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 Guide to finding resources in the George T. Potter library

Introduction to Social FieldWork

    October 16, 2006

     Shirley Knight, Reference Librarian                 Cort Engelken, Instructor

      sknight@ramapo.edu                                      SWRK 225

 I. Library Homepage: http://library.ramapo.edu

  • Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.

II. Finding Books at the Potter Library

  • Catalog: use this to find books, journal titles NOT ARTICLES, government documents, reserve items, music,and movies owned by the Library. You may limit a search by language, year(s) of publication, type of material, etc. This may take a few seconds to load.
  • Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
    • For example: search for "social work" or " social work practice" to locate a broad range of material and look for resources for your topics.
  • OR

                                                           

  • Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature ONLY if you know the Library of Congress Subject Headings

  • For example:
  • Family Social Work
  • Social WorkSocial Work Education

Social Work Practice

  • Social Work with Children--United States
  • Social Work with Older People
  • Social Service Vocational Guidance

      • Tips

    1. Start with broad searches. It is much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
    2. If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Related Records tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
    3. Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.

III. Reference Material

  • The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).

          

    General Sources

    Call Number
    International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
    Ref H 40 .A2 I5
    International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences
    Ref HV 41 .I58
    Encyclopedia of Social Work
    Ref HV 35 .B37
    Social Work Records
    Ref HV 43 .K27

    (circulation:

    closed reserve)
    Handbook of Social Work Research
    Ref HV 11 .H42
    Ethical Standards in Social Work
    Ref HV 40.8 .U6 R43
    Fields of Social Work
    Multicutlural Issues in Social Work
    Ref  HV 41 .M84  1999
    Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient  Populations
    Ref HV 91 .H265 2001
    Handbook of Social Work in Health and Aging
    Ref HV451 .H34 2006
    Handbook of Social Work with Groups
    Ref HV 45 .H26 2004
    Complete Directory for People with Disabilities
    Ref HV 1553 .C66
    English/Spanish Child Abuse Phrase Book
    Ref HV 6626.52 .S76
    Census Sources
    Places, Towns, and Townships
    Ref HA 203 .P58
    Profiles of America
    Ref HT 123 .P76245
    America's Top Rated Cities: a statistical handbook
    Ref HT 123 .A669
    Statistical Abstract of the United States

    Ref HA 202 .U5

    Also online

    State and Metropolitian Area Data Book
    Ref  HA 203 .S83
    State & County Quick Facts
    http://www.census.gov
    County and City Data Book

    Ref HA 202 .A36

    Also online

    U.S.A. Counties

    http://www.census.gov

    /statab/www/county.htm
    State of the Cities Data System
    http://socds.huduser.org
    Council of State Governments
    http://csg.gov
    National Conferences of State Legislatures
    http://www.ncsl.org
    Stateline.org
    http://stateline.org

         

          Tips

  1. Use reference books to gain an overview of your topic.
  2. Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.

IV. Electronic Resources

Social Work Abstracts Covers abstracts on topics such as homelessness, child and family welfare, aging, community organization and more. Also, includes a listing of clinical social workers who have met national standards for education and experience established by the NASW competence certification commission.
PsycInfo Contains more than two million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, as well as related topics as social work, anthropology, sociology etc.
Psychology Journals Encompasses a wide-range of topics from psychology, clinical social psychology, soical welfare, criminology and more.
Academic Search Premier A multidisciplinary database that contains many full-text articles. May also limit to scholary (peer-reviewed) journals.

(Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal).

Tips
  1. Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
  2. Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: children and "social work"
  3. Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.
  • Journal Finder: this provides information regarding if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm.
  • Interlibrary Loan: allows studens to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.

Both of these links can be found under QUICK LINKS on the library's homepage.

V. Web Sources

  • Use the following Subject Resources to locate supplemental information on your topics .

    

VI. Bibliographies

Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574

Use QandA NJ a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.