervention programs, and policies.

Best Databases for Scholarly Journal Articles about Social Work

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Thousands of full-text general, education, medical, and business articles and documents. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Includes scholarly journals in history, political science, sociology, math, statistics,and other arts, humanities, and social science fields. NOTICE: If this image, , is displayed next to an article, that article is not available to read for free.
PsycARTICLES (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Scholarly Peer-Reviewed articles in Psychology. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.

Finding Social Work Journal Articles in Google Scholar

Google Scholar is another great resource to find scholarly journal articles. Follow these steps to limit your search to Social Work Journals ONLY:

1. Go to Google Scholar at scholar.google.com

2. On the Google Scholar Search page click on the little down arrow at the far right of the search box to open the Advanced Search page:

3. On the advanced search page, in the "Returned Articles Published in" field, add the term: social work

4. Then type your search terms in the "with all of the words" field at the very top of the box and hit the search button.

WARNING: Many of the articles found in a Google Scholar do not include full-text articles without payment. Look for a short link to the right of the main result link. If there is a short link the article may be available for free. NEVER PAY for an article.

Social Work Websites

Information for Practice
From NYU, a site to help social service professionals throughout the world conveniently maintain an awareness of news regarding the profession and emerging scholarship.
National Association of Social Workers
The largest membership organization of professional social workers works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.
National Center for Health Statistics
From the CDC, one of the best places to find statistics related to the health and well-being of Americans.

Google Tips to Find Better Resources

Type your search into Google and add the site: command to limit the search to certain domains
- site:.edu
- site:.gov
- site:.org
Tip for finding social organizations working to solve a problem:
- Type the name of the problem
- Add site:.org to the search box
- Click Search
Tip for finding government policies:
- Type your search keywords
- Add the word policy
- Add site:.gov
- Click Search