Social Welfare Research Toolkit

UC eLinks and Citation Linker

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:15:49 -0700

Sometimes the database you search doesn't link to the fulltext -- it only gives the citation. Click the button to see if Berkeley has it online, and if not, it will check for a print version. And if we don't have it at all, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.

What if there isn't a button??? Sometimes you find an article in a bibliography, a book or a footnote -- and you want to see if we have it. The Citation Linker searches through our online databases to see if it's available fulltext. If not, it sets up a search for the paper journal in Melvyl. And if we don't have it at Berkeley, it lets you request it through Interlibrary Loan.

Find Articles

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:59:51 -0700

We have hundreds of research databases which help you find articles (and more) on a wide variety of topics. They are organized according to academic discipline, by name, or by type of database (dissertations, e-books, etc.)

Core resources for Social Welfare:

Find Books

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:27:19 -0700

UCB: Use OskiCat to find books related to your topic at UC Berkeley. Oskicat will show you where it's located, and will also show you the Library of Congress Subject Heading -- which can help you find material other relevant books.

UC: Not enough books at Berkeley? Use Melvyl to find more books at other campuses in the UC system. Clickon the REQUEST button (in the detailed view of a catalog record) to request the item through Interlibrary Loan.

World: Still want more? You can search thousands of libraries through WorldCat on FirstSearch and then request the material through UC e-links or directly via Interlibrary Loan.

Google Books: Library catalogs don't search inside of books. Google Books can help you identify the book you need, then click on "Find in a Library" to see if we have it.

E-Books

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:19:23 -0800

Springer Electronic Book Package E-books in many fields including Social Work, Social Policy and Psychology.

APA e-book collection Current e-books published by the American Psychological Association from 2009 to date.

ebrary Berkeley's largest e-book collection, with thousands of titles on a wide range of subjects, including social work, education and psychology. Some advanced ebrary features require downloading reader software.

Wiley Online Library Ebook Collection Fulltext books in social welfare and psychology from 2011.

Oxford Scholarship Online: Psychology

MIT CogNet E-books in cognitive and brain sciences published by MIT.

Literature Review

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:44:24 -0800

In a literature review you explore research that has come before you and is relevant to your topic. It can help you identify:

core research in the field
experts in the subject area
methodology you may want to use (or avoid)
gaps in the literature -- or where your research would fit in

Helpful approaches:

see what literature reviews already exist on your topic (databases like Oxford Bibliographies Online: Social Work, PubMed and PsycInfo -- they can help you get started, and save you a lot of time.) For PsycInfo, restrict by literature review, for PubMed by review.
citation slogging (aka "snowballing") -- work your way back through citations (or footnotes) to key articles
forward citation -- see who has cited key articles using Google Scholar and Web of Science Citation Indexes.
see the American Psychological Association's Literature Review Guidelines or Purdue OWL: Social Work Literature Review for some helpful tips.

Oxford Bibliographies

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:56:33 -0800

Oxford Bibliographies Online: Social Work -- leading scholars identify the most important and significant sources in the area of social work they know best. The guides feature a selective list of bibliographic citations supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult, and UC-elinks links to the cited articles and books!

Dictionaries

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 10:58:15 -0700

Social work dictionary (5th ed.) / Barker, Robert L. Washington, DC : NASW Press, c2003.
HV12 .B37 2003

Dictionary of Psychology from Oxford Reference Online

Concise Oxford English Spanish Dictionary (also links to Spanish/English Dictionary)

Key words in multicultural interventions : a dictionary / Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1999.
BF637.C6 K493 1999

Blackwell dictionary of modern social thought / Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., c2003.
H41 .B53 2003

English Spanish Dictionary of Health Related Terms, California Mexico Health Initiative, 2005.

