SW 5020--Social Work Research Methodology

Library Home

SW 5020--Social Work Research Methods
Instructor: Robin Ringstad

Citations and abstracts of research articles on social work, human services, social welfare, social policy, and community development from 1977 - present.
University Library's homepage. http://library.csustan.edu/
Under Find Articles, click Social Work.
Click on Social Services Abstracts.

Searching Social Services Abstracts:

Use core terms or phrases to represent the concepts of your search. If you are unsure of the correct terminology to represent the concepts in your search, use the online thesaurus under Search Tools.
Place each unique concept in a separate row.
Use the word and to connect the concepts (for example, foster care and parent satisfaction).
Place synonyms that represent a concept in the same row but different columns.
Use the word or to connect synonyms (for example, domestic violence or family violence).
Browse through the results and look at the descriptors to get ideas for other search terms.
Click on Journal Articles Only for abstracts from scholarly publications.

Finding Articles:

Click the button to determine if the full text of the article is available.
A link will be provided if the article is available in a library database.
If the article is available in the University Library's print collection in Turlock, a link will be provided to the library's catalog.
You may obtain articles from journals that are not subscribed by the University Library by clicking on Interlibrary Loan from the University Library's homepage. Use the article request form.
Some articles will be available as PDF files to download.

Remote Access:

When you click on the name of the database from off-campus, enter either your CSUStan e-mail ID before the @ sign or the 14 digit library ID number (begins with "209") used prior to fall semester 2008.

Citations and abstracts of research published in sociology journals and dissertations from 1963 - present.
University Library's homepage. http://library.csustan.edu/
Under Find Articles, click Social Work.
Click on Sociological Abstracts.
Use the same steps to search as described above.

Many full text articles from social science journals from 1984-present.
Use the online thesaurus to check for subject headings representing the concepts of your search.
Limit options include Full Text Articles and Peer Reviewed journals.
When browsing the results, check the Suggested Subjects for other search terms.
Use the same steps to search as described above.

Citations and abstracts of research published in psychology journals from 1887 - present, and dissertations and select books from 1987 - present.
University Library's homepage. http://library.csustan.edu/
Under Find Articles, click Social Work.
Click on PsycINFO.
You may limit your search by Publication Type (All Journals, Peer-Reviewed Journal), Intended Audience, Document Type, and Methodology (Empirical Study).
Use the same steps to search as described above.
Browse through the results and look at the subjects and keywords to get ideas for other search terms.
Some articles may be retrieved from PsycINFO by clicking on PDF Full Text.

Index to over 8 million articles published in over 3000 periodicals, including 2500 peer-reviewed journals representing all disciplines. Also includes the full-text of the articles from over 1500 peer-reviewed journals and 500 general periodicals.
University Library's homepage. http://library.csustan.edu/
Under Find Articles, click Social Work.
Click on Academic Search Elite.
Use the same steps to search as described above.

Contains the full text of over one million theses or dissertations in the subject areas of Social Sciences and Humanities.
University Library's homepage. http://library.csustan.edu/
Under Find Articles, click Theses and Dissertations.
Click ProQuest Dissertations.
Search by the author, title, or the subject of the thesis or dissertation.
Retrieve an abstract (summary), a 24 page preview, or a PDF file containing the full text of the thesis or dissertation.
Click Full Text-PDF to read or save a copy of the complete dissertation to your desktop or flash drive.
E-mail a summary and a link to the full text of the thesis or dissertation.
You may obtain a thesis or dissertation not available in full text through Interlibrary Loan from the University Library's homepage. Use the book request form.

A compilation of social, political, and economic statistics tabulated by agencies of the United States government.

Features statistics on California, bulletins on state and federal policy developments, and an online library of research publications focusing on policy issues.

Some Books on Theses/Dissertations Available in the CSU Stanislaus Library

Garson, G. D. (2002). Guide to writing empirical papers, theses, and dissertations. LB2369 .G27 2002
Mauch, J. E. (2003). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: A handbook for students and faculty. LB2369 .M377 2003
Pyrczak, F. (2000). Completing your thesis or dissertation: Professors share their techniques and strategies. LB2369 .C66x 2000
Slade, C. (2003). Form and style: Research papers, reports, theses. RES LB2369 .C3 2003
Thomas, R. M. (2000). Theses and dissertations: A guide to planning, research, and writing. LB2369 .T458 2000
Webster, W. G. (1998). 21 models for developing and writing theses, dissertations, and projects: A book of practical approaches, ideas and solutions for conceptualizing, organizing, developing, and finalizing your graduate research requirements. LB2369 .W385 1998

How to Cite Information

Revised by Warren Jacobs, Reference Librarian, 9/08
wjacobs@csustan.edu