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Social Services Abstracts
The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,300 journals as well as dissertations, and citations to book reviews.
Other databases to search:
AgeLine
AgeLine focuses exclusively on the population aged 50+ abd issues of aging. The premier source for social gerontology literature, it includes aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics and public policy.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. The Library search includes links to over 22,300 bibliographic citations and abstracts. Includes links to full text of 70+ NCCAN publications, including "user manuals" and information on state statutes.
ERIC (Education)
ERIC is the primary database supporting research in all areas of education, including psychology, administration, and library science.
Note: 1966 - present
Ethnic NewsWatch 
Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
GenderWatch
Articles on topics like sexuality, religion, societal roles, feminism, masculinity, eating disorders, day care, and the workplace that support LGBT studies, family studies, gender studies, and women's studies with a unique interdisciplinary approach. Click the check box to limit results to "Peer-reviewed" for scholarly articles.
PsycINFO
PsycINFO is the premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information relating to all aspects of psychology and related fields.
PubMed
"PubMed comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books."
Sociological Abstracts
The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.
Social Services Abstracts
The premier source for finding scholarly articles and other informaiton focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,300 journals as well as dissertations, and citations to book reviews.
Other databases to search:
AgeLine
AgeLine focuses exclusively on the population aged 50+ abd issues of aging. The premier source for social gerontology literature, it includes aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics and public policy.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. The Library search includes links to over 22,300 bibliographic citations and abstracts. Includes links to full text of 70+ NCCAN publications, including "user manuals" and information on state statutes.
ERIC (Education)
ERIC is the primary database supporting research in all areas of education, including psychology, administration, and library science.
Note: 1966 - present
Ethnic NewsWatch
Articles from over 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Provides in-depth coverage of a wide range of current and historical topics. Limit the Source Type to "Scholarly Journals" for peer-reviewed articles.
GenderWatch
Articles on topics like sexuality, religion, societal roles, feminism, masculinity, eating disorders, day care, and the workplace that support LGBT studies, family studies, gender studies, and women's studies with a unique interdisciplinary approach. Click the check box to limit results to "Peer-reviewed" for scholarly articles.
PsycINFO
PsycINFO is the premier source for finding scholarly articles and other information relating to all aspects of psychology and related fields.
PubMed
"PubMed comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books."
Sociological Abstracts
The primary database for scholarly articles in sociology, anthropology, social work, and related topics of study.
Search Tips:
- Search by concepts, taking out common words like effect, affect, good, bad, etc.
- Using AND focuses or limits your search (you get fewer results). Using OR broadens or expands your search (you get more results).
- Use * to search for different word endings (child* searches child, child's, children, children's but also childbirth) and plurals.
- Use quotation marks around phrases.
- Try the Advanced Search. Change the "field" you are search using the pull down menu (for example, search for keywords only in the "Title" of an article).
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services.
Minnesota Board of Social Work
The official Web site of the State of Minnesota Board of Social Work.
USA.gov
The U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state, and local government web resources and services.
HHS is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services.
Minnesota Board of Social Work
The official Web site of the State of Minnesota Board of Social Work.
USA.gov
The U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state, and local government web resources and services.
Age Data
Statistical data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
AgingStats.gov
"...the latest data on the 37 key indicators selected by the Forum (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging -Related Statistics) to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families."
data.census.gov
Tables and maps of most recent demographic and economic data for all geographies including the U.S., states, counties, cities, towns, American Indian reservations, metropolitan areas, zip codes, census tracts, blocks, and more. Produced by the US Census Bureau.
Criminal Justice Statistics Center
This Web site contains more than 5,000 statistical tables, 59 reports, 29 publications, links to federal, state, and local agency statistics, and links to other criminal statistics services. Provided by the State of California Department of Justice.
Digest of Education Statistics
Provides a compilation of statistical information covering the field of American education from pre-K through graduate school. Print copies of the Digest are located in the Government Documents collection at the call number US Docs ED 1.140:
FedStats
More than 100 agencies in the United States Federal Government produce statistics of interest to the public.
Kids Count
Kids Count is an effort to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, Kids Count seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.
Minnesota State Demographic Center
Distributes demographic data from state, U.S. Census Bureau and other sources; also provides access to analytic reports produced by Minnesota Planning, a state agency.
Statistical data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
AgingStats.gov
"...the latest data on the 37 key indicators selected by the Forum (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging -Related Statistics) to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families."
data.census.gov
Tables and maps of most recent demographic and economic data for all geographies including the U.S., states, counties, cities, towns, American Indian reservations, metropolitan areas, zip codes, census tracts, blocks, and more. Produced by the US Census Bureau.
Criminal Justice Statistics Center
This Web site contains more than 5,000 statistical tables, 59 reports, 29 publications, links to federal, state, and local agency statistics, and links to other criminal statistics services. Provided by the State of California Department of Justice.
Digest of Education Statistics
Provides a compilation of statistical information covering the field of American education from pre-K through graduate school. Print copies of the Digest are located in the Government Documents collection at the call number US Docs ED 1.140:
FedStats
More than 100 agencies in the United States Federal Government produce statistics of interest to the public.
Kids Count
Kids Count is an effort to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, Kids Count seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.
Minnesota State Demographic Center
Distributes demographic data from state, U.S. Census Bureau and other sources; also provides access to analytic reports produced by Minnesota Planning, a state agency.
American Public Human Services Association
Founded in 1930, the American Public Human Services Association is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of individuals and agencies concerned with human services. It educates the public about such issues as welfare, child welfare, health care reform, and other issues involving familites and the elderly.
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It seeks to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports to help cities, states, and communities fashion more innovative, effective responses to the needs of vulnerable children and families.
Association of Social Work Boards
ASWB is the association of state bodies that regulate social work.It develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country, and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work.
