Paper 1 - Background Information - SLWK 313: Person in Society - Research Guides at Virginia Commonwealth University

Information for Paper 1

What is your problem? How is it defined?
How prevalent or widespread is the problem?
What is the incidence rate? How frequently does it occur in a specific time period?
What demographic factors are associated with the problem or condition (age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status)?
What non-demographic risk factors are associated with the problem (environmental, neighborhood, school, peers, family, genetic, cultural)?
What protective factors (social networks, religion, after school activities, etc.) are related to the problem?

Search terms like these will help you answer these questions:

prevalence OR incidence OR epidemiology OR frequency OR occurrence
demographics OR race OR ethnic* OR age OR gender OR "socioeconomic status"
risk factor* or predict*
"protective factor*"

Finding Background Information

Reference sources, online or in print, include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and directories. These are great starting points for background information about a specific topic.

Social Work Reference Center
Provides evidence-based information and current best practices. Includes clinical assessment tools, practice guidelines, drug information, continuing education modules, and patient education information.

Search library databases for peer-reviewed articles on your topic.

Social Work Abstracts
Indexing and abstracts for journals dealing with all aspects of the social work field, including theory and practice, areas of service, and social issues and problems. Produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Social Services Abstracts
Bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. Abstracts and indexes serials, journal articles, dissertations, and more.
PsycINFO (Psychological Abstracts)
American Psychological Association database of abstracts for psychological literature. Includes journals, dissertations, reports, book chapters, and other scholarly documents.
SocINDEX with Full Text
Full-text, peer-reviewed sociology journals covering gender studies, criminal justice, social psychology, racial studies, religion, and social work, among many other subject areas.
Education Research Complete
Comprehensive collection of full-text education journals covering health education, multilingual education, testing, curriculum instruction, administration and all levels of education from early childhood to higher education.
LGBTQ + Source
Indexing, abstracts, and select full text for international scholarly and popular publications on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, with historically important primary sources, including monographs, magazines, and newspapers.
Race Relations Abstracts
Summaries of academic journals, books, periodicals, and newspapers in ethnic and racial studies. Covers discrimination, immigration studies, ideology, community relations, radicalism, economics, cultural identity, and pressure groups.

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