Social Work 331 - Social Services and Policy I
Contact Joe Buenker, Social Work Librarian
Page Shortcuts: Search Strategies and Tips · Recommended Journal Indexes · Citing Sources
Search Strategies and Tips for Improving Search Results
Realize that a professional scholarly journal index will always produce more relevant, reliable and trustworthy information than any "free" web search engine. Even a great search engine (Google, for example) does not restrict what it indexes based upon criteria like quality of research, credentials of the author/publishers, etc.
Realize that when doing research, you are generally searching for the relationship between two or more distinct concepts.
- To view a few examples of what boolean searches (I just call and, or, not "Search Connectors") do, view the Refine and Narrow or Broaden a Search Topic Using Boolean Logic help page.
Realize that a professionally produced journal index offers numerous powerful search options. Don't just settle for the default keyword searching option.
The Social Work Abstracts index, for example, offers the basic keyword "Search" option, but it also offers additional search options that will help you to refine, narrow and focus your results.
- The "Advanced Search" tab can be selected if you want to restrict your search terms to particular field searching (example: author, article title, source (journal name), etc.) and allows for easy combination searching (boolean logic).
- The "Index" tab can be selected if you want to browse a list of terms indexed by the database. The list will display how often the term appears in the database and will allow you to select it and execute a search on that term very easily.
- The "Search History" tab can be selected if you want to review all the searches you have conducted during your current search session. You can then easily combine various results - producing new results.
Also, do not forget to take advantage of the features/options for limiting your search results.
Overall, the best advice is to practice using the index/database, read its help guide, and when you need assistance or clarification, Ask a Librarian.
Recommended Indexes/Databases for Identifying Journal Articles
In order to be authorized for off-campus use of the Library's licensed Web products, you will need to supply your personal ASURITE ID information.
The ASU Libraries literally subscribe to a few hundred different scholarly journal indexes. Many of these resources will contain information relevant to the study of social work, but the single most appropriate index for identifying reputable research studies and publications is Social Work Abstracts.
- Access the Social Work Abstracts index.
You can find additional information from the Identifying Journal Articles page with the Social Work Research guide.
Citing Your Sources
For examples of how to cite commonly used types of information, consult the Library's Citation Style Guides.
You may also want to create your own RefWorks account.
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