Research Guides: Service Learning: Research/Publishing

Overview

This page contains research and publishing resources including:

Service learning and related terms or more efficient and effective search results in databases
Listing of free and licensed databases for searching practice guides and scholarly and empirical resources.
Handbooks on research methodology and service learning and select subjects.
Publishing and Related Guides link to other guides. Visit also Temple University Press service learning publications.
Ten Searching Tips

Other pages on this guide also have research outputs and resources for research, including Background/Reference, Journals/Conferences, Funding and Support, Practicing Service Learning and Outcomes and Impact. Program design and implementation research resources are on the Practicing Service Learning page. Some older contents are included on this guide because they may still be applicable or can be used to track more recent materials.

Service learning — Research: Link to TU Libraries' books on researching Service Learning
This link is to all books in our library collection on researching Service Learning. A few key methodology books are listed in the Research Methodology and Topics section.

Service Learning and Related Terms

Service Learning related concepts and terms include:

Academic Service-Learning, Action and Practitioner Research,
Community Learning; Community Engagement, Community Based Learning
Community Service, Civic Engagement, Civic Responsibility, Clinical Experience
Experiential Learning, Experiential Education, Field Projects,
Learn and Serve, Volunteerism, Internships, Charity, Youth Service
Professional Development

Keywords for higher education include: higher education, university, college, post-graduate education, "undergraduate education", "graduate study","postdoctoral education", "undergraduate study", "post-secondary institution", post-secondary, and post-graduate

Keywords for higher education students include: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, undergraduate, college students, graduate students.

Controlled Vocabulary (Subject Headings, Thesaurus Terms and Descriptors)

To aid in searching for resources, the controlled vocabulary of terms used to index or catalog sources in library catalogs and databases are listed below and linked to their scope note or description. Login to EBSCOhost and licensed databases before opening links. Service Learning may be indexed as a narrower term of experiential learning or teaching methods.

Higher education, students, curriculum, teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation also have controlled vocabulary in databases. Identify other terms by reading the methodology section of systematic reviews and looking at the help for the controlled vocabulary.

Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) - Service Learning
"Here are entered works on programs for students to perform community service as an aspect of their education either as a requirement for which academic credit is received or as an opportunity for which to volunteer." Variants include Civic engagement (Education), Community service (Education), Community service learning, Engagement, Civic (Education), School-based community service, Student community service, Student service. Broader Terms include Experiential learning and Social service. Broader terms include Experiential learning and Social service.
ERIC - Service Learning
"Learning through community service (or public service in a wider sphere), usually integrated with regular instruction in school or college." The broader term is Experiential Learning.
PubMed - Education MeSH
Service Learning is not a Medical Subject Heading (MeSH). Education is a MeSH. Search with keyword "service learning."
APA PsychInfo Service Learning (2007) [via EBSCOhost]
"A teaching method that promotes learning through community or public service, usually integrated with regular classroom instruction." The broader terms are Experiential Learning and Teaching Methods.APA PsycNet is free to use online. Create a free account search the thesaurus.
CINAHL - Service learning [via EBSCOHost]
"A method of teaching in which relevant community service is deliberately integrated into the academic curriculum."
It is a narrower term of Teaching Methods, which is under Teaching. The top level is Education.

Subtopic keywords

The Service Learning literature has included these subtopics, and these and similar terms can be used to search for relevant contents.

