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Scope note: This web page supplements library workshops facilitated by Social Work Library Staff. It is not meant to be comprehensive. Within the structured approach to information literacy competencies taught at the School of Social Work, this session represents the 5th or "MSW" skill level.
Evidence-based social work is also covered in two tutorials:
MSW: Evidence-based Social Work and RefWorks, focusing on library resources at the University of Michigan Libraries in Aging, Children and Youth, and Community and Social Systems.
Information Literacy Competencies for Professional Social Workers, focusing on free Internet resources, suggests strategies for staying informed in Aging, Children and Youth, Community and Social Systems, Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Please contact Library staff for additional information at social.work.library@umich.edu.
Introduction | How to Choose a Topic | Primary Literature |
Formulating a Clinical Question and Search Strategy |
Secondary Literature
Sources and Keywords for Finding Secondary Literature
Managing bibliographic records in APA Style and RefWorks
Web Resources in the Public Domain for Evidence-based Social Work
Cultural literacy with minority populations
How will social workers maintain "best practice" over the course of their careers? There are many trends that will move the field in the direction of evidenced-based social work, according to Barry R. Cournoyer (2004, p. 2-3):
Presentation objectives are to:
| How to Choose a Topic |
"Most research...is based upon primary data analysis in which authors of the articles collect, as well as analyze, the data...Articles based on primary data analysis may have an important influence for further research. Any lasting impact of an article based upon primary data analysis may be estimated by citations of its subsequent empirical articles [ISI Web of Knowledge*] and in reviews of the literature... (Church, 2001, p. 1-2).
[*ISI selects the most influential journals in their fields. The highly selected 2000 journals act as a filter for the flood of information in the sciences. The science bias distorts the usefulness of ISI for social science researchers. While a unique and useful database for the impact of seminal authors, ISI is not the database of choice for social workers, especially in the initial phases of a literature search for understudied populations. Also, one cannot formulate complex keyword searches in ISI]One who conducts his or her own research may present the findings initially at a conference. Eventually the work may be published in the conference proceedings, a peer-reviewed journal, or in a book. For more on the "Publication Chain" (from idea to knowledge consensus) see http://www.lib.umich.edu/socwork/rescue/publicationchain.html
| Simple Questions for Finding Primary Sources: Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT |
Connector |
Result |
Use |
| dual diagnosis and integrated services | "How does integrating treatment of multiple diagnosis benefit or hinder prognosis?" | And is used to narrow your search. More variables will always result in less records. |
(co-morbidity or dual diagnosis) and (integrated services or treatment or standards or policy) |
"How does integrating treatment of multiple diagnosis benefit or hinder prognosis?" | Or is used most frequently to search for words that are synonyms. |
(co-morbidity or dual diagnosis) and (integrated services or treatment or standards or policy) not (children or adolescent) |
"How does integrating treatment of multiple diagnosis benefit or hinder prognosis in adults?" |
Not is used to take out words that are irrelevant to your search. |
Formulating an answerable clinical or program question and its effective search strategy: |
To formulate a good question think about the following variables (referred to as the anatomy of the client question or PICO) which stands for patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome [Richardson, W., Wilson, M., Nishikawa, J., & Hayward, R. (1995). The well-built clinical question: A key to evidence-based decisions. ACP Journal Club, 123, A12-A13].
Patient characteristics/population
Intervention/test being considered
Comparison intervention (if any)
Outcome of clinical interest/measure.Examples applying the PICO formula:
1) Medical/Consumer: Is there empirical support for melatonin as an effective treatment for jet lag?
P - If an airplane traveler
I - takes Melatonin to sleep on the plane
C - Or waits until bed time after arrival
O - then will he experience less jet lag?2) Mental Health: What provides the best chance for symptom relief of mental illness in persons of color, who may show alternative presentations of disorders?
P - If a mentally ill person of an ethnic or racial minority group
I - receives culturally-competent care (sans bias, discrimination, stereotyping, etc.)
