Social Work Guide

You can search for journal articles in Primo and library databases.

For General Instructions: Finding Journal Articles

Pick an area to see the list of databases:

• Social Work
• Family Life & Child Life
• Women’s Studies

Research Nonprofits Online

• Urban Institute: Nonprofit research organization that supports research that informs public policy affecting community well being in the United States
• Congressional Research Service Reports: The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process.
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A nonpartisan research and policy institute that support federal and state policies designed to reduce poverty and inequality
• Institute for Research On Poverty (UW-Madison): University research institute focused on IRP researches the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality in the United States.
• Institute for Policy Research (Northwestern U): Interdisciplinary research on social, family, policy, and health issues.
• Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP): An independent, nonpartisan 501(c)4 organization which supports the Congressional Social Work Caucus in the US House of Representatives
• Brooking Institute: One of Washington’s oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development.
• Center for the Study of Social Policy: The Center’s work is concentrated in the areas of family and children’s services; income supports, neighborhood-based services, education reform, family support, disability and health care policy, and long term care for the elderly.
• Center for Law and Social Policy: Includes global social policy, state-by-state policy data, child welfare, prisoner re-entry and other welfare policy matters. Includes many publications.

Other Websites

• GovTrack Social Welfare Page: Browse Federal Bills related to Social Welfare, including those not yet enacted.
• PolicyArchive Global, non-partisan public policy research videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research.
• National Association of Social Workers: Legislative Issues Current activities of Congress on: child welfare, civil rights, economic equity, education, health, loan forgiveness, and mental health issues.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
• Northwestern U Social Policy Library Guide See the websites listed under Education, Health, and Urban Policy tabs
• UW-Madison Social Issues Websites A great resources for ideas and background information for social issues

Watch a video about finding full-text of articles

Finding Journal Title in Primo

1. Open  Primo Journal Title Search
   
2. Search for the Journal’s Title
3. Click on the Journal title in the search results.
4. Search inside the journal for keywords on the journal page or open a database link to browse by year or volume.

Journal Titles

• Browzine eJournal Social Work Shelf
• Browzine EJournal Social Policy Shelf

Use these search techniques to locate Primary Research inside databases.

Add the following row of keywords to your search: (methods AND results) OR methodology OR “case study” OR “this study” OR “a study”.

You will want to copy and paste this entire row of keywords into its own search box (see first example below).

Important! From your list of results, you will still need to examine each article to see if it is primary research.

You can search for books & ebooks in Primo.

General Instructions & Search Boxes: Finding Books

Find a specific book or chapter

Browse Print Books in the Library

Library of Congress Call Numbers

HN         Social Problems

HV         Social Services

Using E-Books

Watch a Video about CUW Ebooks

Reference Books

Background Information

• Encyclopedia of Social Work The Wikipedia of Social Work, this resource provides articles about social work, sociology, healthcare, and public policy maintained by SW faculty
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services Glossary of Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Information for Practice: News & New Scholarship From Around the World News website developed by a Professor of Social Work, Dr. Holden. Includes links to newly published scholarship, daily news, and  “grey literature” (for example, government documents, unpublished reports, clinical practice treatment protocols, etc.).

Social Work Education

• Council on Social Work Education Great Teaching and learning resources for faculty & students
• NASW Student Career Resources Job searching help, professional ethics, & financial programs for students

• UWM’s Milwaukee Neighborhoods Guide Information and Statistics on health, housing, the environment, and demographics of Milwaukee neighborhoods.
• Children’s Bureau National data on adoption, foster care, and child abuse and neglect
• Kid Count Data Center State level comparative data on child well-being presented in an interactive report-generating format
• AgingStats.Gov The Federal Inter-agency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics
• Social Security Administration: Research, Statistics & Policy Analysis A combined portal from three Social Security Administration offices
• Disability Data Resources Web portal for U.S. disability statistics, from the U.S. Department of Labor

Demographic Data & Statistics

• Gapminder  international economic, medical and social statistics
• UNICEF: international data about children and women
• International Database: demographic information for 228 countries with 5,000 or more people from UDS
• American Fact Finder United States Community Information based on the US Census
• Open Data Network U.S. Data organized by state and metro area.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States: historical census data 1889-2010

Here are some resources about doing research in this subject area.

Evidence-Based Practice Research

• Campbell Corporation Online Library (EBP)
  Systematic reviews and EBP summaries on social work topics
• SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center
  A collection of scientifically-based resources including Treatment Improvement Protocols, tool kits, resource guides, clinical practice guidelines, and other science-based resources.
• National Guideline Clearinghouse
  Government guidelines for EBP health care research

Government Resources

Child Welfare Information Gateway (USDHHS)
Government website with news and information about child welfare related topics and services.

Other Library Research Guides

• Evidence-Based Practice for the Helping Professions
• Literature Reviews in Social Work (BU)
• Evidence Based Social Work Research (UWM)

Recommended Help Guides

• Literature Searching
• Writing with Sources (Citing)

Professional Organizations

• National Association of Social Workers
  The largest professional organization of social workers in the US
  • Wisconsin Chapter of NASW
• North American Association of Christians in Social Work
  a non-profit Christian social work professional organization focused on promoting the integration of Christian faith into professional social work practice.
• School Social Work Association of America
  The largest professional organization for school social work in the US
• Wisconsin School Social Work (DPI)
  Information about School Social work license requirements and best practices in Wisconsin

Certification

• American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work
  Information on certification and national practice standards

Exam Study guides are located in the library Main Stacks at:  HV 40

ASWB Exam Preparation Ebooks in Primo

Online Resources

1. Open LearningExpress Library
2. From the homepage select Career Preparation
3. Click on Prepare for an Occupation Exam
4. Scroll down to Social Work
5. Choose: Prepare for the ASWB Exams
6. Under ASWB Bachelors Practice Exam 1, Click Sign in or Register.
7. Click Register and create a free account.
   

Note: If you are located on-campus, your institution will be “Badgerlink”. 

Off-campus users:

1. Choose Mequon-Concordia University Wisconsin from the Choose Your Library list
2. Enter your CUW library barcode (4505 number).
3. On the Find Resources page, click on LearningExpress Library and create a LearningExpress User Account.