Academic Credit, Credit options, electives
AmeriCorps, Corporation for National Service (CNS), Learn and Serve America - Higher Education
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation
Benefits, Outcomes and Impact of service learning
Bibliographies, books and journals, online resources
Citizenship, civil and social responsibility and civil education, civic engagement
College and universities with service learning programs or courses
Conferences, colloquia, insttutes and academies
Co-curricular service, community service, volunteering
Community partner selection
Course Development, Curriculum Development, Course design, Program design
Faculty development
Faculty incentives, recognition, promotion and tenure
Funding, Awards, Grants, scholarships, fellowships, foundations, faculty fellows
Institutionalizing Service Learning on Campus
Integrating Service Learning into the Curriculum
International Service Learning
Leadership
Learning Agreement and Service Contracts
Learning Circles
Liability
Mandatory vs Voluntary Service Learning
Mentoring and Tutoring
Organizations, Associations and Networks (service learning and service related)
Partnerships, Community Based Organizations, Community
Perception, Motivation and Incentives among students, faculty, or community members
Placement Issues
Principles of Good Practice, Essential Elements, Best Practices
Problem-Based Learning
Reflection
Subject/Discipline based service learning: Peace Studies; Medical Education, Health Science and Nursing, Business, Economics, Sociology, Criminal Justice, Computer and Information Sciences, Education, Hospitality and Tourism, Arts, Engineering, Geography and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Social Work, Physical Education and Sports Science, and many more.
Types of service learning: Immersion Program; Alternative Break Programs

Credits: Most of these terms are from Crews R. (2002) Higher Education Service-Learning Sourcebook.

Finding Resources - Licensed Databases

Accessible with Temple Accessnet login or onsite at Temple Libraries.

Some public database index and abstract collections are within licensed databases (e.g. ERIC and PubMed) and can be searched along with other databases through the vendor platform, such as EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and Elsevier Embase.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete provides full text scholarly publications and full text journals for academic areas of study.
APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
APA PsycInfo contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books and technical reports, as well as citations to dissertations, all in the field of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines, such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law.
CINAHL This link opens in a new window
CINAHL Provides indexing for nursing and health journals. The database contains records dating back to 1972. In addition, the database offers access to health care books, nursing dissertations, and selected conference proceedings.
CINAHL Abstracting and Indexing Database
Nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, nurse educators and students depend on the CINAHL Database to research their subject areas from this authoritative index of nursing and allied health journals. CINAHL indexes the top nursing and allied health literature available including nursing journals and publications from the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association. CINAHL also includes rigorous curation and indexing of open access (OA) journals, which has resulted in a growing collection of 1,446 active global OA journals.  Once validated and certified for inclusion, these OA journals are treated with high-quality subject indexing and sophisticated, precise/accurate full-text linking.
Subject Headings
CINAHL Subject Headings help users effectively search and retrieve information and follow the structure of the Medical Subject headings (MeSH) used by the National Library of Medicine. These Subject Headings help researchers find new concepts, including COVID-19, social distancing and vaping as well as local terminology.
Content Includes
3,814 active indexed and abstracted journals
3,461 active peer-reviewed indexed and abstracted journals
1,312 journals with searchable cited references
Education Source This link opens in a new window
Education Source provides a full-text collection of education journals, and encompasses an international array of English-language periodicals, monographs, yearbooks. It covers all levels of education--from early childhood to higher education.
ERIC [via EBSCOhost] This link opens in a new window
ERIC [via EBSCOhost] contains bibliographic records of research reports, conference papers, teaching guides, books, and journal articles relating to the practice of education. ERIC Digests are included. Covers the period 1966-present.
ERIC [via ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
ERIC [via ProQuest] provides access to education-related literature. ERIC provides coverage of journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Global This link opens in a new window
PQDT Global offers millions of works from thousands of universities. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses @ Temple University This link opens in a new window
Proquest Dissertations & Theses @ Temple University is a subset of Proquest Dissertations & Theses that only includes Temple dissertations and theses.
ProQuest Social Science Database This link opens in a new window
Social Science Database offers indexing and full text for hundreds of academic journals across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, communication, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology.
Sage Research Methods Datasets This link opens in a new window
Sage Research Methods Datasets is a collection of teaching datasets that can be used to support the instruction and independent learning of quantitative and qualitative analytical methods used in the social sciences.

All Temple Databases

Finding Resources - Free Discovery Tools

Be aware that publicly available and open access databases and platforms may not have full text but will have citations and abstracts of published materials. Licensed contents will require login. Open access or in public domain contents may be available to read or download from Temple Library Search or the other free to access sources.

