Note: Social work has been defined as "the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal" (Barker, 1991, p. 221). Social work activities can take place in independent institutions such as settlement houses and community centers, as well as within larger social institutions such as hospitals and public schools. The resources listed in this guide will help you identify items of interest for the study of the theory and practice of social work.
To Find Books
Use the MERLIN Library Catalog and the MOBIUS Union Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. Relevant works can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:
- Community Centers
- Public Welfare
- Social Case Work
- Social Service
- Social Service - United States
- Social Settlements
- Social Work - Administration
- Social Workers
Relevant materials may also be found by using subject headings that identify the major focus or venue for a particular type of social work, for example:
- Family Social Work
- Industrial Welfare
- Medical Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Psychiatric Social Work
- School Social Work
- Social Service, Rural
- Social Work with Children
- Social Work with Juvenile Delinquents
- Social Work with Minorities
- Social Work with the Aged
- Social Work with Women
Finally, materials relevant to the study of broader social issues that are often addressed by social workers can be found using subject headings such as:
- Abused Wives - Services for
- Adoption
- Child Welfare
- Community Organization
- Homelessness
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Poverty - United States
- Substance Abuse
To find the location of a book in Miller Nichols Library, see the Location Guide.
To Find Articles
Remote (off-campus) access to databases is available only to UMKC students, faculty, and staff. All other users must access online resources within the Libraries. Begin searching by selecting a database. After selection you will be prompted to provide a UMKC Single Sign-On user name and password OR a 9-digit UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed.
Social Work-Specific Databases
- Social Work Abstracts (Ovid) 1977 - present.
Save to del.icio.us
Note: Ovid has a new look and easier searching – to switch to the traditional search options, click on the "Advanced Ovid Search" tab. Provides information on the fields of social work and human services. Also available in printed versions: Social Work Abstracts 1998 - 2005 available in Miller Nichols Library Ref Index Wall Z7164.C4 S6, Social Work Research and Abstracts 1977 - 1991 available in Miller Nichols Library Ref Index Wall Z7164.C4 S6, and Abstracts for Social Workers 1967 - 1977 available in Miller Nichols Library Ref Index Wall Z7164.C4 A2. -
Sociological Abstracts (CSA) 1963 - present. Save to del.icio.us
"CSA Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,809 serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Records added since 1973 contain in-depth and nonevaluative abstracts of journal articles. Major areas of coverage include: culture and social structure; demography and human biology; economic development; environmental interactions; evaluation research; family and social welfare; health and medicine and law; history and theory of sociology; management and complex organizations; mass phenomena and political interactions; methodology and research technology; policy, planning, forecast and speculation; radical sociology; religion and science; rural and urban sociology; social development; social differentiation; social psychology and group interaction; sociology of the arts, business, education; studies in violence and power; substance abuse and addiction; welfare services; and women's studies." [Source: Sociological Abstracts Factsheet, accessed February 17, 2005]
Related Specialized Databases
- Ageline
(AARP) 1978 - present, with selected coverage 1966-1977. Save to del.icio.us(Free
on the Web)
- Black Studies On Disc. 1600s - present. Accessible only from the computers in the Information Commons on the First Floor of the Miller Nichols Library. Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.An interdisciplinary index to scholarship relevant to the field of African-American Studies, including African-American history and literature.
- Contemporary Women's Issues (FirstSearch) 1992 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1992 - present. Contemporary Women's Issues is a multidisciplinary, full-text database that brings together relevant content from mainstream periodicals, "gray" literature, and the alternative press -- with a focus on the critical issues and events that influence women's lives in more than 190 countries. It includes English-language titles from East and West Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. [Source: Contemporary Women's Issues, Thomson Gale online catalog; accessed June 8, 2006] Link to FirstSearch web user's guide. - GPO Monthly Catalog (FirstSearch) 1976 - present. Save to del.icio.usPublished by the U.S. Government Printing Office, the catalog offers bibliographic citations for all types of U.S. government publications: reports, hearings, statistics, and documents issued by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government, commissions, and other U.S. governmental organizations. The print version, the Monthly Catalog of the United States Government Publications, for 1900 - present is located in Miller Nichols Library in the Government Publications Alcove GP3.8/8:. Link to FirstSearch web user's guide.
