Key resources
Background information
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Encyclopedia of Social WorkCo-published by the National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press, this online encyclopedia is widely considered the cornerstone of reference in the field. Contains four hundred subject entries and two hundred brief biographies of key figures in the history of social work.
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The Social Worker's Desk Reference (2015)E-book available to multiple users. 159 short chapters with links to further resources, collaboratively written by major figures in the field.
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The Grand Challenges for Social Work12 challenges from the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare (AASWSW). Supporting documents, articles, and resources for each of the challenge focus areas.
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Social ExplorerCurrent and historical census data and demographic information for the United States with tools to create thematic maps, interactive maps, and customized reports.
Academic journal articles
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Social Services AbstractsIndexes and abstracts current research in social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development.
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PsycINFO via EBSCOhostOne of the top resources for research in psychology and the behavioral and social sciences. Includes information on topics ranging from education to pharmacology.
Resources for clinical practice
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)Here you can access an online edition of the DSM-5. This authoritative volume defines and classifies mental disorders in order to improve diagnoses, treatment, and research.
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DSM-5-TRDSM-5 Text Revision released March 2022.
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Psychotherapy.net Video CollectionsHigh-quality streaming videos on counseling, psychotherapy, and addiction. The majority of the videos show therapists conducting therapy and demonstrating clinical skills, along with pre and post discussions. Most of the leading figures in the field are included in this collection. Also includes downloadable instructor manuals.
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Treatment PlannersA list of e-book versions of treatment planners available through the USU Libraries.
Resources for writing
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Professional Writing for Social Work PracticeBy Daniel Weisman and Joseph Zornado. Published 2018.
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Guide to Writing for Human Service ProfessionalsBy Morley D. Glicken. Published 2018.
Resources after graduation
Accessing research after graduation can be difficult, though it's important as a practitioner. Here are some tips:
- Install a browser extension that can help find Open Access versions of content:
- Unpaywall A product of the nonprofit Impactstory, Unpaywall is available for Chrome and Firefox. It matches the content of a journal site or database record against a repository of free, legal versions of published articles.
- Open Access Button Funded and supported by various scholarly groups, the OA Button searches a repository of free-legal versions of published articles and, if none is available, facilitates placing a request to the author to add a legal version to that repository. The OA Button is implemented as a bookmarklet, which users save to their browser’s bookmarks bar for use on a journal or database site.
- Kopernio Now owned by Clarivate Analytics, which also now owns Web of Science, Kopernio is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that finds a free version of a published article when clicked from a page about the article. The Kopernio button also allows users to download a citation of the article.
- Search Open Access journals directly. More info about Open Access is available on this guide. For Social Work-specific resources, check out the Open Social Work project and their list of open access journals (compiled 4/2020).
- Search Google Scholar, which includes Open Access versions of articles, sometimes, since it has very good indexing of institutional repositories. Microsoft Academic is an alternative and sometimes turns up different results.
- Contact authors directly for papers. Often a compliment for scholars, who like to know their work is being read!
- Access electronic resources on campus at the USU library or another college or university library. Most if not all academic libraries have public access terminals for this specific purpose.
