Library: Social Work: Social Work

Welcome

Welcome to the Social Work LibGuide!

How to use this guide:

This guide provides resources that may be helpful to Social Work classes.

To find our databases or to look for an article click START YOUR RESEARCH.
To go to the library homepage for more information and resources, click LIBRARY HOME.
To see special resources for Social Work students, KEEP SCROLLING.
To find information on citations and bibliography, click CITING.

Browse Social Work Journals

Browse an alphabetical list of subject-related journals available through Park University Library.

Social Work journals list

Other Databases Related to Social Work

Social Work Databases

CINAHL Education
Provides nursing, social work, and allied health professionals a convenient way to obtain their certificates of completion for continuing education required by the states in which they practice or the facilities in which they work.

New users should first use this website's "pre-register" link to create an account for ongoing access.

The interactive modules on this website allow health professionals to satisfy CE requirements online. Each module consists of course material, an interactive review, a competency test, and a module evaluation.
Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text
Provides access to the full-text of 300+ journals covering criminology, criminal justice, corrections and prisons, criminal investigations, forensic sciences, substance abuse and addiction, and probation and parole.
eBook Collections (EBSCOhost)
Provides full-text access to over 200,000 ebooks across a variety of subject disciplines.
APA PsycInfo
This database is the world's largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Produced by the American Psychological Association for the discovery of global scholarly research.
Social Science Full Text
Covering the latest concepts, theories and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences, this full-text database includes some of the most important English-language social science journals.

Understanding: Peer-reviewed, Empirical, Qualitative & Quantitative

Understanding Terms:

Peer-reviewed, Empirical, Qualitative & Quantitative

Peer-reviewed

Peer-reviewed journals (often called "scholarly" or "academic" journals) contain original research articles. These journals publish research that has been reviewed by other scholars in the field - the authors' academic peers. These reviewers work to ensure the integrity and quality of the research being reported upon.

Empirical

Empirical articles are based on experimentation or observation. In other words, they describe the results of research. Peer-reviewed articles are usually describing empirical research.

Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

Peer-reviewed articles may describe either qualitative or quantitative research.

Qualitative research tries to understand who, what, how, when, and why. It explores the nature of something. Typical approaches include observation, interviews, and focus groups.

Quantitative research describes how much or how often. It relies on statistics and variables to prove or disprove something.

Here's a short video describing the difference.

How to tell if you've found a peer-reviewed, empirical article

Peer-reviewed journal articles -- like this example from Pirate Search -- are typically 10-40 pages in length and share many or all of these qualities:

List authors' names, email addresses, and affiliations (e.g. Park University)
Use section headers throughout the article, roughly similar to these:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Results or Discussion
- Conclusion
Cite references to other quality sources

Be cautious, though

Some peer-reviewed journals will publish literature reviews, book reviews, and opinion essays. These should not be confused for original research articles! If you're unsure whether you've found an original research article, please contact a librarian for assistance!