C - Or standard treatment (presumed to have bias, discrimination, stereotyping, etc.)
O - then will he/she be freer of misdiagnosis or barriers to appropriate care and have better long-term health outcomes?3) Mental Health: What personal attributes contribute to the prevention of self-destructive behavior in victims of trauma ?
P - If a person suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
I - gains a sense of control over his/her life and belief systems
C - Or maintains uncertainty and lack of control
O - what outcomes for the future can we predict?4) Community and Social Systems: How does community participation by low income populations or marginalized groups especially women of color impact quality of life?
P – If members of poor urban neighborhoods
I – become involved in political or social change activities
C - or do not participate in their local community
O - does it matter for these communities?5) Community and Social Systems: How does an outsider foster critical thinking about development in institutions of civil society in Kerala?
P – If NGOs and political parties (in Kerala)
I – allow critical dialog within their organizations with the help of an American researcher
C -
O – what are some measureable outcomes for future development?
PICO Strategies for Finding Primary Sources: Boolean Operators AND, OR |
|
| Sample keyword strategies used | Databases used |
|---|---|
(de=mental or de=substance abuse) and (ethnic or racial or discrimination or bias or prejudice or stereotyping or disparities or inequalities or misdiagnosis or barriers) "de=post-traumatic stress disorder" and ("loss of control" or values or beliefs or social or cultural or religion) and (treatment or therapy or intervention) not pharmacolog* (de=poor or de=marginalized or de=ethnic or de=racial or de=cultural) and (de=social action or de=political participation)
|
Compare Cambridge Scientific Abstracts EBSCO and UM-MEDSEARCH Cross-searching these three databases can be very efficient and productive for most social work topics. Follow the In additon, search by keyword or subject in MIRLYN for book and other resources on your topic. |
Like "PICO", POEM (Patient Oriented Evidence that Matters) is an acronym that works best in a medical setting, but since most social workers do not work in a medical setting, they may call the persons whom they serve “clients.” Thus the acronym COPES (Client Oriented Practical Evidence Search) may be preferred. Compare the anatomy of the client question, PICO, with Posing a Well-Built COPES Question and Classifying It Into One of Five Question Types. |
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The quantity of primary studies on a single topic can be overwhelming. How do you find the best articles when there are 400 hits in a database? Secondary literature offers a filter for capturing the best of primary studies and often synthesizes the results for consumers like social work practitioners. Secondary Literature includes narrative literature reviews, secondary data analysis, meta-analysis and systematic reviews. For definitions of these and Evidence-Based Medicine and Evidence-based Social Work, see http://www.lib.umich.edu/socwork/rescue/ebswdefinition.html.
The genre of systematic reviews helps us get from ideas, first communicated informally in practice and research, then published in articles and in books as single studies, to consensus about best practice in the behavioral sciences. To reduce bias of traditional narrative literature reviews, systematic reviews are conducted, along with secondary data analysis and meta-analysis. These forms of secondary literature help practitioners and policy-makers keep up with interventions and programs that are based on evidence and consensus.
According to Howard, M. O., Bricout, J., Edmond, T., Elze, D., & Jenson, J.M. (2003), practice guidelines, which don't require social workers to be consumers of research, "offer practitioners explicit recommendations for client care and 'support scientifically-based decision-making in a manner that reduces clinical uncertainty and otherwise assists social wokers in their day-to-day activies."