Encyclopedias

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:54:53 -0700

Encyclopedia of Social Work, published by Oxford, from the National Association of Social Workers -- a great starting place!
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. This online encyclopedia provides substantive current information about key subjects in social welfare, psychology, education and the social sciences.
Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare
Handbook of Psychology and Corsini Enclyclopedia of Psychology
Oxford Handbooks Online: Psychology
Sage Handbooks of Qualitative and Quantitative Research in Psychology
DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
Annual Reviews in Psychology and Annual Reviews in Clinical Psychology are good starting places -- they provide literature reviews of important and emerging areas of research.
Handbook of Social Psychology and Handbook of Adolescent Psychology

RefWorks with Oskicat

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:42:30 -0700

Search OskiCat. Once you have records you want to export, if you are:

A. Viewing a list of results, check the box to the left of each record you wish to add to RefWorks, then click Save Selected Records, or

B. Viewing an individual record, click the Save Records button near the top of the window and then:

Click the View Saved button near the top of the window
Click Export Saved
Select EndNote/RefWorks under Format of List
Select Screen under Send List To
Click Submit
Use your browser’s Select All function, then Copy
Open another browser window and access your RefWorks Account.
Click References from the drop-down menu and select Import
In the drop-down menu next to Import Filter/Data Source, choose Innovative Interfaces (EndNote/RefWorks Format)
For Database, choose University of California, Berkeley
In Import References into Folder, choose the desired folder, if you have already created a folder into which you want these references to import. If not, make no selection here
Click Import
Select the radio button next to Import Data from the following Text.
Put your cursor in the box below Import Data from the following Text and select Edit > Paste in your browser.
By default, all newly imported references appear in the Last Imported folder. Under View / Folders, select your folder to see the citations you just imported. Note the UC-eLinks icon next to each reference.

Thanks to the Public Health Library for creating this guide!

Using APA 6th

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:51:22 -0700

"Cheat Sheets" -- very handy guides showing examples of the different types of citations formatted according to APA 6th, from Purdue and Harvard.

The fulltext of APA 6th is not available online, but we do have print copies in the reference collection of the Social Welfare and EdPsych Libraries at BF76.7 P83 2010, and it's available at other libraries on campus as well.

APA Style & Format from Capella Writing Center, is designed to help you quickly understand the fundamentals you need to write a course paper that meets the APA guidelines. It also has a very helpful guide to how to handle those confusing DOIs.

Basics of APA Style -- tutorial from APA on how to how to structure and format your work, reduce bias in language, avoid charges of plagiarism, cite references in text and it provides selected reference examples. The APA Style Blog -- is searchable by topic and contains weekly posts by APA experts .

OxfordBib to RefWorks

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:31:39 -0800

NOTE: If you have Zotero installed, but don't want to use it, you need to go into preferences and TURN OFF "Use Zotero to download RIS/Refer Files."

1. Conduct your search and select Save Citation to add article to My OBO list (must create an account first). NOTE: You have to save them one by one, can't batch them.

2. From My OBO, mark the article(s) you want to export and select Export Citations.

3. A new screen will open. Select Reference Manager (not RefWorks!).

4. Save file as (.ris) file

5. Close, don't open yet!

6. Log in to RefWorks. Select References/Import from the toolbar.

6.. Select RIS Format as the data source (you may have to SCROLL DOWN the list to find it!) Select Reference Manager as the database and Browse to find the file you saved to your computer. Click Import.

7. Your records should appear in the Last Imported Folder.

Thanks to the University of Waterloo Library for these instructions!

Citation Management Tools

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 13:42:42 -0700

Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand! The Library offers workshops on Endnote, Zotero, and Refworks! Or contact your librarian for individual help.

Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up.
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central for about $80.

It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.

Citation Workshops

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:27:41 -0800

The Library scheduled workshops are over for this semester -- but I am happy to offer a drop-in workshop for any group of four or more. Just let me know some times that work for you, and we will work something out!

Social Welfare Statistics: California

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:16:55 -0700

State of California statistics
The State of California provides a number of sources of statistics on state social service programs. Links to selected social services programs are below. For others, go to websites for the respective state departments and look for tabs on research, data, publications or statistics.

California Department of Social Services
CalFresh (Food stamps), CalWORKS (welfare), children’s programs, community licensing, disability programs

Department of Health Care Services
Medi-Cal, public health statistics, American Indian health, health care stats, women’s health, etc. includes reports.

Department of Mental Health
Reports and statistics on mental health, mental illness, Medi-Cal trends, Mental Health Services Act, etc.

