SOW 6404 Library Research in Social Work
Librarian: Ken Frankel
February 9, 2006

A Social Work research guide, including both electronic and print  resources is available at: http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/ref/rsguide/sociwork/Main.htm

I. Locating books in the Library:

1. WebLUIS : click on "Catalog" or "Books". The following types of basic searches are available:

A. Keywords: can be truncated with a ? e.g. addict? will search for addicts, addiction, etc.  Also, you can search for 2 keywords next to each other this way: social ADJ work.
B. Author's Name: last name first, you don't need to capitalize
C. Title: if a title starts with "The," "A," or "An," omit that and skip to the next word.
D. Subject: must be entered in a very specific manner.  You may get a cross-reference for example: social work gives a cross reference to use "social service".  Some examples of subject headings that might be useful:

• social policy
• social service
• social service–United States–history
• child welfare

E. Journal/Magazine Title: be sure to check the "Library Has" link to see which dates the Library owns. (Note: not all electronic journals we have are cataloged in WebLUIS. There is also a link to a list of all electronic journals available at FAU.)

The advanced search screen allows you to combine terms using "and", "or", "not" as well as limiting a search by location, date, format, or language.

  Note:  The WebLUIS system will be phased out in Summer 2006.

II. Searching for articles in databases:

To search for articles click on "Indexes/Databases" or "Articles". There are both alphabetical and subject listings of databases. The Library provides access to the two major social work databases: Social Work Abstracts and Social Services Abstracts. In addition, there are number of databases available on related topics: social sciences, psychology, criminal justice, law, etc.

Note: when using these databases from off-campus you must first log in through the EZ-Proxy link. You will need to enter the number from your Owl Card in order to do this.

Social Work Abstracts
Contains more than 45,000 records, spanning 1977 to the present, from social work and other related journals on topics such as homelessness, AIDS, child and family welfare, aging, substance abuse, legislation, community organization, and more. 

Social Services Abstracts
Provides bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. 

InfoTrac OneFile
A very large interdisciplinary database which allows the option of limiting searches to refereed journals only, search results with full-text only, or both. 

JSTOR
An archive of full-text scholarly journals.  Does not include most recent five years, but has complete back files.

LexisNexis Academic
Accesses over a billion full text news, magazine, legal, and business articles and reports, including newspapers, magazines, and government documents, state and federal laws and regulations, case law, newsletters, company and industry information.  

Social Sciences Full Text
Covers some 350 core periodicals in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, law and criminology, political science, social work, sociology, and international relations. 

Sociological Abstracts
CSA Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.

PAIS International
Consists of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs.

PsycArticles
Contains the full text of articles from APA journals and selected EPF journals, must from 1988 to the present.   

PsycINFO
Produced by the American Psychological Association, PsycINFO covers the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text general reference database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press -- English and Spanish language.  

Westlaw Campus
This resource includes access to the complete laws and statutes of the federal government and all 50 states, federal regulations, precedent-setting court decisions, KeyCite, American Law Reports, American Jurisprudence, and current and archived articles from hundreds of leading law reviews and journals. 

 III. Citing your References:

APA Style:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Ref BF 76.7 P83 2001) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

MLA Style:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Ref LB 2369 G53 2003) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

 

IV. Getting Research Help

Reference Email: "Ask a Librarian" form

Reference Instant Messaging

Reference Telephone 561-297-3785

Reference Consultations: meet with a librarian to receive individualized help http://www.library.fau.edu/eforms/refcon.htm