Systematic reviews, secondary data analysis, meta-analysis and practice guidelines are all sources in the literature to help you keep up with interventions and programs that are based on evidence and consensus.
| Databases | Primary Literature subject headings |
Secondary Literature subject headings (suggestions to narrow search for secondary literature) |
|---|---|---|
MEDLINE (Ovid) |
Randomized controlled trials ('Gold Standard")
|
Evidence-based |
Sample searches in Medline: "post-traumatic stress disorder" |
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CINAHL  Access via web: EBSCO 1982- (Updated monthly) Guide to searching CINAHL. Quick guide to searching CINAHL. An index to U.S. nursing journals, including selected primary journals in social service and healthcare. There are more than 7000 records with full text now included and 1200 records with images. |
Research |
Meta-analysis |
|
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Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Ovid) |
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Sample search in Cochrane: jet lag |
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| EBM Reviews (Ovid) |
--------------- | ----------- |
Sample search in EBM Reviews:"post-traumatic stress disorder" |
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PsycINFO |
Research Empirical study Program evaluation Treatment effectiveness evaluation |
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Sample search in PsycINFO: substance abuse using the |
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| Social Science Electronic Data Library Access via web: http://searchtools.lib.umich.edu /V/? func=native-link&Resource=UMI01581 Current edition. A source for health and social science data sets from 200 different studies, ranging from aging, teen pregnancy, family, maternal drug abuse, etc. The raw data sets are available for download. |
Data sets for evaluating a wide range of treatments, including randomized, controlled, open clinical trials. | --------- |
| ISI Web of Knowledge | TS= systematic review Document Type= Review |
|
1. Sample search in ISI Web of Knowledge IN GENERAL SEARCH: (Not good for complex searching with multiple synonyms) |
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CSA Illumina |
See individual databases | See individual databases |
| AGELINE Access via web: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts 1978- (Updated monthly) Guide to searching AGELINE. Indexes and abstracts books, journals, research reports, consumer guides, and book chapters in the field of aging. Produced by the American Association of Retired Persons. This database is limited to 8 simultaneous connections. Compatible with RefWorks. AgeLine Database at AARP http://www.aarp.org/ research/ageline/ offers free access to abstracts of social gerontology and aging-related articles, books, and reports. |
Randomized controlled trials |
Outcomes |
Sample search AGELINE: reminiscence or life review and (any words in column 3) |
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Sample search in AgeLINE for culturally competent interventions: "racial and ethnic groups" and (intervention or therapy or treatment or counseling) |
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While NOT a source of systematic reviews, Stat!Ref may be considered a proxy for them, to the extent that the sources are authoritative syntheses of disorders and their treatments. Stat!Ref is a full-text resource that allows you to cross-search more than 25 medical and drug texts, including the DSM-IV-TR: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders. |
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| Sample search in Stat!Ref: conduct disorder | ||
| Family & Society Studies Worldwide Access via web: http://biblioline.nisc.com /scripts/ login.dll? BiblioLine &dbname=QFSD 1970- (Updated monthly) Guide to Family & Society Studies Worldwide. A "comprehensive, systematic, and non-evaluative resource of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science, Human Ecology, Human Development and Social Welfare. FSSW provides over 455,000 abstracts and bibliographic records drawn from over two thousand professional journals, books, popular literature, conference papers, government reports, and other sources." Compatible with RefWorks. |
Research Evaluation Program evaluation |
Literature review |
Sample search F&SSW : conduct disorder and treatment and (any words in column 3) |
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Sample search in Family & Society Studies Worldwide for culturally ("battered women" or "family violence") and |
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Social Work Abstracts |
Social Work Research Research Evaluation Evaluation research |
Meta- |
| Sample search Social Work Abstracts: substance abuse and (any words in column 3) | ||
| Sample search in Social Work Abstracts for culturally competent interventions: ("battered women" or "family violence") and ("minority groups" or "cultural competence") | ||
