Hello! This course guide has been created for students enrolled in SWRG 5553, Social Policy & Practice course. In this guide, you will find several resources intended to help with your research assignments throughout the semester.

Below is a description of the pages found in the menu above:

• Social Policy Statistics - Here you'll find some of the best databases and websites for social policy information on the local, state, and national level.
• Research Guides - These guides provide lists of the best databases and library resources to use based on your information needs. Clicking on 'Research Guides' will bring you to a list of guides for all disciplines, and in the drop-down menu I've singled out guides relevant to this course, such as psychology, behavioral neuroscience, public health, and social work. Each discipline's research guide offers a curated subset of "best bet" databases to help you start searching for scholarly articles.
   
• Research Tutorials
  • How to Brainstorm Keywords - Once you've selected your topic, brainstorming keywords helps think of different ways to express your idea, or potential subtopics to explore. These keywords can be used to both broaden or narrow a search to find what you need.
  • Optimize Your Research - In this tutorial we introduce filters, functionality found in most databases that allow you to narrow results based on criteria such as date published, source type, language, and more.
  • Finding Peer-Reviewed Articles - Learn how to find peer-reviewed and scholarly articles in the Library's article search. Similar functionality is available in many databases.
  • Identify Scholarly Sources - Tips for identifying and finding peer-reviewed and scholarly sources - especially helpful if you are unsure and want to evaluate if a source is scholarly.
  • Using Google Scholar - Covers the search features of Google Scholar as well as how to connect back to Library's resources.
  • Advanced Search Tips - Some high-level search strategies for in-depth research.
     
• APA Style Guide & Citation Resources
  • APA Style Guide - An easy-to-use guide on APA citation guidelines, including in-text citations, references, and general formatting standards.
  • Use a Citation Generator Safely - Many of our databases provide tools that generate citations for sources found in them. This guide provides an overview of where those tools are usually found (it varies between databases), and a few things to keep in mind when using them.
  • Zotero User Guide - Zotero is a citation management tool that helps organize and keep track of all the citations you collect for an assignment. This guide can help get you started, but please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.