California Department of Public Health
Statistics and data on family health, infant health, vital statistics, adolescent sexual health, etc.

Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
Statewide and county statistics on health care services, hospices, long-term care, hospitalization, etc.

RAND California
User-generated statistics for California from the RAND Corporation. “Health and socioeconomic statistics” section includes statistics on AIDS, child abuse, substance abuse, health care, food stamps, welfare, SSI and OASDI, and more.

Child welfare dynamic report system
Collaboration of California Department of Social Services and UC Berkeley. Presents detailed, dynamically-generated statistics on child welfare cases, outcomes, services, and more.

Other California statistics
UC Berkeley library page with additional links to general California statistical sources on economics, demographics, social indicators, county profiles, and more.

Datasets

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:38:21 -0700

Statistical datasets

A number of sites offer datasets that may be downloaded and manipulated using standard statistical applications such as SPSS, SAS or STATA.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Consortium of 325 institutions working together to acquire and preserve social science data in 130 countries. Includes survey data, census records, election returns, economic data, and legislative records.

National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging Located within ICPSR, funded by the National Institute on Aging. Offers data relevant to gerontological research.

Social Science Data Archives - North America Directory for datasets in the social sciences.

Social Science Electronic Data Library Datasets on families, aging, adolescent pregnancy, child welfare, drug abuse, and more.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) Public use data files for substance abuse and mental health research.

UCDATA UC Berkeley's principal archive of social science data and statistics. Presents statistical datasets covering many social science areas, plus reports and statistical analyses.

Starting Points

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:28:47 -0800

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a great compilation of national statistics from many sources -- government and private. It also is used as an index, or finding tool, to find the source of the statistics.

The Green Book is the standard reference for social policy and federal entitlement programs. It includes descriptions of the program descriptions and historical data on a wide variety of social and economic topics.

Looking for data about children? Kids Count Data Center from Annie E. Casey provides additional data not covered in Factfinder -- such as rate of substantiated child abuse and number of hours of television watched. You can drill down on some of the indicators to county and city level data.

Demographics of people with and without health insurance coverage is tracked by Census Bureau through three surveys. A national snapshot is available of Income, Poverty and Health Insurance in the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau provides local, state and national statistics relating to poverty, educational attainment, overcrowded housing, single parent families, grandparents raising grandchildren, etc. Much of the data can be "cross-tabulated" by another variable such as race/ethnicity, gender, immigrant status, language or age. American FactFinder is the main entry point. This isn't as easy to use as it should be -- ask your librarian if you'd like help!

Social Welfare Statistics: National

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:34:08 -0800

The following websites provide data and statistics related to social welfare. Look for a "search tips" link on each site for the best practice in finding data with the website's search features. Many websites also include reports based on data offered on the site.

Aging

Administration on Aging
Statistics compiled by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging. Includes profiles of older Americans, census data, minority aging, indicators of well-being, and access to the Aging Integrated Database (AGID).

AgeSource / AgeStats Worldwide
Information about aging issues around the world by the American Association of Retired Persons. AgeStats Worldwide provides comparative statistical data and includes projections to 2050. AgeSource offers international resources that include clearinghouses, libraries, databases, major reports, web metasites, and more.

AgingStats.gov
Produced by the Federal Inter-agency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Gateway to statistics on aging, Medicare, housing, Social Security, veterans’ affairs, census, etc.

Child Welfare

Administration for Children and Families
From the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Statistics cover adoption and foster care; child abuse; child welfare; community services block grants; Head Start; TANF and welfare reform; refugee resettlement, and more. Also includes resources on policy, legislation, research, and publications addressing child and family welfare issues.

ChildStats.gov
Statistics and analyses from the federal interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Includes data on demographics, economics, health care, physical environment, education, behavior and health of children in the US.

Child Trends
Child Trends is a nonprofit, non-partisan research center offering research and statistics on child poverty, child welfare, education, parenting, and a number of other issues related to children and families. For statistics, click the DataBank link or click an individual issues tab. See also the Child Trends Databank for trends and research on 100 key indicators of child and youth well-being.