| Social Services Abstracts Access via web: CSA Illumina 1980- (Updated monthly) Guide to searching CSA Illumina. An index of social services literature, including social welfare, policy and community development. Abstracts cover journal articles, dissertations and book reviews. While this database indexes more journals than Social Work Abstracts, many of the journals are not available on this campus. Compatible with RefWorks. |
Evidence- |
|
Sample search in Social Services Abstracts: substance abuse and (any words in column 3) |
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Sample search in Social Services Abstracts for culturally competent interventions: ("battered women" or "family violence") and "crosscultural treatment" |
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ERIC
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Research |
Literature reviews |
Sample search in ERIC: substance abuse treatment and (any words in column 3) |
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| Sample search in ERIC for culturally competent interventions: ("minority groups" or "cultural differences") and (intervention or therapy or treatment or counseling) |
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| Sociological Abstracts Access via web: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts 1963- (Updated monthly) Guide to searching Sociological Abstracts. Sociological Thesaurus. Contains over 457,000 citations and abstracts for sociological literature. Indexes and abstracts journal articles concerning all aspects of sociology published in Sociological Abstracts, and includes coverage of core social work journals. Compatible with RefWorks. |
Evaluation research Social science research Program evaluation |
Literature reviews Standards |
Sample search in Sociological Abstracts: substance abuse treatment and (any words in column 3) |
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Sample search in Sociological Abstracts for culturally competent interventions: ("battered women" or "family violence") and "crosscultural treatment" |
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Criminal Justice Abstracts |
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General Accounting Office (Renamed Government Accountability Office in 2004)
|
Research |
Meta- analysis Evidence- based practice Guidelines Best practices* |
Sample search in GAO Reports: substance abuse treatment AND (any words in column 3) |
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Dissertations and Theses: A & I |
Meta-analysis |
|
| Sample search in Dissertations and Theses: A & I: substance abuse treatment AND (any words in column 3) | ||
PopLine (Population Information Program) /basic.html |
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| Sample search in PopLine: substance abuse treatment | ||
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N/A | N/A |
| Sample search for consumer report literature: lasik surgery | ||
LexisNexis Statistical |
See Below |
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Sample search for indicators of: well-being Use the check boxes for rather than key word searching for an age or race category
= University of Michigan Licensed Database -- Accessible from campus workstations and from remote locations to valid U-M community members with signon or with valid IP address.
|
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*Can be used in the database as keyword, not as descriptor or subject heading.
Managing Bibliographic Records in APA Style and RefWorks:
Research tip: Record all pertinent citation information for future reference in APA style. For more examples of government documents in APA style, see Citing Legal Materials in APA Style (Westfield State College - Ely Library)
Manage Bibliographic Records in RefWorks
RefWorks is a web-based bibliography and database manager. RefWorks allows users to create personal citation databases by importing references from online databases. RefWorks features also facilitate manuscript preparation, allowing for automatic formatting of the paper and the bibliography in any style, including APA.
RefWorks is similar in function to bibliographic management software products such as EndNote, Reference Manager, and ProCite, and citations from these programs can be easily imported into RefWorks. RefWorks differs in that personal databases are stored on the RefWorks server and can be accessed through the University Library institutional account from wherever the user happens to be. In addition, there is no charge for use to University of Michigan current faculty, staff and students.
Learn more about RefWorks at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/knc/howto/citation/refworks/. There is also an interactive tutorial at http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/ and a list of social-work-related databases and their protocols for use with RefWorks at http://www.lib.umich.edu/socwork/rescue/refworksprotocols.html
Click here to sign up for a RefWorks account.