-
Hispanic American Periodicals (HAPI) 1970 - present. Save to del.icio.us Cites materials on a wide range of topics related to Hispanics in the United States and Latin America from sources published in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
- Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (FirstSearch)
Note: This database is no longer be available.Indexes international legal information covering all areas of jurisprudence from legal journals, law reviews, bar association publications, yearbooks, institute publications, and government publications originating in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Link to FirstSearch web user's guide. - MEDLINE (Ovid) 1950 - present. Save to del.icio.us
MEDLINE (Ovid) 1950 - 1995. Save to del.icio.us
MEDLINE (Ovid) 1996 - present. Save to del.icio.us
MEDLINE Daily Update (Ovid) Current edition. Save to del.icio.us
Links to full text. This National Library of Medicine database indexes international biomedical literature. Link to Ovid Web user's guide. - NASW Clinical Register (Ovid) Current edition. Save to del.icio.us
Note: Now available through Ovid. A directory of clinical social workers in the United States. - NCJRS:
National Criminal Justice Reference Service 1958 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Links to selected full text 1995 - present..The National Criminial Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) collection covers the broad subject area of criminal justice and its related fields of study. The NCJRS indexes and abstracts federal, state and local government reports, as well as books, research reports, journal artices, and unpublished research. Most documents published since 1995 by the sponsoring agencies are available online. Search the Abstracts Database (www.ncjrs.gov/abstractdb/search.asp) for summaries of the more than 185,000 criminal justice publications housed in the NCJRS Library collection. Links to full text documents on the NCJRS website are included where available. The Publications/Products (www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/AlphaList.aspx) page links to full text documents available through the NCJRS, and includes a keyword search. - OmniFile V Full Text (Wilson) 1982 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1994 - present.Provides indexing, abstracts, and some full-text from five of Wilson's full-text indexes: General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Readers' Guide Full Text, Social Sciences Full Text, and Wilson Business Full Text. - PsycINFO (Ovid) 1872 - present. Save to del.icio.us
PsycINFO (Ovid) 1967 - present. Save to del.icio.us
PsycINFO (Ovid) 1985 - present. Save
to del.icio.us
Contains citations and abstracts of journal articles and other research materials in the various areas of psychology. Link to Ovid Web user's guide.
Note: There are a number of other resources for locating articles in the professional and scholarly literature that may be useful depending on the aspect of social work under investigation. Consult the Reference Desk, (816) 235-1534, for assistance in identifying other potentially useful indexes to the literature in either print or electronic form.
General Databases
-
Electronic Collections Online (ECO) (FirstSearch) 1995 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1995 - present.A collection of journals in a variety of subject areas. Users can view bibliographic information for all journals and view full-text articles from journals to which the University Libraries subscribe. Link to FirstSearch web user's guide. - Kansas City Star (NewsBank) 1991 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Full text 1991 - present. A fully searchable database of articles from the Kansas City Star. The newspaper is available 1885 - present on microfilm on the Miller Nichols Library First Floor. - LexisNexis Academic 1969 - present. Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1980 - present.Provides citations and abstracts or the full text of materials covering general news topics, company research and financial data, industry analysis, government and politics, taxation, and the law. Available resources include newspapers, magazines, journals, business reference materials, case law, law reviews, and industry reports. Link to LexisNexis Academic user's guide.
-
MasterFILE Premier (EBSCOhost), 1975 - present; coverage varies by title Save to del.icio.us
Selected full text 1975 - present; coverage varies by title. Provides full text for more than 2,100 general periodicals covering a broad range of disciplines including general reference, business, education, health, general science, multi-cultural issues and much more. In addition to the full text, this database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 2,800 titles. This database features: 5,000 full text Magill Book Reviews, 635 reference and travel books including the World Almanac & Book of Facts; full text from 84,074 biographies, 86,135 full text primary source documents, American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition and an Image Collection of 107,135 photos, maps and flags. MasterFILE Premier offers PDF backfiles as far back as 1975 for key publications. [Source: MasterFILE Premier Database Information Screen, June 23, 2005]
Link to EBSCOhost web user's guide. - Project MUSE (Premium Collection) Save to del.icio.us
Full text 1993 - present.
New Additional journals are now available with the upgrade to Project MUSE Premium Collection. Supplies full-text articles from scholarly journals in literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, and gender studies. - St.
Louis Post Dispatch (NewsBank) Save
to del.icio.us
Full text 1988 - present. A fully searchable database of articles from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The latest three months of the newspaper are also available in paper format at the Access Services Desk on the Miller Nichols Library First Floor.
