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Social Work

This guide will help you get started when you are doing research in the area of Social Work.

Why bother with databases?

why?

Everson, B. (2012). Why? [photo]. CC. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/6698208975/

1. Databases are the best way to find articles (journals, magazines & newspapers

2. Most of what you find on Google isn't scholarly.

3. When you do find something scholarly on Google, the site often asks you to pay for it.

4. You should never have to pay for content.  That's what the library is for!

What Does Peer-Review Mean?

peer review process

http://www.aibs.org/public-programs/news/understanding-science-poster-voting.html

Good Databases to Try for Social Work

For Social Work research, I would suggest beginning with these databases:

Other Databases to Try

How Do I Get the Article?

Once you've found citations relevant to the topic you're working with and you need to get a copy of the articles, you'll need to verify whether FLITE owns the particular journal in which each article was published. Many databases now have a link called "Find It", which gives you the range of options available to find the material. If the full text of the article is available, you will be able to find the article by clicking on the Go button.

Sometimes the Find It button will provide a link to the Library Catalog. This indicates that the journal is found in FLITE's print collection. If you are off-campus and can't come to FLITE, simply order the article through Interlibrary Loan and mention you are an off-campus student in the Notes field.

The Find It link only shows the ILL option, then you will need to request it through your ILL account. When you order an article through ILL, it will always be scanned and available as a PDF. The articles do expire eventually from your account so be sure to save a copy to your computer.

For more information on Find It, check out this quick tutorial: Using Find It (SFX) Links tutorial

How Do I Find a Specific Journal?

Sometimes you already have a citation and want to track down the journal article. You don't want to go through every database to see where it might be - and you don't have to!

Click on the Journals tab and then click on Search by Title. Type in the journal title (not the article title). 

If FLITE takes the journal it will appear in the list. Note the year(s) range to determine if the year you are looking for is available.