Library Search This link opens in a new window
Library Search is your gateway to discover books, journal articles, and much more at Temple University Libraries. Additional information can be found in our Library Search FAQ's.
Google Books This link opens in a new window
Google Books provides online access to full text of public domain and out-of-copyright books, reproduced either from text provided by publishers or by the libraries.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Note: Follow these instructions to link Google Scholar with Temple's resources.
Google Scholar provides search for scholarly literature. It covers disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
ERIC [via U.S. Department of Education] This link opens in a new window
ERIC [via U.S. Department of Education] is a Web-based digital library of free education-related sources and consists primarily of electronic bibliographic records describing journal and non-journal literature. The collection also includes full-texts of articles and other electronic resources such as audio and video materials.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
PubMed comprises more than 37 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online) is the largest component of PubMed and consists primarily of journal citations; articles indexed with MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and curated with funding, genetic, chemical and other metadata.

Research Methods

Principles and Methodology

Main principles of community engaged research

These four main principles of community engaged research influence the interaction between academic researchers and community:

Taking an asset- or strength-based approach: The research builds on the strengths and assets of a community.
Being action-oriented: The research should aim to have a tangible impact on improving community well-being, i.e., not only in advancing the science on a research topic.
Bidirectional learning and teaching: All partners bring their own expertise, and each can learn invaluable lessons from one another. Thus, all partners should be respected and compensated as experts based on their experiences.
Equitably sharing resources and time: Partners openly and iteratively discuss expectations and agree on the use of resources and time. This can be achieved by cooperatively going through the process of creating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Source: The Office of Community Engaged Research and Practice, College of Public Health, Temple University

Practical Wisdom for Conducting Research on Service Learning by Julie A. Hatcher (Editor); Robert G. Bringle (Editor); Thomas W. Hahn (Editor); Jeffrey Howard
Publication Date: 2019-10-10
For scholars seeking to undertake consequential research in service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) at a time when there is widening interest in and increasing acceptance of research in this field as a primary area of scholarship, this book provides accounts by preeminent scholars about the trajectories of their research, their methodologies, lessons learned along the way, as well as their views about the future direction of the field. The contributors to this volume represent a range of disciplines and fields including education, history, organizational leadership, political science, philanthropic studies, psychology, and public health, as well as both qualitative and quantitative traditions, and offer models of scholarly learning that contribute to a knowledge base that can guide practice and further the broader public purposes of the academy. They identify key choices they made in terms of inquiry and methodology, describe both successes and challenges in establishing and navigating a SLCE research agenda across their careers, and share lessons learned from their research journey.
Research on Service Learning:Volume 2A, Students and faculty : conceptual frameworks and assessment by Robert G. Bringle (Editor); Julie A. Hatcher (Editor); Patti H. Clayton (Editor)
ISBN: 9781579228385
Publication Date: 2013-04-30
The purpose of this work is to improve service learning research and practice through strengthening its theoretical base. The authors bring theoretical perspectives from a wide variety of disciplines to bear as they critically review past research, describe assessment methods and instruments, develop future research agendas, and consider implications of theory-based research for enhanced practice. This volume, 2A, opens with chapters focused on defining the criteria for quality research. It then moves on to research related to students, comprising chapters that focus on cognitive processes, academic learning, civic learning, personal development, and intercultural competence. The concluding faculty section presents chapters on faculty development, faculty motivation, and faculty learning. Each chapter offers recommendations for future research.
Research on Service Learning: conceptual frameworks and assessment : communities, institutions, and partnerships by Robert G. Bringle (Editor); Julie A. Hatcher (Editor); Patti H. Clayton (Editor)
ISBN: 9781579228866
Publication Date: 2013-04-30
This volume, 2B, opens with chapters focused on defining the criteria for quality research. It then addresses community development, and the role of nonprofit organizations in service learning. It focuses on institutions, examining the institutionalization of service learning, engaged departments, and institutional leadership. The final section on partnerships in service learning includes chapters on conceptualizing and measuring the quality of partnerships, inter-organizational partnerships, and student partnerships. Each chapter offers recommendations for future research.

The Endless Quest for Scholarly Respectability in Service-Learning Research: Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment Volumes 2A and 2B (Patti H. Clayton, Robert G. Bringle, & Julie A. Hatcher, Editors)
Review Essay.