Web Resources in the Public Domain for |
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| National Library of Medicine (NLM) Gateway http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/ |
From the National Library of Medicine, this site provides multiple database coverage: MEDLINE/PubMed (journal articles and features for searching the biomedical literature, including search limits and filters relevant to searching for best evidence resources), LOCATORplus (books, journals, and audiovisual material), MEDLINEplus (consumer health), ClinicalTrial.gov, |
| Institute of Medicine http://www.iom.edu |
The IOM was chartered in 1970 as a component of the National Academy of Sciences. The Institute provides a vital service by working outside the framework of government to ensure scientifically informed analysis and independent guidance. The IOM's mission is to serve as adviser to the nation to improve health. The Institute provides unbiased, evidence-based, and authoritative information and advice concerning health and science policy to policy-makers, professionals, leaders in every sector of society, and the public at large. |
National Institutes of Health |
The National Institutes of Health is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. It is an Agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| National Institute of Mental Health http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ |
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal government's principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. |
PubMed Clinical Queries
|
PubMed's Clinical Queries section makes Find Systematic Reviews: For your topic(s) of interest, this search finds To save search results, go to the Send |
| Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration http://www.samhsa.gov/ |
SAMHSA has launched a new National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) Web site at http://nrepp.samhsa.gov. About |
SAMHSA'S (Substance Abuse |
This government website offers six resource kits in support of evidence- based practices in mental health. The topics covered are Illness Management and Recovery, Medication Management Approaches in Psychiatry, Assertive Community Treatment, Family Psychoeducation, Supported Employment, and Co-occurring Disorders: Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment. |
| Cochrane Collaboration http://www.cochrane. org/index.htm The United States Cochrane |
Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses on specific therapy topics. Substantive abstracts may be viewed at no cost; subscription required for full text of review articles. The United States Cochrane Center (USCC) was established in December 2002. |
| Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group (CDPLG) http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts /CochraneBehav/index.html |
Based on Cochrane methodology, as exemplified by Family and parenting interventions in children and adolescents with conduct disorder and delinquency aged 10-17. |
| Campbell Collaboration Social, Psychological, Educational, and Criminological Trials Register http://www.campbellcoll aboration.org/ |
Aims are to identify all the experimental research of educational, social policy and criminal justice interventions, and to undertake, update, and make accessible systematic reviews of social and educational interventions. |
| The National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination http://www.york. ac.uk/inst/crd/ |
Systematic reviews in health care policy, .e.g., |
| Medscape http://www.medscape. com/px/urlinfo |
Free, but registration is required. Medical news, conference coverage, online CME, selected online journals, practice guidelines, and drug information from American Hospital Formulary Service Drug Information and First DataBank's National Drug Data File. |
| Genetics Home Reference http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/ |
Consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes responsible for those conditions. |
| Expert Consensus Guidelines http://www.psych guides.com/ |
Psychiatric treatment guidelines for the most difficult questions facing clinicians. |
| Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) http://www.ahrq.gov/ |
The lead Federal agency on quality of care research, with new responsibility to coordinate all Federal quality improvement efforts and health services research. For Mental Health research, see http://www.ahrq.gov/ research/mentalix.htm and for Evidence-based Practice, see http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcix.htm |
| National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) http://www.guideline.gov/ |
Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ), this website provides clinical practice guidelines of systematically developed statements with recommendations, strategies, and other information that assists health care providers in making appropriate health care decisions. The guidelines are produced by a formally recognized society, organization, or agency and have been developed, reviewed orrevised within the last five years. |
Social Care Institute
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Social Care Online provides the UK's most complete range of information and research on all aspects of social care - for free. With new content added daily by SCIE's experienced information professionals, you can find information about all aspects of social care, from fostering, to mental health, to human resources and much, much more. You can also have information delivered to your desktop - find out more about email alerts and RSS feeds. |
National Center for |
The site offers a list of evidence-based practice resources representing demonstrated effective interventions for treating youth in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and juvenile |
| Centre for Evidence-Based Social Services (CEBSS) http://www.ripfa.org.uk/ aboutus/archive/ |
