How to Search
Social Work Abstracts
Social Work Abstracts database contains more than 26,000 records, spanning 1977 to the present, from social work and other related journals on topics such as homelessness, AIDS, child and family welfare, aging, substance abuse, policy, community organization, and more. Coverage: 1977-Current
Getting Started
Simply click on "Social Work Abstracts" on the Libraries’ databases list.
Please be sure to press the log out button at the top right when you are through using SW Abstracts!
Searching
> Connect keywords with AND, OR, NOT,
NEAR to find words anywhere in a citation.
Society and reform finds an article containing both society and reform.
Teacher or instructor finds articles containing either teacher or instructor.
Crime not theft finds articles containing crime but not theft.
Violence near family finds articles with violence and family in the
same sentence.
> Enclose phrases in quotation marks.
"due process of law" finds articles that contain this exact
phrase.
"due process of law" and children finds articles that contain the
exact phrase "due process of law" and the keyword children.
> Use an asterick on the root of a keyword to find variations.
famil* finds family, familial, and families.
> If necessary, use parentheses to organize long search strings.
Divorce and (fathers or dads) finds articles containing.
Tips on Improving Searches
> Set Limits: Click the blue "Change"
button near the top right to limit a search to journal articles, social work
dissertations, books, or time period.
> Index: Click the white index tab to browse a list of keywords when
you are unsure of which keywords to use for a search. Browse the author and journal
title index to look for variations of a name or title.
> Advanced Search: Click this white tab to limit a search to a source,
such as a specific journal.
Finding the Full-texts of the Articles
A few citations now offer links to online texts. These citations display crimson
flags next to the title and contain blue links at the bottom. If the article
is not available full-text online, you can search in Libraries Catalog
to see if the Libraries own a copy of the journal with the article.
> Click on the "Check for holdings" button at the bottom of
the citation. This feature will search the Libraries Catalog for a paper copy
of the journal.
> The journal will appear if the Libraries own it. (If the Libraries do not
own the journal, you will see the red message "Your search resulted
in no hits!" in the Catalog.)
> Scroll down to see if the Libraries own the appropriate month and year (If
multiple headings for the journal appear, check the dates under each heading.)
>Write down the Location and Call Number for the journal or magazine
(For journals in the Gorgas Library: If the issue is a Recent Issue, go
to Floor 2. If the issue is listed under Library
Has:,go to Floor 4M.) Also, be sure to write
down the bibliographic information from SW Abstracts such as issue date and
page number.
> Retrieve the article.
Printing, Saving, Emailing
First, Checkmark the record(s) that you wish to print, save, or email.
Printing: Click the Printer icon at the top right of the results list. Fill out the questions. Click the yellow "Print" at the top right of the screen. Click "OK". (Inside the Libraries, printing is 5 cents per page, and you must use an Action Card to print. You can load Bama Cash on an Action Card at the Value Transfer Station in the Copy Room.)
Saving: Click the Disk icon at the top right of the results list. Fill out the questions. Click the yellow "Save" button on the top right. Enter a file name, select the appropriate drive, and click "Save" on the pop-up window.
Emailing: Click the Email icon (a letter) at the top right of the results list. Type in your email address and subject. Fill out the rest of the questions. Click the yellow "Send Mail" button at the top right of the screen.
Help
> Go to the Social Work Reading Room on the third
floor of the Gorgas Library
> Call the Social Work Reading Room at (205) 348-6611.
> Go to the Information Desk at the Gorgas Library.
> Call the Information Desk at (205) 348-6047.