New perspectives in service-learning : research to advance the field

Research Topics

Some older resources are included for historical context and some or all of the research questions may still be relevant.

Student Participation and Outcomes

How Participation Affects University Students’ Perspectives Toward Mandatory Service-Learning

Liberating Service Learning and the Rest of Higher Education Civic Engagement by Randy Stoecker
ISBN: 9781439913536
Publication Date: 2016-05-23
Randy Stoecker has been "practicing" forms of community-engaged scholarship, including service learning, for thirty years now, and he readily admits, "Practice does not make perfect." The author worries about the contradictions, unrealized potential, and unrecognized urgency of the causes as well as the risks and rewards of this work. Stoecker questions the prioritization and theoretical/philosophical underpinnings of the core concepts of service learning: 1. learning, 2. service, 3. community, and 4. change. By "liberating" service learning, he suggests reversing the prioritization of the concepts, starting with change, then community, then service, and then learning. In doing so, he clarifies the benefits and purpose of this work, arguing that it will create greater pedagogical and community impact.
Research on Student Civic Outcomes in Service Learning by Julie A. Hatcher (Editor); Robert G. Bringle (Editor); Thomas W. Hahn (Editor)
Publication Date: 2016-11-30
At this time of a renewed call for colleges and universities to create campus cultures that support and develop students' understanding and commitment to civic participation, what is known about the design of service learning courses and their effectiveness to achieve this goal? This volume presents research on--and deepens understanding of--teaching strategies that foster the knowledge, skills and dispositions of college graduates to be actively engaged in their communities as citizens and civic-minded professionals. The first section offers an overview of civic learning and the importance of intentional service learning course design to reach civic outcomes. The next section employs various disciplinary perspectives to identify theories and conceptual frameworks for conducting research on student civic outcomes. The third section focuses on research methods and designs to improve research using quantitative and qualitative approaches, cross-institutional research strategies, longitudinal designs, authentic data, and local and national data sets. Chapters also address implications for practice and future research agendas for scholars.

Faculty Participation and Outcomes

Factors Influencing Service-Learning Utilization in Social Work: Results from an Online Survey of Faculty
"Results of an online survey of social work educators showed that neither personal nor institutional characteristics influenced service-learning use. Rather, the use of service learning was driven primarily by social work educators' beliefs about the effect of service learning on student outcomes and perceived barriers to implementation."

Pedagogy and Teaching Effectiveness

Service-Learning Pedagogy: How does it measure up? by Virginia M. Jagla; Andrew Furco; Jean Strait
Publication Date: 2015-05-01
The authors explore three broad areas of service-learning research and practice that reflect broader discussions of the role of pedagogy in today's educational reform efforts: Teacher Education, Crossing Boundaries: Deepening Relationships in Service-Learning and New Paradigms/Conceptual Frameworks.
Educating Teachers and Tomorrow's Students Through Service-Learning Pedagogy by Virginia M. Jagla; Kathleen C. Tice
ISBN: 1641133244
Publication Date: 2018-10-01
Service-learning is a powerful method of teaching and learning that has been used effectively for more than two decades. This volume contributes further to the Advances in Service-Learning Research series that focuses upon service-learning in teacher education. Research and theory indicate that knowledge of service-learning pedagogy and how to implement it in teacher candidates' future classrooms can enhance field experiences of teacher education and the civic mission of schools. However, research also reminds us that that the practice of service-learning is nuanced and complex. No two service-learning experiences are alike, yet universal characteristics across service-learning experiences define its essence and distinction. It is through research that digs deep into these nuanced issues that we can learn more about the different characteristics of the experience that define service-learning and guide implementation. The preface provides an interview with Andy Furco, an early advocate of service-learning and noted leader who has fostered service-learning in K-12 and higher education throughout the United States and across the globe. Andy Furco's commentary offers an historical overview of the field as well as how the field can advance, providing insights for those new to the field as well as those who have engaged in service-learning. The preface and thirteen chapters together provide empirical and conceptual support for including service-learning. Concurrently, this scholarship provides guidance for implementing service-learning in teacher preparation and in K-12 education. Interrelated themes include self efficacy, connections with communities, diversity, and program development in teacher education.