Child Welfare Information Gateway
Produced by the Children’s Bureau, Administation for Children and Families. Rich website with statistics and research on many key child welfare issues, including child and family well-being, child abuse and neglect, foster care and adoption, and child welfare outcomes. Also provides links to policies, law, reports and analyses on child welfare issues.

Kids Count
Produced by Annie E. Casey Foundation. Data Center allows dynamically-generated statistics by state or across states. Includes publications and other resources.

Additional links to statistical resources on children and education are at the statistics page of the Education-Psychology Library.

Mental health

Mental Disorders in America
Mental health data from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. Covers types of disorders, populations, use of mental health services and treatment, cost, and more.

Public Assistance

Green Book: Background Material and Data on Major Programs
Produced by the US House Committee on Ways and Means. Contains statistics, historical, and legislative analyses on federal assistance programs such as OASDI, SSI, TANF, child welfare, supplemental nutrition, and Medicare.

Food and Nutrition Service
Data and statistics on USDA nutrition assistance programs, including child nutrition programs; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps); Women, Infants and Children, and more. Website also includes links to policies, regulations, and legislation on food security.

Social Security Administration Statistics
Program statistics and data files on programs covered by the Social Security Administation (Disability, SSI, OASI, Medicare, etc.). Includes statistics on socioeconomic characteristics, demographics, geographic information, and more for workers covered under Social Security and Medicare.

Public Health

Health, United States
Annual report from the Centers for Disease Control on national health trends. Includes data on demographic populations, disability, child and adolescent health, education, health expenditures, older populations, poverty, preventive care, and more.

National Center for Health Statistics
Produced by a division of the Centers for Disease Control. Statistics on diseases and conditions, health care and insurance, injuries, vital statistics, drug use, smoking, etc. Includes links to research publications and data archives.

Office of Minority Health Data & Statistics
Data and statistics page of the Office of Minority Health, US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Includes statistical profiles of African-Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Latinos, and others. Also has links to other resources on issues related to minority health.

Additional links to statistical resources on public health may be found at the statistics page of the Public Health Library.

Social work

Statistics on social work education
Statistics about social work education programs in the United States. Compiled by the Council on Social Work Education

Substance abuse

Substance abuse and mental health statistics
Produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services. Contains statistics on alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use, mental health, treatment, prevention, attitudes, violence, etc.

Data HELP!

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:10:18 -0800

4 Things To Try:

Contact your reference librarian (contact info at left) for help!
Computing at Haviland: A Computing Lab is available to all Social Welfare students. Claudia Waters is the Social Welfare Computing Manager and is available to help with computing projects.
Library Data Lab: The Data Lab in Doe 208A provides access to a growing collection of electronic data files and analytical software, such as MS Excel, SAS, SPSS, Stata, and DataFerret. Staff will help you locate, retrieve and use computer-readable, numeric data.
DLab -"Intelligent research design for data intensive social science" offers a suite of services, including consulting assistance and a drop-in lab for grad students.

Connecting from Off Campus?

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:06:16 -0700

You can access UCB Library resources from off campus or via your laptop or other mobile device using one of two simple methods. (NOTE: Using EndNote? Use VPN, not the Proxy Server)

Proxy Server
After you make a one-time change in your web browser settings, the proxy server will ask you to log in with a CalNet ID or Library PIN when you click on the link to a licensed resource. See the setup instructions, FAQ, and Troubleshooting pages to configure your browser.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)
After you install and run the VPN "client" software on your computer, you can log in with a CalNet ID to establish a secure connection with the campus network.

Campus Library Map

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:33:27 -0700

Click on the image below to see a larger interactive version of the campus library map.

You can also view/download a PDF map of library locations. For library contact information and building addresses, visit our directory.

