LibGuides: SW 416: Social Work Research I (McNamara)

Handouts & Presentations

Research Methodology Texts

Research Methods for Social Work by Allen Rubin; Earl R. Babbie
Call Number: HV11 .R84 2011

ISBN: 9780495811718

Publication Date: 2010-01-01

Widely considered the best text for the course, RESEARCH METHODS FOR SOCIAL WORK, 7e combines a rigorous, comprehensive presentation of all aspects of the research endeavor with a thoroughly reader-friendly approach that helps students overcome the fear-factor often associated with this course. Allen Rubin and Earl R. Babbie's classic bestseller is acclaimed for its depth and breadth of coverage, clear and often humorous writing style, student-friendly examples, and ideal balance of quantitative and qualitative research techniques--illustrating how the two methods complement one another.
Research for Social Workers by Margaret Alston; Wendy Bowles
Call Number: E-Book

ISBN: 9780415506779

Publication Date: 2012-10-11

Social work is developing its own research orientation and knowledge base, springing from the research traditions of sociology and psychology and grounded in human rights and social justice. Effective social research relies on critical thinking and the ability to view situations from new perspectives. It is relevant to every area of social work practice: from the initial stages of an intervention, to planning a course of action, and finally evaluating practice. Research for Social Workers is an accessible introduction to the research methods most commonly used in social work and social welfare. The major stages of research projects are outlined step by step, including analysing results and reporting. It is written in non-technical language for students and practitioners without a strong maths background. Illustrated with examples from across the world, this book captures the realities of social work research in a wide range of settings. End of chapter exercises and questions make this an ideal introduction to research methods. This third edition is fully revised and updated. It includes new chapters on systematic reviews and research in crisis situations, as well as more substantial coverage of statistics.
Research methods for social workers : a practice-based approach by Samuel S. Faulkner. Cynthia A. Faulkner
Call Number: E-Book

Publication Date: 2019

Finding Peer-Reviewed Journals

To search for a specific journal, click on the A-Z list of journals link and type in the name of the journal. The record for the journal will indicate if it is online or print, along with the years that it is available. Below are some peer-reviewed journal examples:

Most of the Libraries databases will allow you to limit your search to peer-reviewed/scholarly journals, but if you need to double check on whether or not a journal is considered peer-reviewed, check on the following database:

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Good for: Finding information about serials published worldwide.
Contains: Directory of periodicals.

Provides detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on serials published throughout the world, including whether or not they are peer reviewed. It covers all subjects and includes information about publications that are published regularly or irregularly and are circulated free of charge or by paid subscription.

UNLV Library Databases

UNLV Libraries QuickSearch
Allows you to search multiple resources at one time.

Academic Search Premier
Good for: Conducting academic research on all subjects.
Contains: Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.
AgeLine
Good for: Researching social gerontology, health care, public policy, employment, and consumer issues.
Contains: Abstracts.
Dates covered: 1978-present.
Child Development and Adolescent Studies
Good for: Researching child development and adolescent studies.
Contains: Current and historical scholarly literature.
EBSCO Databases
With this EBSCO link, you can search for multiple databases at one time (such as SocINDEX with Fulltext, Academic Search Premier, and AgeLine).

Lists more than 30 databases available through the EBSCOhost interface. The databases index all subject areas with solid coverage of business, education, film, health, psychology, sociology, and sports. For each database there is a description of the content and some link to a Title List of indexed journals. Most databases contain full text articles from academic journals. Choose a single database to search or select multiple databases and search them simultaneously.
Family & Society Studies Worldwide
Good for: Researching family science, human ecology, human development, and social welfare.
Contains: Journal articles.
Dates covered: 1970-present.
PAIS International
Good for: Finding information on public policy, social policy, and the social sciences.
Contains: Index to literature.
Dates covered: 1972-present.

From the Public Affairs Information Service, this database provides access to the literature of public policy, social policy, and the social sciences in general. It includes records from journals, books, conference proceedings, research and government reports, and directories. Use it to locate journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, and web content.
Social Services Abstracts
Good for: Finding abstracts of research in social work, human services, social policy, and community development.
Contains: Abstracts of published scholarship.
Dates covered: 1979-present.

Social Services Abstracts identify and summarize current research in social work, human services, social policy, and community development.
SocINDEX with Full Text
Good for: Researching sociology and related disciplines.
Contains: Index to literature.
Dates covered: 1895-present.

Includes selected journals, monographs, and conference papers. Encompasses all subdisciplines of sociology, including abortion, anthropology, criminology, criminal justice, marriage & family, politics, religion, rural sociology, social psychology, social structure, social work, sociological theory, sociology of education, substance abuse, urban studies, and many others.
Las Vegas Review Journal (NewsBank)
Good for: Searching the text of articles published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Contains: Article text (no images).
Dates covered: 1996-present.
Social Work Abstracts
Good for: Finding professional journal articles about social work
Contains: Journal articles.
Dates covered: 1977-present.

From the National Association of Social Workers, this database provides access to professional journal articles about social work from all areas of the profession.
PubMed
Good for: Finding medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, health care, and preclinical sciences articles.
Contains: Indexed citations and abstracts to journal articles.
Cochrane Library
Good for: Finding evidence-based medicine reviews and information.
Contains: Collection of evidence-based medicine databases.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar
Google Scholar searches for scholarly materials such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from broad areas of research. Google Scholar searches a variety of undisclosed academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. The full text of many items is freely available online, although in some instances abstracts with links to pay-per-view document delivery services are displayed.

Click on the UNLV Find Text link to see if the library subscribes to the publication.
Google Scholar Setup Tipsheet

RefWorks

RefWorks
Good for: Saving, organizing and formatting citations in your personal database.
Contains: Bibliography manager.

This web-based bibliography manager lets you save citations to journal articles, books, web sites and more into your personal online database. You'll be able to quickly link to online articles, organize and share your references, and automatically create formatted bibliographies in all the major citation formats, including APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. Learn more on the RefWorks Basics page.

ProQuest RefWorks Extensive Guide

What is RefWorks?

RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic software package that enables you to:

Organize your research
Create a bibliography in a variety of citation styles, including APA, MLA and Chicago
Import references from many data sources
Create bibliographies in different document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)
Include citations while you write your paper

RefWorks Instructions

APA Resources from UNLV Writing Center, Purdue OWL, and APA

APA Style and Grammar Guidelines
From APA: Detailed instructions and examples from the 7th edition
Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style
from APA
Free DOI Lookup Tool
Provides a DOI for an article citation when one is available.
Is it Plagiarism Yet? (Purdue OWL)
Explains when to give credit to another person for their intellectual work (and how to do it correctly). Look for the "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing" section on the left for examples of each.

Subject Guide

Susie Skarl, Urban Affairs Librarian

Email Me

Contact:

UNLV Libraries
Lied Library
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Box 457014
Las Vegas, NV 89154-7014
susie.skarl@unlv.edu

702-895-2141

Subjects: Communication Studies, Couple & Family Therapy, Criminal Justice, Crisis & Emergency Management, Government Information, Journalism & Media Studies, Public Administration, Social Work, Urban Studies

SW 416: Social Work Research I (McNamara)