InfoGuides: SOCW 4395: Current Issues in Social Work: Step 2

Step 2: Begin your research. Collect information and articles.

The Filter Bubble

How to "De-Personalize" Search Results

CNET article "Five ways to depersonalize Google search results"

Use Private browsing (available in all major browsers)
If you have a Google account (Gmail, Drive, Google+, etc.) click the globe icon in top-right corner to toggle personalized results off and on.
Use Search Settings to chose Do not use personal results.
Set browser to clear history and delete cookies when closed. Use a new browser for searching
Create your own depersonalized search engine) - only works with Chrome

Additional Suggestions:

Try using DuckDuckGo for searches. Pledges anonymity. Available as a Firefox or Internet Explorer search addon.
Don't click links in Facebook: copy the link and view in a different browser.
Don't stay logged into Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, etc while browsing and searching.

Library databases NEVER apply filters that you are unaware of. Search results are not influenced by previous searches unless YOU decide to leave selected filters in place!

Search Tips

Think of keywords that relate to your topic to begin your reasearch.

Boolean Operators are the words AND, OR and NOT that can be used to combine keywords in ways to narrow your search results.

Use Boolean Modifiers to further define and narrow your search.

FLOATED Box: Discover

Scholarly Articles

What is this searching?

Search This Database First

Look for the special limiters for age, gender, document type, to improve your search results.

Web of Science
Simultaneously search the most important journals in the social sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, the humanities, and visual and performing arts. Includes 'high impact' scholarly sources. Search by author, topic, affiliation, etc., or follow links to cited sources. Create an individualized sign-in to save results, set up search alerts, and gain access to citation management with the My EndNote Web service. Includes Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index (SCI).

Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: 1970-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and * for (any), ? for (1), $ for (0 or 1), Search Tips: Default search is for terms in the order they are entered, use quotation marks for a phrase. Search options include author, title, keyword, and subject. Author first name is initials only. Supports logical connectors AND, OR, NOT, and SAME. Can limit to one or two of the included indexes.

Other Databases with Important Content

The following databases don't have the special features of Web of Knowledge, but do contain significant full-text.

Social Work Abstracts
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Designed specifically for social work issues, abstracts more than 450 social work and human services journals dating back to 1966. Includes theory and practice.

Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: 1966-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ?, Search Tips: Use hyphens for subjects described with a phrase (i.e. family-violence). Clicking a link in the 'Narrow Results by Subject' adds the subject term to the previous search. Browsable help pages.
PsycInfo
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Behavioral sciences database containing full-text and abstracts for journals, books, and book chapters. International coverage for psychology, medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education and pharmacology. Index is created by the American Psychological Association. More than 1.8 million entries. Entries are searchable by language, format, special population groups, classification codes, content type, intended audience, and special features.

Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: 1887-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and *, Search Tips: Use quotation marks to phrase search. Allows Boolean AND, OR and NOT searching. May limit to full-text, scholarly journals, date, length, publication name and type. HELP link on each screen, which includes Citation information. Can print, save, or email results. Some full-text publications may have the most current 3-12 months in abstract only, due to publisher restrictions.
ScienceDirect
Broad science coverage, emphasizing life sciences, health sciences, engineering, earth sciences, agriculture, and pharmacology. Full text from over 3800 journals and chapters from over 5300 books. Also includes business, management and accounting; economics, econometrics and finance, and social science.

Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies by title, most 1990-present, Truncation and Wildcard: ! and *, Search Tips: Default search assumes entered term is a phrase. Can search for terms in abstract/title/keywords, full-text , author, journal title, etc. Use singular for terms that form regular plurals. For irregular plurals, combine both terms with OR. Greek letters are spelled out in English. Super and subscripts appear inline. Browsable help lists. Journal list.
MEDLINE (EBSCO)
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International coverage of all areas of medicine (clinical and experimental), dentistry, nursing, health services administration, etc. Interface through EBSCO will link to full-text articles, in addition to citations and abstracts. Uses MeSH headings. Can limit results by gender, age, and subject subsets such as Cancer or Systematic Reviews.

Format: Majority full-text; some additional full-text via link resolver, Coverage: Varies, begins as early as 1965, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ?, Search Tips: Use quotation marks to phrase search. Allows Boolean AND, OR and NOT searching. May limit to full-text scholarly journals, date, length, publication name and type. HELP link on each screen, which includes Citation information. Can print, save, or email results. Some full-text publications may have the most current 3-12 months in abstract only, due to publisher restrictions.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global
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Provides full text for over 1.7 million dissertations and masters theses from U.S. and international academic institutions and abstracting and indexing for 3.8 million.

Format: Frequently full-text, Coverage: Citations since 1637. Some full-text from 1743. Truncation and Wildcard: ? and *, Search Tips: May combine searches in a single research session.

Interlibrary Loan

If you need a book or article that we don't have, you can get it via Interlibrary Loan Details (ILL).

Request a book or article.
Most articles are emailed within 1-2 weeks. Books may take longer.

SOCW 4395: Current Issues in Social Work