University Libraries Photocopying and Printing Services
Selected Journals
This list includes journals available in the University Libraries (check the MERLIN Library Catalog for holdings and location information). To identify additional related journals, search MERLIN by subject or keyword.
Print Journals Available at Miller Nichols Library:
(links to electronic versions, if available, are found on the MERLIN record site)
- The American Journal of Evaluation
- Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Children & Schools: A Journal of Social Work Practice
- Children and Youth Services Review
- Children's Services: Journal of the Division of Child, Youth, and Family Services
- Evaluation and Program Planning
- Family Relations
- Journal of Abnormal Psychology
- Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling
- Journal of Adolescence
- Journal of Adolescent Health
- Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
- Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation
- Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work
- Journal of Family Violence
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence
- Journal of Marital & Family Therapy
- Journal of Multicultural Social Work
- Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community
- Journal of Primary Prevention
- Journal of Social Service Research
- Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
- Research on Social Work Practice
- Social Policy & Administration
- The Social Service Review
- Social Work
- Social Work in Education
- Social Work in Health Care
- Social Work Research
- Social Work with Groups
- The Sociological Review
Electronic Journals on the Web:
- The Addictions Newsletter
(www.kumc.edu/addictions_newsletter/) - ASHM Journal
Club
Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
(www.ashm.org.au/index.php?PageCode=1144) - Child
Welfare Review
(www.childwelfare.com/kids/news.htm) - Focus: Newsletter
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty
(www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/focus/focus.htm) - Midwifery Today
(www.midwiferytoday.com) - Real
Change News: Puget Sound's Newspaper of the Poor and Homeless
(www.realchangenews.org/issue/current/index.html)
Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Directories, Bibliographies
Reference sources are useful for locating background information, definitions, general descriptions, and basic facts. Use these books to help you select or focus your research topic.
All call numbers in this guide refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, unless otherwise noted. Titles are linked to the corresponding MERLIN Library Catalog record.
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
| The Social Work Dictionary | Ref HV12 .B37 |
| Encyclopedia of Social Work (3 vols.) | Ref HV35 .S62 |
| Biographical Dictionary of Social Welfare in America | Ref HV27 .B57 |
Handbooks
| Handbook of Clinical Social Work | Ref HV43 .H315 |
| Handbook of Empirical Social Work Practice (2 vols.) | Ref HV43 .H316 |
Directories
| The Communication Hub: Directory of Human Services in the Metropolitan Kansas City Area | Ref HV89 .C65 |
Bibliographies
| Reference Sources in Social Work: An Annotated Bibliography | Ref HV40 .C66 |
| A Guide to Information Sources for Social Work and the Human Services | Ref HV91 .M43 |
Additional Sources
Government Publications
All call numbers in this guide refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, unless otherwise noted.
- GPO Monthly Catalog (FirstSearch) 1976 - present. Save to del.icio.usPublished by the U.S. Government Printing Office, the catalog offers bibliographic citations for all types of U.S. government publications: reports, hearings, statistics, and documents issued by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government, commissions, and other U.S. governmental organizations. The print version, the Monthly Catalog of the United States Government Publications, for 1900 - present is located in Miller Nichols Library in the Government Publications Alcove GP3.8/8:. Link to FirstSearch web user's guide.
- Department of Health & Human Services
(www.hhs.gov)- Administration for Children & Families
(www.acf.dhhs.gov) - Administration on Aging
(www.aoa.gov) - Substance Abuse & Mental Health
Service Administration
(www.samhsa.gov)
- Administration for Children & Families
- Social Security Administration
(www.ssa.gov/) - Bureau of the Census
(www.census.gov)
Note: For online library guides to Government Information, consult the Library Guide to Missouri and Kansas Government on the Web and the Library Guide to U.S. Government Information on the Web
Web Resources
- Center
on Urban Poverty and Social Change
(povertycenter.cwru.edu/public.htm) - NASW Online
The National Association of Social Workers
(www.naswdc.org/) - World Wide Web Resources for Social Workers
(www.nyu.edu/socialwork/wwwrsw/) - Social Work and Social Services Websites
The George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis
(gwbweb.wustl.edu/Websites.html)
Use search engines linked on the Internet Search Tools page to identify additional Web resources.
For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
