Library Services for Distance Education Students

Locating Program-Specific Resources:

SOCIAL WORK:

• Social Work Abstracts This database, produced by the National Association of Social Workers, provides abstracts and bibliographic information for more than 35,000 publications in social work and related fields, dating back to 1977. Major topics in these fields are covered, from AIDS to homelessness to family welfare. Full text is not provided by the database, but some full text access is available through the University Libraries' electronic journals collection. To find out whether an article is available electronically, click on the "Find @ UNC" icon, provided with each record.
• Social Services Abstracts As the name suggests, Social Services Abstracts focuses on publications in the areas of social work and social services. Abstracts for articles from more than 1,600 current journals are included, and coverage dates back to 1980. Articles, dissertations, and book reviews are indexed in this database. Look for the "Find @ UNC" icon to see if UNC provides full text access.
• Sociological Abstracts Covering both theoretical and applied sociology, Sociological Abstracts is an excellent resource for social work research. Around 2,500 journals are indexed, some dating back to 1963. Beyond sociology in all of its forms, sociological topics in other disciplines are also covered here. Look for the "Find @ UNC" icon to see if UNC provides full text access.
• Social Sciences Citation Index This multidisciplinary index broadly covers journal publications in the social sciences. It indexes about 1,700 journals across a variety of disciplines. To be certain that you are searching only the Social Sciences Citation Index, first select the type of search you want (general, cited reference, or advanced), and then make sure that "Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)" is the only citation database selected. While full text access is not provided by the database, you can still click on the "Find @ UNC" icon to see if we have an electronic copy of the article you need.
• PsycInfo A comprehensive database covering psychology and related fields, including social work, PsycInfo is maintained by the American Psychological Association. It contains over two million records, dating back to 1887. Full text access is provided to many of the journals indexed. Look for the links that read "HTML Full Text" or "PDF Full Text" to go directly to the full text for an article. In the absence of these links, try the "Find @ UNC" icon to see if an electronic copy is available through the University Libraries.
• Dissertations & Theses This index covers U.S. dissertations dating back to 1861, and as current as last semester. Abstracts are provided, and all dissertations completed at UNC-Chapel Hill since 1997 are available in PDF format. To search for dissertations in social work or a particular subfield of it, select "Subject name/code" in the search menu, and click on the "Browse subjects" link to choose the appropriate subject area.
• AARP AgeLine Produced by the AARP, AgeLine includes references to publications included in the organization's gerontology collection, as well as 300 additional periodical publications. A wide range of issues relevant to aging and the aging process are covered here. To search, click the "Search AgeLine Now" link, and select your search type. Unfortunately, the "Find @ UNC" icon is not included for records in this database, but you can limit your results to items with links to free full text by clicking the link at the top of the results list.
• Family and Society Studies Worldwide Family studies is a major area in the field of social work. This database combines three different indexes in this area: Family and Society Studies, 1970 to present, National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Health Canada, and U.S. Military Family Resource Center Documents Database. Coverage dates back to 1970. To read a document's abstract, click on the "view Database Record with DOI link." To find full text, look for the "Find @ UNC" icon to see if UNC has an electronic copy of the document.
• Expanded Academic ASAP This multidisciplinary database spans all academic concentrations, and many topics related to social work are likely to be covered here to some extent. Abstracts for both popular and peer-reviewed articles are included, as well as some news articles. Links to full text are provided where this text is available. This database also includes a useful "How to Cite" feature for each article. Look for the hand and book icon.
• ERIC This major database in the field of education provides indexing of journal articles and reports dating back to 1966. ERIC covers education and related fields comprehensively, indexing articles on a wide variety of topics. It also includes a sophisticated thesaurus, which can be very helpful for subject searching. Full text is linked where available, and can be accessed through the HTML/PDF full text links, or by clicking on the Old Well "Find @ UNC" icon.
• Academic Search Premier Another multidisciplinary database, Academic Search Premier indexes both popular and scholarly publications in a variety of fields. Results can be sorted by publication type, and full text access is provided in many cases. Look for the "HTML Full Text" or "PDF Full Text" links, or click on the "Find @ UNC" icon to access this full text.
• MasterFile Premier Also multidisciplinary, MasterFILE Premier provides bibliographic information and abstracts for articles from more than 2,700 periodicals. Search results can be sorted by publication type (Periodicals, Newspapers, Primary Source Documents, etc.). Full text access to articles is provided in many cases, through the "HTML Full Text" or "PDF Full Text" links, or the "Find @ UNC" icon.
• PolicyFile This database deals with research and publications in the field of public policy. It covers a broad range of topics, including a number of topics related to social work and social policy. Major issues ranging from health care to welfare reform are well-represented in PolicyFile. Full text is made available whenever possible, and many of the reports are quickly accessible via the Web. Reports can be found by a keyword search, or by browsing publications provided by specific organizations.
• LexisNexis Congressional This database provides comprehensive access to current and past U.S. Congressional bills, testimonies, and reports. The full text of these documents is included. LexisNexis Congressional is an excellent resource for research on any topic regarding policy or legislation related to social work.
• LexisNexis Academic Providing full text access to regional, national, and international news, LexisNexis Academic is an excellent resource for finding current information on a variety of issues in social work and social services. Use the guided search to help you specify publication types and dates you want to search. To read an article, click on its title in the results list, and you will be taken directly to the full text.
• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition For information about health and health care issues relevant to social work, try Health Source. The Nursing/Academic Edition indexes over 500 journals across medical disciplines. Full text access is provided for more than 400 scholarly publications in the field. This database uses the "HTML Full Text" and "PDF Full Text" links, and also includes the "Find @ UNC" icon for articles referenced.
• CINAHL CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health) provides selected full text access to over 300 journals in the fields of nursing and allied health sciences. More than 2,700 journals are indexed, dating back to 1982. In addition to journal articles, full text of some legal cases, clinical trials, and research instruments is provided. Look for the "HTML Full Text" or "PDF Full Text" links, or the "Find @ UNC" icon.
• LexisNexis Statistical Very useful for locating relevant statistics, LexisNexis Statistical indexes and abstracts three separate publications. These are: American Statistics Index, which covers United States government statistics; Statistical Reference Index, which indexes statistics compiled by state governments and private agencies; and Index to International Statistics, which covers English language statistics from international and intergovernmental agencies.
• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International with ARCHIVE This index offers excellent coverage of policy issues, and is an excellent starting point for research dealing with policy related to social services and social work. PAIS indexes a variety of publication types, including journals, books, government documents, reports, and more. Check for full text access to indexed publications by clicking on the Old Well "Find @ UNC" icon.



• Article Databases home page
• Additional databases recommended for Social Work students

Other Library Resources in Social Work:

• UNC Health Sciences Library: Social Work Resources
• UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries: http://www.lib.unc.edu/ (Library Catalog, E-journal finder, print journal finder).
• Other Library Catalogs: http://www.lib.unc.edu/othercatalogs.html
• Selected Resources in Social Work: http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/subject.php?subjectName=Social+Work"
• North Carolina Area Health Education (AHEC) Library and Information Services (LIS) Network: http://www.hsl.unc.edu/ahec/aheclib.htm
• Selected Electronic Resources for Policy and Law in Social Work

Web page by Paula P. Hinton, Social Sciences Reference Librarian.

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