International Federation of Social Workers
IFSW works to promote social work as a profession through cooperation and action on an international basis.
Minnesota Community Foundation
Minnesota Community Foundation serves as a partner in philanthropy, complementing the efforts of other private and public charities, nonprofit organizations and civic efforts. The Foundation is a vehicle for donors to contribute to the future health of Minnesota’s communities by making charitable grants on behalf of donors and affiliated community funds to help organizations and communities around the state.
National Association of Social Workers
NASW is the largest organization of professional social workers in the world. Its main mission is to promote, develop, and protect the practice of social work and social workers.
National Public Radio
"NPR is an internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming."
New Social Worker Online
Offers information on social work employment.
Social Work Today
"The nation's leading newsmagazine for social workers."
Wilder Research
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a nonprofit health and human services organization that has served the greater Saint Paul, Minnesota area since 1906. They operate dozens of programs that help children succeed in school, older adults remain independent, troubled youth create healthy futures, and individuals and families maintain long-term housing.
Founded in 1930, the American Public Human Services Association is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of individuals and agencies concerned with human services. It educates the public about such issues as welfare, child welfare, health care reform, and other issues involving familites and the elderly.
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It seeks to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports to help cities, states, and communities fashion more innovative, effective responses to the needs of vulnerable children and families.
Association of Social Work Boards
ASWB is the association of state bodies that regulate social work.It develops and maintains the social work licensing examination used across the country, and is a central resource for information on the legal regulation of social work.
International Federation of Social Workers
IFSW works to promote social work as a profession through cooperation and action on an international basis.
Minnesota Community Foundation
Minnesota Community Foundation serves as a partner in philanthropy, complementing the efforts of other private and public charities, nonprofit organizations and civic efforts. The Foundation is a vehicle for donors to contribute to the future health of Minnesota’s communities by making charitable grants on behalf of donors and affiliated community funds to help organizations and communities around the state.
National Association of Social Workers
NASW is the largest organization of professional social workers in the world. Its main mission is to promote, develop, and protect the practice of social work and social workers.
National Public Radio
"NPR is an internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming."
New Social Worker Online
Offers information on social work employment.
Social Work Today
"The nation's leading newsmagazine for social workers."
Wilder Research
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation is a nonprofit health and human services organization that has served the greater Saint Paul, Minnesota area since 1906. They operate dozens of programs that help children succeed in school, older adults remain independent, troubled youth create healthy futures, and individuals and families maintain long-term housing.
Michael Gorman
Associate Professor, Research Librarian
MC 140F
(320) 308-2028
msgorman@stcloudstate.edu
Reference Desk - Miller Center 1st Floor W
- Monday-Thursday: 12:00 - 4:00 pm
Email: askref@stcloudstate.edu
APA Style -- Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Examples of formatting papers, in-text citations, footnotes and endnotes, and reference lists in APA style. Updated according to the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Examples of formatting papers, in-text citations, footnotes and endnotes, and reference lists in APA style. Updated according to the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
An annotated bibliography is a list of information resources such as books, articles, webpages, etc. on a particular topic. An annotation includes a citation, a summary or description of the resource, and an evaluation of the quality or usefullness of the resource. Creating annotated bibliographies can help you organize and summarize your research. Also, professors will sometimes assign them to students.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab also has a good guide to annotated biobliographies with examples. Cornell University Library has a guide on how to prepare annotated bibliographies. The UMUC library and Skidmore College library have online tutorials on annotated bibliographies.
Here are some examples of annotated bibliographies:
Kerka, S., & Imel, S. (2004). Annotated bibliography: Women and literacy. Women's Studies Quarterly, 32(1), 258-271.
Medford, R. (2004). Housing discrimination in U.S. suburbs: A bibliography. Journal of Planning Literature, 18(4), 399-457.
Urban, A. (2008). Select Annotated Bibliography on Pornography and Pedagogy. Victorian Review, 34(2), 23-25
The Purdue Online Writing Lab also has a good guide to annotated biobliographies with examples. Cornell University Library has a guide on how to prepare annotated bibliographies. The UMUC library and Skidmore College library have online tutorials on annotated bibliographies.
What is an Annotated Bibliography? from Kimbel Library on Vimeo.
Here are some examples of annotated bibliographies:
Kerka, S., & Imel, S. (2004). Annotated bibliography: Women and literacy. Women's Studies Quarterly, 32(1), 258-271.
Medford, R. (2004). Housing discrimination in U.S. suburbs: A bibliography. Journal of Planning Literature, 18(4), 399-457.
Urban, A. (2008). Select Annotated Bibliography on Pornography and Pedagogy. Victorian Review, 34(2), 23-25
Once you have searched for and located information, you must evaluate your results to determine which resources to use for your research assignments. One method for evaluating information is the CRAAP Test (from the Meriam Library at California State University Chico). CRAAP stands for:
- Currency: The timeliness of the information.
- Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.
- Authority: The source of the information.
- Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, objectivity, and correctness of the informational content.
- Purpose: The reason the information exists.
Scholarly sources are:
- written by experts, scholars, or professors in the discipline; names and credentials are included
- contain a bibliography (works cited) and/or footnotes to document research
- reviewed and critically evaluated by experts in the field of study (peer review or refereed)
Provides resources for citing sources, writing annotated bibliographies and literature reviews, and doing Social Science research.
Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development 
Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing
Encyclopedia of Social Problems
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
Encyclopedia of Social Work
REF HV35 .S6 Check MnPALS Catalog for Location and Availability
Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery
Poverty: An International Glossary
Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing
Encyclopedia of Social Problems
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
Encyclopedia of Social Work
REF HV35 .S6 Check MnPALS Catalog for Location and Availability
Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery
Poverty: An International Glossary
