LibGuides: SW 905: Historical and Current Analysis of Social Work and Social Problems: Secondary Sources (Reference Books and Journal Articles)

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Start with Secondary Sources

Use secondary sources to:

Define the scope of your topic
Identify relevant search terminology
Identify specific topics of interest for primary sources
Follow up on bibliography references and other clues...perhaps to primary sources

Below you will find Reference Books and Journal Article Databases.

You may also want to check out the Social Welfare History Group website. A division of the American Historical Association (also closely affiliated with NASW and CSWE), the SWHG "encourage[s] the teaching of history and the value of doing historical research on social work and social welfare through presentations at conferences, publication of bibliographies and articles and dissertations."

Social Welfare History Group website

Article Databases

Social Services Abstracts
1980-present
Bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services and related areas including social welfare, social policy and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,500 serials publications and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews.
America History and Life
America: History & Life covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada. It has selective indexing for over 1,700 journals from 1955 to present. The database also provides full-text coverage of more than 200 journals and nearly 100 books.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text
Provides access to historical articles for the Modern period (1450 to the present) for Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Latin America.

Reference Books (Background Information)

Some recommendations for specific titles. You can also use a reference database like SAGE Knowledge to search across multiple titles at once. Or identify other subject-specific encyclopedias and handbooks in the library catalog.

The Encyclopedia of Social Work by Terry Mizrahi; Larry E. Davis
Call Number: HV12 .E55 2008 Online

ISBN: 9780195306613

Publication Date: 2008
Historical Dictionary of the Welfare State by Bent Greve
Call Number: JC479 .G74 2006

ISBN: 081085094X

Publication Date: 2006-01-16

From the "absolute poverty line" to "workfare," the cross-referenced alphabetical entries presented by Greve (social sciences, Roskilde U., Denmark) are intended to identify and describe the core concepts related to discussions of the welfare state or welfare society in international context. In addition to the dictionary, he presents an introductory essay, a chronology, a bibliography, and a discussion of how to find information. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Oxford Bibliographies Online - Social Work by Edward Mullen (Editor in Chief)
Oxford Bibliographies Online offers research guides on a wide variety of subjects that combine features of annotated bibliographies and subject-specific high-level encyclopedias. Summarizes main discussion areas within a particular topic and provides contextual citations to key works.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History by Lynn Dumenil (Editor)
Call Number: Online

ISBN: 9780199743360

Publication Date: 2012-04-13
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History by Donald T. Critchlow (Editor); Philip R. VanderMeer (Editor); Paul Boyer (Contribution by)
Call Number: Online

ISBN: 9780199754618

Publication Date: 2012
Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements by David A. Snow (Editor); Donatella Della Porta (Editor); Bert Klandermans (Editor); Doug McAdam (Editor)
Call Number: Online

ISBN: 1405197730

Publication Date: 2013