Subject Guides: SWO 250: Introduction to Social Welfare: Find Articles

Why use library databases?

We recommend that you start your research with library databases for several reasons:

1) They are consistent in describing publications; you don't have to worry about finding a citation that's missing a volume or page number.

2) They are clear about what they do - you know the time period covered, the journal titles included, etc.

3) They usually have clear links - via the Article Linker button - to the online full text that USM Libraries has purchased.

4) Contrary to what a lot of people think, there is a lot of information that isn't on the open web. And some of that information IS in our subscription databases.

Online Indexes and Databases

Social Work Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Social Work Abstracts offers extensive coverage of more than 450 social work and human services journals dating back to 1965. Produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the database provides citations and abstracts dealing with all aspects of the social work field, including theory and practice, areas of service and social issues and problems.
Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Social Services Abstracts covers journal articles and dissertations in social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development since 1980.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Academic Search Complete is a large scholarly, multidisciplinary, full-text database, with more than 7,400 full-text periodicals, including more than 6,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 11,500 scholarly, popular, trade, and special interest serials, and a total of more than 12,000 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and more. Updated daily.
ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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ASSIA is an indexing and abstracting tool covering health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, race relations and education. Updated monthly. Dates of Coverage: 1987 - current.
Criminal Justice Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Criminal Justice Abstracts provides indexing and abstracts for nearly 600 U.S. and international journals dealing with Criminology, Criminal justice, Corrections, and related subjects, as well as books and conference papers. Most title coverage from c. 2000; limited earlier coverage. Updated
EconLit This link opens in a new window
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EconLit, the American Economic Association's electronic database, is the world's foremost source of references to economic literature. The database contains more than 1.1 million records from 1886-present. EconLit covers virtually every area related to economics.
Sociology Collection (Includes Sociological Abstracts) This link opens in a new window
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ProQuest's Sociology Collection indexes the literature of sociology and related disciplines, including anthropology, criminology, demography, education, gerontology, mental health, minority studies, political science, public health, social psychology, social work, urban studies, welfare programs, and women's studies. Content types covered include journals, books, conference papers, and doctoral dissertations. Sociology Collection incorporates the indexing from Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), and Sociology Database into a single resource; each may also be searched separately. Sociology Collection includes full text articles from approximately 500 journals; it links to many more full text journals in other databases and journal collections, depending in part on each UMS library's subscriptions.