Google Scholar and UC e-links

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:00:07 -0700

Set up your proxy server access by following the directions at http://proxy.lib.berkeley.edu/. When you get to a point where you are accessing resources that the Library pays for, you will be prompted for your CalNet ID and password.
Change your “Scholar Preferences.” Access these by clicking on the link next to the search box.
In search box next to "Library Links," type in University of California Berkeley and click on “Find Library”
Check box next to "University of California Berkeley - UC-eLinks
Click on "Save Preferences" at bottom of page

Ask a Librarian 24/7 Chat

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:34:21 -0700

School of Social Welfare dissertations and theses: background

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:22:11 -0700

The Social Welfare Library has print copies of dissertations, theses, and group research projects produced in the School of Social Welfare since its establishment in 1944 through 2010. Theses were submitted for masters degrees beginning in 1946. From 1948 until the early 1970s, group research projects – by groups of students under the supervision of a faculty member – were an alternative to individual masters theses. Beginning in 1960, dissertations were submitted for the DSW in social welfare, and after 1988 for the PhD.

Beginning in 2010, all dissertations at UC Berkeley were produced in electronic format only and are available through the library's online databases.

If you want to include group research projects or masters' theses in your search, you must use OskiCat, Melvyl, or WorldCat Dissertations. Other dissertation databases index only dissertations in social work at Berkeley and do not include theses or group projects.

Call numbers for dissertations begin with HV13.A14.
Call numbers for masters' theses begin with HV13.A135.
Call numbers for group research projects begin with HV13.A132.

Search Tips

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:43:51 -0700

Power search features for most article databases:

Use synonyms -- there are many ways to express a concept (teenager or teenagers or adolescent)
Use truncation to get different forms of the word, for example teenage* will retrieve teenagers, teenager, teenaged, etc.
Use quotation marks when you want an "exact phrase"
Restrict by date -- most will let you find only the most current five years if you chose that limit.

PsycInfo Advanced Searches:

Use "controlled vocabulary" (also called descriptors or subject headings) if the database has them. The PsycInfo Thesaurus is a very powerful tool. It helps you identify articles that are about a topic, not just that have the word in the abstract. For example, if you are looking for the cause of a certain psychological problem, the descriptor "etiology" finds material that looks at causality.
Use the special "limits" or "fields" that the database offers. They really do help you make a more focused and powerful search. PsycInfo lets you use many helpful limits including:
- Methodology-- are you interested in literature reviews? Empirical studies? Clinical trials? Quantitative or qualitative studies?
- Population -- do you want research based on humans? Males vs. females?
- Age of subjects -- adolescents? children? old people?
- Publication type -- do you want articles? dissertations? books?

Evidence Based Practice

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:29:24 -0800

Evidence Based Practice, to quote Professor Gambrill, is "a new educational and practice paradigm for closing the gaps between research and practice to maximize opportunities to help clients and avoid harm.”

The Campbell Collaboration (Motto: What helps? What harms? On what evidence?) is an international research network that produces systematic reviews of the effects of social interventions.
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare reports on programs being used or marketed in California.
The Social Work Policy Institute on Evidence-Based Practice.
The Cochrane Library indexes journal articles, reviews, and bibliographies which provide evidence-based effects of health services
Evidence Database on Aging SWLI populates the evidence database with published studies and articles that inform and advance policy discussions regarding aging care and the role of social workers.

Find Dissertations

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:28:09 -0700

Find Dissertations by searching Dissertations and Theses (Dissertation Abstracts) Full Text, which indexes graduate dissertations from over 1,000 North American, and selected European, graduate schools and universities from 1861 to the present. Dissertations published since 1980 include brief abstracts written by the authors and some feature 24-page excerpts. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and some full text coverage for older graduate works.Also see Find Dissertations and Theses for other specialized sources.

Dissertations completed at UC Berkeley can be found in OskiCat, using the feature allowing you to limit to dissertations/theses.Older dissertations not available full text may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan or using the "Request" option in Melvyl.

Lexis Nexis Tips

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:23:13 -0800

Use truncation (wildcard) to search different forms of the word (child* retrieves child, child's, children)
Use 'proximity connectors' -- w/[number], for example (youth or adolescent or teen*) w/25 homeless*. (You can also use w/s for within sentence, or w/p for within paragraph but you can't also combine these with the number of words.)
Change the display to Expanded List -- shows you your search terms, plus a few words on either side.
Change display to Relevance if it is on Chronological (if date is really important to you, restrict to the date range you want in the search box).

