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Scope note: This web page supplements information needs of students in the School of Social Work. The information presented here is not meant to be comprehensive. Please contact Library staff for additional information at social.work.library@umich.edu.
Social Work Abstracts is a database of citations from the social work literature, provided by the vendor SilverPlatter and produced by the National Association of Social Workers.
Social Work Abstracts is the index for the social work and human services literature. Back to 1977, it covers more than 400 journals on topics related to the social work profession, theory and practice, and social issues or problems. This database provides citations to dissertations, and recently, to books and book chapters. There is some overlap between the coverage in this database and Sociological Abstracts and Social Services Abstracts.
Below you will find a simple two-step approach to preparing your search strategy, thereby allowing you to search these databases effectively and efficiently.
Step #1. Define your topic in the form of a question or statement, for example, What are some current research studies on GLBT populations? Then, break down the question into specific logical components or concepts:
| CONCEPT 1: research |
CONCEPT 2: GLBT populations |
Step #2 Using the example in step #1, write down all the synonyms you can think of to describe the concepts, using an appropriate thesaurus:
| CONCEPT 1: research |
CONCEPT 2: |
research |
homosexuality lesbians sexual preference sexuality gays bisexuality transgender issues |
It is important to use the words in your search that are used in the database. For example, Social Work Abstracts uses the Thesaurus of Sociological Indexing Terms as the official list of subject headings or descriptors (HM 17 .T5311 1996).
Before you start your search, consider methods for focusing your topic, with specific journal titles, or with dates of publication.
After you prepare your search strategy, you are ready to begin searching the databases. From your web browser, point to the Social Work Library's alphabetical list of databases, and click on the Social Work Abstracts quick link.
From the initial database selection screen, check the boxes next to the databases you want to search (Social Work Abstracts). Click on the "Start Searching" button. Using the descriptors from the example above, perform an "Advanced" search, such as:
| research or sampling | in descriptors (de) | |
| and | lesbian# or homosexuality | in descriptors (de) |
(Note: you can also search by classification code for research articles, instead of searching by descriptor. Select Classification Code (CC) and put 2335 in the input box.)
Click on the "Search" button. The terms entered will be searched in the subject heading (descriptor) fields only. The truncation symbol (#) will command the system to retrieve the plural form of the terms in addition to the the singular forms. Your search results will display toward the bottom of the screen. To view the complete record for a citation, click on the "Complete Record" link. Note the the abstract, and the descriptor fields for additional useful terms to refine or broaden your search. Click on "Show All Results" icon to return to the list of results.
You may mark records as you browse, for later printing/emailing. After records are marked, click on the "Show:" pull-own menu from the results screen and select "Marked Results." Only the records you marked will display.
With your list of marked results, click on the print icon (
).
On the Print Options screen, confirm that "Marked Records Only" is selected.
In the "Print these fields" section, click on the "Displayed fields" pull-down
menu, and select "Complete Record." It is recommended that you print your search
history along with your records, so that you can replicate your search and
the results. Click on the "Print" button near the top of the screen. Confirm
the printer name is correct at the next dialog box, and click on "OK." Click
on the "Back" button to return to your search results.
To save marked records, click on the diskette icon (
).
At the "Save Records to Disk" screen, confirm that "Marked Records" is selected.
Change the "Save these fields" option to "Complete Record." Click on the "Save" button
near the top of the screen. A Windows "Save As . . ." box will appear with
a default saving location indicated. Save your records to a zip disk (drive
D: on campus computers) or to your IFS space (drive H:) by typing in the "File
Name" box: d:\filename.txt, where filename is no more than an eight-letter
name. The .TXT extension allows you to view these records in any word-processing
software. Click on the "Save" button. Then click on the "Back" button to return
to your search results.
To email marked records, click on the envelope icon (
).
At the "Send Mail" screen, type in your complete e-mail address in the "From:" box
and in the "Send records to:" box. Confirm that "Marked Records" is selected
and change the "Displayed Fields" to "Complete Record." Click on the "Send
Mail" button near the top of the screen. You should get a message
on screen that indicates the records were mailed. The system will automatically
return you to your results screen.
To find out where your cited journal is held on campus or is available online,
click on the SFX button [
].
A new window will appear indicating whether full-text is available for the
journal title. If no full-text is available, click on the library catalog link.
A catalog search for the publication title will run in a separate window. Display
the full record to discover which volumes are on campus and which libraries
own those volumes.
Use the asterisk (*) to search for variations of words, such as adolesc* for adolescent, adolescents, adolescence.
Use the classification codes in Social Work Abstracts to efficiently focus your search. E.g. In Social Work Abstracts, family-violence in de and 2240 in cc will retrieve citations about group therapy for violent families and domestic violence victims. The classification codes are listed in the "Database Guide" -- click on the link near the top of the screen.
Save your search history if you plan on running a search again in the near
future. Click on the "Search History" tab. Click on the diskette icon ( ).
At the "Personal Login" page, click on the "New User" button and enter your
e-mail address in the "Personal User Name" field. Include a password. Click
on the "OK" button. At the "Save Search History" page, give your search a name
in the "Search History name:" field, which will describe to you the contents.
Indicate the expiration date for the search history. Click on the "Save History" button.
To use saved searches, click on the "Search History" tab. Click on the load
history icon (
).
Select the search you want to run and click on the "Load History" button. Your
search will be run against the currently selected database.
Reminder: Because we have limited connections to the SilverPlatter databases, please logout of the database before you close your web browser window. Simply click on the "Logout" button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
This
database is restricted to validated U-M students, staff and faculty.
Content last updated on: 14 April 2005
Social Work Library | (734) 764-5169 | social.work.library@umich.edu
B700 School of Social Work Building, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor MI 48109-1106
