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HomePageSocial Work 112: Social Welfare PolicyProfessor Paul Terrell Getting an Overview:Some topics, such as welfare reform, are vast, and it's easy to get overwhelmed. Getting an overview of the topic can help you start narrowing it down. Encyclopedias are good ways to get such overviews. The Social Welfare Library has encyclopedias in its reference section on a number of subjects. The most useful one is the 4-volume Encyclopedia of Social Work (HV35.S6, Reference; there's also a set in the open stacks available for checkout). Sometimes it can be difficult to know what federal programs exist to address which social problems. The Green Book (in progress) provides updated data and information on programs such as Medicare, Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Foster Care and welfare. Additionally, it includes a discussion of related issues, such as the well-being of the elderly and of children and families. (If the program you're interested in hasn't been updated yet, you can also try the 2004 Green Book.) Tips and Tricks:
Finding Books:There are several library catalogs that search for books in all the libraries of Berkeley, in all the UCs, at Stanford, in the world. For this paper, you should be able to find enough information here on campus -- but keep in mind that Interlibrary Loan is an option to get material from other libraries. (Warning: it takes TIME!) The Library Catalogs tab at the top of this page will take you to all of the catalog choices. We are going to start with Melvyl. If you don't know a specific title or author, or the exact Library of Congress Subject Heading (and who does?) use the dropdown arrow and select KEYWORDS. You can start with one or two keywords, and if you find a book that looks relevant, look at the bottom of the record to see the Subject Headings. Subject headings are powerful terms ("controlled vocabulary" in library speak) that bring together various ways to say the same thing. Finding Articles:We have hundreds of research databases, on a wide variety of topics. They are organized according to academic discipline. In order to find the most relevant databases, you'll want to look at those listed under Social Welfare... but also those that are listed under Public Policy, since this course covers both areas.
Or You Can Experiment with Searching Books AND Journals:Libraries know that you want a mix of books and articles, and that students are relying on Google, or better yet, Google Scholar to search for both. In addition, you can try Next Generation Melvyl -- it's a pilot project and searches books as well as SOME of the article databases. Finding Government Documents:LexisNexis Congressional contains congressional documents (hearings, committee prints, documents, legislative histories)which are searchable through this fulltext database. Citing Your ResearchScholarship relies on the work of those who came before "building on the shoulders of giants" -- but you need to clearly show where you got your information. The Library has created an easy to use guide on how to cite using the APA (American Psychological Association) citation style. There are also powerful citation management programs available free to you as students -- see Citation Guides, Style Guides, and Avoiding Plagiarismfor more information. Off-Campus Access:The Library pays for access to thousands of electronic journals, databases, etc. You can access these from off-campus, by following these directions. |