Service-Learning: An Annotated Bibliography Linking Public Service with the Curriculum (1988)
This annotates some of the earlier articles on theories and pedagogy.
From Yesterday to Tomorrow: Strategic Directions for Service-Learning Research
Each article in the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. (Fall, 2000 Theme Issue) responded to the question:
"Where does service-learning research need to go to advance our knowledge and practice bases?"
Service Learning Research Primer (2010)
By Steinberg, Bringle, and Williams at IUPUI for Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

Open Access Research Methods Journals

Journal of Participatory Research Methods
a transdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that is focused on the methods, techniques and strategies of participatory research.
Creative Commons License: CC BY 4.0

Community Partners Impact

Development of community impact scale measuring community organization perceptions of partnership benefits and costs (PDF)
Srinivas, T. & et al. (2015).

Publishing and Related Guides

What subjects or disciplines write about service learning?

A search using Web of Science Core Collection, selecting "Topic" and entering "Service Learning" and different words for the concept Higher Education returned 3,428 publications (date 4.18.2023). Service Learning articles appear most in education, engineering, nursing, and health related categories.

Download Web of Science "Service Learning" Higher Education TreeMap Data

Guides

Publishing Support
by Jenny Pierce Last Updated Feb 28, 2025 254 views this year

Evidence Synthesis and Systematic Reviews
by Jenny Pierce Last Updated Feb 6, 2025 3742 views this year

TUScholarShare
Temple Libraries' institutional repository accepts data deposits.

Ten Searching Tips

In addition to Library Search and talking with Subject Librarians, use the library research guides (or LibGuides) and databases and resources listed on this page to search and identify journal articles, books, book chapters and other publications.

Use all relevant terms or keywords and, if available, the database controlled vocabulary or indexing and cataloging terms (thesaurus, subject headings, descriptors) in advanced search. Subject dictionaries, glossaries, thesauri, author keywords, and Credo Reference can help identify concepts and words for searching.
Search one concept at a time and then combine them using "AND" or "OR". Parentheses can be used to specify the search order for operators in a search string. Be aware of the default if no parentheses are used. For example, in ProQuest, the processing order is PRE, NEAR, AND, OR, NOT.
Use database fields and filters, such as Date, Peer-Reviewed, Source Type, Subject, and Methodology to focus and narrow your search.
Geographic location: For library catalogs, use location field and the geographic subject headings. For APA PsycInfo search in geographic location field. For ERIC, there are location, laws, polices and programs and assessment and surveys identifiers.
Use the How to apply methodology filters and Find Empirical and Evidence-Base Articles guides.
Use database guides, tutorials, search tips, tools, and help to efficiently search, filter, save/download, cite and more.

Main database platform guides: ProQuest, EBSCOhost, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Gale, ERIC, GovInfo
PubMed publication types
JSTOR Text Analyzer uses the text of your document to suggest more articles.
Use library research guides for courses and subjects to identify relevant databases and resources.
Google Search Tips: List of Operators

Follow linkages, such as subject, keyword, author, title or series, organization links and links to Similar Titles, Citations or Cited By, References, and More Like This.

Use tools like Google Scholar and Web of Science Cited Reference Search
Learn more with our Chasing Citation guide

Register/Create account and login to save your search history and create alerts.
Select the Find Full Text links to get the entire source for non-full text indexing databases.
Link Google Scholar to Temple libraries to get full text within our collections.
To save time and search across multiple full-text databases and disciplines, search the entire ProQuest Social Sciences Premium collection, which also includes ProQuest dissertation databases, EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete, or Gale Academic OneFile.

Some database specific advanced filtering capability and thesaurus terms may not be available.
For the broadest ProQuest platform wide search, use ProQuest Central (nearly all disciplines/subjects)

Use Browzine to browse and read scholarly articles in Social Work journals.
An account is not needed to use Browzine. Having an account allows for customization.
To create an account with the Browzine App, select Temple University and login with your TU AccesNet ID.
Target Core Journals in Education and Service Learning journals and search all relevant databases.