LibGuides: Social Work: Articles & Databases

Research Databases

SocINDEX with Full Text
SocINDEX contains peer-reviewed sociology journals on a range of topics including gender studies, criminal justice, social psychology, racial studies, religion, and social work. Conduct research for your behavioral science classes here.
Social Science Database
Social Science Database helps you view human behavior from different societal, cultural, historical, and geographical perspectives. Use this database to find scholarly articles in subfields of social science including anthropology, criminology, social work, family and human relations, and archaeology.
APA PsycINFO 1887-Current
Use this highly regarded database to conduct research for your psychology classes by searching for concepts such as ‘attachment styles’ or ‘laughter therapy’. This database collects studies on interdisciplinary aspects of behavioral science and mental health. Use the Population Group and Methodology filter menus to limit your search results to specific groups of people and types of studies (ex: clinical trials). Includes many peer-reviewed full text research articles.
Sage Journals Online
Sage Journals is a multidisciplinary collection of research articles and reports for subjects in social science, health science, life and biomedical science, and engineering.

ProQuest Central
ProQuest Central brings together most ProQuest databases to create an extensive multidisciplinary research database. It provides periodicals and scholarly journals for all major subjects including business, health and medical, language and literature, social sciences, education, science and technology, history, and philosophy.

Google Scholar
A vast, free-to-search multidisciplinary database. Turn on "Full Text @ SLCC" in Settings / Library.

CQ Researcher
CQ Researcher gives you reports for current and controversial affairs through topic summaries on social issues such as environment, health, politics, education, science and technology. Every report provides multiple points of view on the issue, pros and cons, discussion questions, and further reading lists.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch offers access to perspectives often overlooked by mainstream media sources with magazines and newspapers from minority presses. Native American, African American, Hispanic American, and many other voices provide up-to-date reporting on current events as well as academic research on ethnic studies and social issues.
GenderWatch
GenderWatch is a repository of voices rarely heard in mainstream media relating to gender issues. Scholarly and press publications dating from 1970 to the modern day offer unique perspectives on women's studies, LGBTQIA+ affairs, gender roles, and more.
U.S. Newsstream
Recent U.S. news content with access to over 150 local, national, and international newspapers, blogs, podcasts, wires, and more. Use this database to access articles in newspapers such as the Salt Lake Tribune.

Not sure what to research? Here are a few ideas:

Look at a professional association's website to see what topics are currently trending (or follow them on social media)
Check out what researchers at other institutions are investigating in their Social Work departments
Use your textbook- which chapters or sections are most interesting to you?
Search for areas of interest in a reference source, like an encyclopedia (or textbook) to get more background information
Start with a big idea (i.e. "social work") and search it in a search engine or a the Library's OneSearch or ProQuest Central database; scroll through the results and look for items or keywords that jump out to you (i.e. social work and healthcare; social work and teenagers; social work and hospice; social work and libraries). You can build this into a list of keywords and/or a concept map to visually represent connections between the ideas you find interesting.
Look into other avenues for topic inspiration- maybe a podcast or newspaper editorial sparks your interest
Look at the table of contents from a recent issue of a Social Work journal- which articles interest you? One of them could be a source of inspiration AND a source for your project!

The links below might help you get started with some of these ideas:

Social Work Magazines (University of Utah College of Social Work)
View current and past issues of the University of Utah's College of Social Work magazines, Social Work Matters, Community Matters, Innovation Matters, Research Matters.
National Association of Social Workers
inSocialWork® Podcast Series
From their website: "inSocialWork® is the podcast series of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. The purpose of this series is to engage practitioners and researchers in lifelong learning and to promote research to practice and practice to research. inSocialWork® features conversations with prominent social work professionals, interviews with cutting-edge researchers, and information on emerging trends and best practices in the field of social work."
NASW Social Work Talks Podcast

Advances in Social Work
This open access journal from the Indiana University School of Social Work is a great option for scholarly articles.
Child Welfare
From the Child Welfare League of America
Health and Social Work
International Social Work
International Social Work is a scholarly peer reviewed journal designed to extend knowledge and promote communication in the fields of social development, social welfare and human services. Its major focus is on international themes in the delivery of services. (From the publisher)
Social Work
Journal of the National Association of Social Workers

Statista
Statista is a global data and business platform that helps you find statistics, reports, infographics, and insights for consumers, brands, industries and markets, companies, products, politics, and society. Use the menu options to filter by topic, industry, region, or content and specify the results you want to see.