"ensuring that decisions taken at all levels in (U.K.) Social Services are informed by trends from good-quality research." CEBSS was based at the University of Exeter and was part of the Peninsula Medical School, 1997-2004. |
Centre for Reviews |
CRD was established in January 1994, and produces and promotes the use of research based knowledge in health and social care with databases: DARE – (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects) contains over 4000 abstracts of quality assessed and critically appraised systematic reviews. The database focuses
NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) contains over 6000 abstracts of quality assessed economic evaluations. The database aims to assist decision-makers by systematically identifying and describing economic evaluations, appraising their quality and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses. Both DARE and NHS EED include details of abstracts in the process of being written and these can be 'fast-tracked' on request. |
| APA practice guidelines are developed by expert work groups, who review available evidence using an explicit methodology. Iterative drafts undergo wide review by experts, allied organizations, and any APA member on request. Includes Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Eating Disorders, Dementias and more. | |
| Evidence Based Mental Health Online http://ebmh.bmj journals.com/ |
Persons using EBMH Online may view, reproduce or store copies of articles comprising the journal provided that the articles are used only for their personal, non-commercial use. |
| California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. http://www.cachildwelfare clearinghouse.org/ |
You can search by Topical Area, Program Name, Maltreatment Type, Rating, and Goals/Outcomes, and sign up for Email Alerts. |
| National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) Research Institute http://www.nasmhpd.org/ |
A center for evidence -based practice |
| The Health Development Agency's Evidence Base 2001 http://194.83.94.80/hda/ docs/evidence/eb2000/ corehtml/intro.htm |
Gateway to systematic reviews of effectiveness, literature reviews, and meta-analysis to improve health and health inequities. |
TRIP Database
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Developed by Jon Brassey in 1997, this database assembles a variety of Internet evidence-based health care resources. A basic version can be searched free of charge. The enhanced database, TRIP Plus, includes peer-reviewed journals, e-textbooks, medical images, and patient information leaflets, and it requires a subscription to access. TRIP Plus is updated monthly. NOTE: subscription is required for full-text access. |
World Health Organization:
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The website offers links to Evidence and Information for Policy, identifying cost-effectiveness of health care interventions and to the Health Evidence Network which features a small library of synthesis reports and links to evidence-based web resources. |
| GAO Reports at GAO or GAO Reports at GPO |
Full-text program evaluations from the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. |
| Evidence-Based Practice for the Helping Professions links to Evidence-Based Sources by Client Type and Practice Discipline |
Provides another presentation on the concepts of Evidence-based Practice, useful in Social Work, Psychology, Nursing and Medicine. Uses |
Resources for Social |
These guides provide sources for ongoing professional development for social workers in the field. They includes information on services provided by the University of Michigan Social Work Library as well as links to major online resources of general interest to social work and health care practitioners. The online resources listed are in the public domain, available without cost, although some of their services have fees. |
| National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice |
Established in July 2001 to assist the field in developing improved policies and programs for youth with mental health disorders in contact with the juvenile justice system, based on the best available research and practice. |
Department of Education
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To make known the evidence-based practices in education, including dropout prevention and other areas of interest to school social workers. |
A Review of the School |
|
Center for Effective |
Supports and promotes a reoriented national preparedness to foster the development and the adjustment of children with or at risk of developing serious emotional disturbance. To achieve that goal, the Center is dedicated to a policy of collaboration at Federal, state, and local levels that contributes to and facilitates the production, exchange, and use of knowledge about effective practices. |
EthnoMed (University of Washington Harborview Medical Center) Contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other related issues pertinent to the health care of recent immigrants to Seattle or the US, many of whom are refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the world.
References
Church, R. M. (2001). The Effective Use of Secondary Data. Learning and Motivation 33).
Cournoyer, B.R. (2004). The Evidence-based social work skills book. Boston: MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Howard, M. O., Bricout, J., Edmond, T., Elze, D., and Jenson, J.M. (2003). Evidence-based practice guidelines. In Encyclopedia of Social Work, Supplement(19th Ed.) (p.48). Washington, D.C., NASW Press
Pollan, M. (2007) Unhappy meals: Thirty years of nutritional science made Americans sicker, fatter, and less well nourished. A plea for a return to plain old foods. New York Times Magazine, Jan. 28, p. 40-47, 65-70.
Document Custodian: Sally Haines
Content last revised: 3June 2008
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