Research Guides: Social Work Research: SWRK 5003

Start Here: Social Work Databases

A database is online website that helps you search for scholarly research. These are our top two social specific databases and it is recommended you search both of them for your assignment.

Social Services Abstracts & Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Searches both Social Services Abstracts and Sociological Abstracts at the same time.
Social Sciences Citation Index This link opens in a new window
Includes current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found within the world's leading scholarly social sciences journals covering more than 50 disciplines. Hosted on the Web of Knowledge/Web of Science Platform.

More social work databases are available on the Social Work Databases.

Is it peer-reviewed? Is it empirical research?

What are some indicators of a peer-reviewed journal article?

Some good indicators to determine if you found a peer-reviewed journal article are:

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Click on the journal name to see more information about the journal.
Cite numerous resources at the end of the article.
Clearly list the authors names and their affiliations (where they work).

Are all peer-reviewed journal articles empirical research?

Nope! There's many types of research published in peer-reviewed journals so you need to determine if it is empirical, or first hand research. Check the journal article's methodology section to see the data and types of data analysis used in the study.

What can I do if I have a question if I found a peer-reviewed journal article?

Contact your librarian or the library's research assistance service.

Finding Data and Statistics

Searching for Governmental Data Sources

Freely available online.

To limit to government websites in Google, type in site:.gov along with keywords on topic + statistics or data. You can also use the Advanced Google Search page.

UCCS Library Data Sources

Requires a UCCS login.

ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) This link opens in a new window
ICPSR maintains a data archive of more than 500,000 files of research in the social sciences. It hosts 16 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.

Free Data Sources

There are non-governmental organizations that are known for conducting research and sharing that data. Here are a few trusted sources.

Keyword Development

Keyword Development Example
This is a quick online document that demonstrates creating a keyword list.

Easily Expand Your Database Search

Once you find one great journal article, it is usually easy to find more! Here are a few ways to easily expand your research:

Cited By - Has the article been cited by other journal articles since it was published?
Reference Check - What journal articles were cited in the literature review that may be helpful to you?
New Keywords - Did this journal article include new ways to describe your topic?
Search More Than One - Search in both social work databases using the same search and you'll get different results!

Citing in APA

Did you know that most social work databases can help you cite the journal articles you find for your own paper?

Look for a cite button option within the database! If you don't see one, remember you can use OneSearch that has a citation function. Just put in the article's title in OneSearch and click the Cite this Item button.

Finding Social Work Research Video Series

SWRK 5003 Video Series
Designed for UCCS' SWRK 5003, this series of videos breaks down the searching process.

Social Work Research: SWRK 5003

Welcome to SWRK 5003 Research Guide!

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