Research Guides: PADM 650: Principles of Nonprofit Management: Recommended Article Sources

Search Term Examples

Be sure to include nonprofit in your searches. If you get too many results, narrow to "nonprofit organizations", or to a specific type of nonprofit.

"charitable giving"
fundraising
marketing

leadership
"leadership styles"
"group dynamics"
volunteers
accountability

"social impact"
"public policy"
advocacy
[specific issue]

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Sample Research terms
(Include these if you have many peer-reviewed results):

Best practices
Evidence-based
Empirical
Longitudinal

PADM 650 - Search Tips
Examples and tips for searching the ProQuest and EBSCO database families, and VCU Libraries Search.

Nia Rodgers

Contact:

slrodgers@vcu.edu
(804) 828-8565
Cabell Library, Room 121

Subjects: Data and Statistics, Government Information, Mass Communications, Public Affairs and Political Science, Urban Studies

1. POLICIES & ISSUES

Search the databases in this section for materials on issues and public policies of concern to nonprofit organizations that affect societies at the global, national, regional, or local level, e.g., mental illness, homelessness, education, health care, criminal justice, arts and entertainment.

PAIS Index
Abstracts from the international literature on public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations, 1915-present. Sources are varied and include journals, government reports, and gray literature. Has articles on nonprofits outside the U.S.(ProQuest)
Public Administration Abstracts
Covers public administration theory and methods, administration and economy, administration and politics, administration and society, administrative structures and organization, public and social services, and public service personnel.
Social Services Abstracts
Current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development, These subjects directly affect many nonprofits. 1979-present. (ProQuest)
Sociological Abstracts
Focuses on articles discussing a variety of topices within the context of their effect on the development, structure, and functioning of society. Articles on nonprofits will address cultural, contextual, societal roles, functions, and impact. 1952-present. (ProQuest)
JSTOR
Searchable backfiles of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. (Backfiles end typically 3 - 6 years prior to the current date).

2. INTERNAL / OPERATIONAL ASPECTS

Search the databases in this section for materials on management issues of concern to nonprofit organizations. There are many parallels between the for-profit and non-profit sectors in the areas of financial management, human resources, employee development, and organizational behavior, among others.

ABI/INFORM Complete
Articles on a wide assortment of leadership, management, organizational behavior, donor behavior and similar topics of interest to nonprofit organizations. Includes scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers. (ProQuest)
Business Source Complete
Bibliographic and full-text content from peer-reviewed business journals, covering all disciplines of business including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance, and more.
PsycINFO (Psychological Abstracts)
Scholarly articles on all aspects of human behavior including individual behaviors, such as charitable behavior, group behaviors, and team dynamics.

3. MULTIDISCIPLINARY

The following three databases cover many different subjects, but none in great depth. Very good for retrieving materials from other disciplines.

VCU Libraries Search (Advanced Search)