Foundations of Social Work Research: SSW 5003

Several library databases have a way to filter search results for empirical methodologies. Try the techniques in bold in the following databases, in combination with other search terms for the topic you are researching. 

It is also useful to search for the controlled vocabulary in the thesaurus or subject headings of the databases and use those terms and variants in searching. Look up a research method or search using terms like empirical, qualitative, quantitative, evaluation, correlation, intervention, or observation or browse by available categories.  The Cochrane Library also has suggested Search strategies to identify observational studies in MEDLINE and Embase that can be used for other sources as well. 

For databases and search engines without a methodology filter, such as Web of Science and Google Scholar, try (1) copying and pasting one or more of the types of studies listed for the Sociological Abstracts database or enter "study" to be broad with your search terms; and (2) include the operator AND (e.g. ("domestic violence" OR "intimate partner violence") AND study).

Left image: Methodology filter on the search form  Right image: Methodology filter within Refine Results

Embase also has MEDLINE records. 
In the results filters, look at Study types, and check the ones you want, such as controlled study, case report, retrospective study, cohort analysis, cross sectional study, systematic review, comparative study, prospective study, interview, longitudinal study, randomized controlled trial, observational study, meta analysis, qualitative research, semi structured interview, pilot study. Read also about General Study Types Hedges 

Evidence-Based Social Work books & media and journals

Databases and Websites with Evidence-Based Resources

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 in Social Work and related fields.

1. 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, thesauri, and Credo Reference can help identify concepts and words for searching.  These guides maybe useful:

• Social Work topics keywords prepared by a Washington University librarian.
  Examples: Abuse/Domestic Violence; Addiction; Ages; Barriers; Diversity;  Homeless; Housing;; Police Violence; Poverty; Social Determinants of Health;
• Topics in APA PsycInfo of Relevance to Social Work
  APAPsycInfo uses the APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.  APA Publishing Training video.
• PubMed has Automatic Term Mapping, matching user terms to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
• Topic-Specific PubMed Queries provide useful MeSH and keywords for select topics, including healthcare disparities, and population health, electronic health records.
• Web of Science has "Social Work" as a subject category and micro topics such as Homeless and Intimate Partner Violence. Browse and search meso and micro subjects/ Download the 2024 schema. Download the Micro-topics updates  Learn more about topics schema
• Subject Headings for Social Work or search the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
  External library guide to subject headings with links to the PDF of LCSH by letter.
• Science.gov Topic Pages (Science.gov searches over 60 databases and over 2,200 scientific websites)
• Social Determinants of Health, Health Disparities, and Health Equity guide

2. Search one concept at a time and then combine them using "AND" or "OR".  Most databases automatically add "AND" between terms so AND may not be needed.

• Parentheses can be used to specify the search order for operators in a search string.  If not, for example, in ProQuest and Web of Science, the order is PRE, NEAR, AND, OR, NOT. 
• Watch Build Better Searches in Web of Science (5 min), to know how to use truncation, operators, parentheses (to set order for operators) and proximity. These functions are similar for other databases.
• Be aware that Google operators work differently than those in library databases.

3. Use database fields and filters, such as Date, Peer-Reviewed, Source Type, and Methodology  to focus and narrow your search.
   Check documentation to see which fields are mandatory or required to appear in every record.  In APA PsycINFO, for example, the only required fields in every record are title, abstract, author, keywords, publication date, publication type, release date, unique identifier. PubMed check tags appearing in nearly all indexed records include human, animal, male, female, pregnancy, age. These tags are ignored if not mentioned in the article.
   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.
4. Use database guides, tutorials, search tips, tools, and help to efficiently search, filter, save/download, cite and more.

• Main database platform guides:  ProQuest, EBSCOhost, CINAHL(EBSCO), Embase, Web of Science, Web of science Help documentation,  Web of Science AI enabled topic and keywords search, Gale, ERIC, GovInfo,
  PubMed, PubMed publication types; How PubMed Works; Searching when MeSH changes
  • The EBSCOhost libguide covers the upcoming new platform. For the existing platform, view the 4 minute video, but note that the default shown is the basic search, whereas the default at Temple is the advanced search.
    Advanced Searching on EBSCOhost.
  • APA PsycInfo Beginner Search video tutorial; APA PsycInfo Advanced Search
• JSTOR Text Analyzer uses the text of your document to suggest more articles.
• For Temple Libraries tutorials and upcoming workshops:  Enter the database name or other search term in Library Search and look at results under Library Website.
• Use library research guides for courses and subjects to identify relevant databases and resources.
• Google Search Tips: List of Operators and Google Search help
• This library guide from McGill University has operators and searching tips for many databases

  https://libraryguides.mcgill.ca/knowledge-syntheses/search-tips

5. 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 and Citation Chasing Video Tutorial

6. Register/Create account and login to save your search history and create alerts.
    
7. 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.
    
8. To save time, search the entire ProQuest Social Sciences Premium collection

• Some database specific advanced filtering capability and thesaurus terms may not be available.
• For the broadest ProQuest platform wide search, use ProQuest Academic One, which includes ProQuest Central (nearly all disciplines/subjects and different media types)

9. Use Browzine to browse and read scholarly articles in Social Work journals.
   To create an account with the Browzine App, select Temple University and login with your TU AccesNet ID.
    
10. Target Core Journals in Social Work and search all relevant databases.

• Use Library Search and Ulrich's Periodical Directory to look up journal titles and the databases to access them.
• Use Scimago Journal & Country Rank or Web of Science Journal Citation Reports to view rankings and journals impact factor.