Research Guides: Social Work: Background Info

Find Background Information in...

Oxford Encyclopedia of Social Work This link opens in a new window
Continuously updated; National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Oxford Univ. Press

Social Workers' Desk Reference
ebook; 2015

Counseling & Psychotherapy Transcripts, Client Narratives & Reference Works This link opens in a new window
Provides "...transcripts of counseling and therapy sessions and first-person narratives..., as well as reference works to contextualize the primary material."

Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
Gale’s eBook platform provides comprehensive support from many of today’s top publishers.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Current social issue topic overviews, including pro/con viewpoint essays, academic journal and news/magazine articles, images, videos, statistics, and more
Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
Full text overviews of diverse subjects, including ancient warfare, climate, consciousness, economics, game theory, Islamic history, literary theory, privacy, and more from Oxford Univ. Press
Britannica This link opens in a new window
Full text academic edition of Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster Dictionary; includes video and audio clips
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Landmark historical resource that defines and illustrates through quotations the use of English language words from earliest known occurrence to present

Related research guide:

Resources for Statistics
Find statistical data from government websites and other recommended sources

Using the Library Catalog Advanced Search:

enter desired terms (e.g., "substance abuse" or alcoholism) in the first text entry box
enter encyclopedia* or dictionar* in the next
add other desired limiters (e.g., location UHCL or format ebooks)
click Submit

Library Catalog Advanced Search for exact phrase substance abuse or alcoholism and encyclopedia* or dictionar* with limiters for location UHCL and format ebook

Sample Titles

Encyclopedia of Elder Care
2014
Social Workers' Desk Reference
ebook; 2015
Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America
ebook; 2004

Ebook Help: Downloading Ebooks from Library Databases

Social Work Dictionary
NASW Press, 2014
Encyclopedia of American Law and Criminal Justice
Reference KF154 .E528 2012

How to Find a Library of Congress Call Number

DSM-5 Library This link opens in a new window
Full text of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed., plus related Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, Clinical Cases, and Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria (Spanish ed.)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Research Desk and Pearland Reference
RC455.2 .C4 D536 2013

Reference works can help you:

find overviews or introductions to a subject
identify possible directions for a topic you're exploring
put a narrow topic into context
identify facts, names, dates, etc.