General Resources for Tests

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:27:16 -0800

Sites with test information:

APA's Statement on Psychological Tests. The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA) statement on the use of psychological tests by graduate and undergraduate students.

APA on finding tests.

UT Austin Tests and Assessments Research Guide.

Western Psychological Services. Publisher of tests and assessments for psychologists.

Finding Tests in PubMed

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:25:16 -0800

Combine your topic search with as many assessment keywords as possible to locate a test on a specific topic (be sure to truncate or use both singular and plural forms):

Example: diabetes AND (assessment OR interview OR inventory OR measur* OR questionnaire OR rating OR scale OR survey OR test OR tool)

Thanks to NCSU Library for this query suggestion!

Finding Tests

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:39:53 -0800

Online indexes to find tests and measures in print:

Buros Institute of Mental Measurements. Test locator for reviews of tests in print. See also print version of Mental Measurements Yearbooks and Test-in-Print in the EDP Library reference collection. Index only.

Buros Institute of Mental Measurements Yearbook Indexes. Index only. Maintained by University of Nebraska.

Inventory of Instruments Assessing Violent Behavior and Related Constructs in Children and Adolescents. Bibliography only.

Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences. University of Texas, Arlington. Use Refworks link to connect to UCB books via Oskicat containing full-text tests.

Tests in Books. University of South Florida Test and Measures Collection-database of tests found in monographs. Search Oskicat, Melvyl or WorldCat for monographs.

San Diego State University Test Finder.

Fulltext Tests & Measures

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:41:37 -0800

PsycTESTS from APA -- primarily unpublished tests, most (but not all) records include the actual test instrument. Also provides information about psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments including descriptive information about the test and its development and administration. This can be a bit tricky to use, here's a quick guide on how to use it with Screenshots on searching PsycTESTS via SlideShare.

eBooks and books with full-text scales:

IQ and psychometric test workbook (ebook). Full-text tests for personality, aptitude and intelligence.

Measuring Race and Ethnicity (print and ebook). Measures racial attitudes.

Test Bibliographies with Full-text Tests. Identifies books containing full-text tests. Books are located within the EDP Library Reference Collection.

Online searchable sites with full-text scales:

Center for AIDS Prevention. UCSF. Full-text instruments by topic.

Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services. Full-text assessment instruments by topic.

Generalized Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (Ralf Schwarzer). Full-text scale included.

Geriatric Depression Scale. Full-text scale included. Aging Clinical Research Center--Stanford.

Network for Research on Experimental Psychotherapies. Full-text instruments.

Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory with full-text scale. Richard Tolman--University of Michigan.

Relationship Questionnaires and Scales. Full-text scales included. Trent University.

Forward Citations

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:01:16 -0800

If an article is a few years old, but relevant to your topic, it can be very helpful to see who has cited it. There are several different ways to do this, and the results will overlap -- no single method is comprehensive.

ISI Web of Science contains the Social Science Citation Index which allows you to do a "Cited Reference" search. This shows other articles (from a prestigious list of peer reviewed journals) which have cited the target article, and it also shows the references for the the original article... both forward and backward citation.

Google Scholar also provides forward citations for some articles. It has a broader range of documents included (not just peer reviewed journals, but reports, pre-prints, etc.) and doesn't eliminate self citation or de-duplicate the results.

Cited Reference links are sometimes provided for articles indexed indatabases such as Social Services Abstracts, ERIC, EconLit, PsycInfo, etc.

Need Funding?

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:39:03 -0700

Do you need funding for you research, your dissertation or thesis? Check out our page of funding resources for graduate students in the social sciences.

OA & Journals

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:02:56 -0700

How to find an open access journal -- or or at least one that let's you post your own work:

Directory of Online Journals (DOAJ) includes thousands of open access journals, including hundreds in education. If you are willing to work with one of these journals, you won't need to negotiate in order to retain your copyright.

SHERPA/RoMEO Lets you search a journal or publisher, and find the (default) degree of open access:

can archive pre-print and post-print or publisher's version Green
can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing) or publisher's version/PDF Blue
can archive pre-print (ie pre-refereeing) Yellow
archiving not formally supported White

Open Access

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 09:33:10 -0700

"Open access holds the promise of moving knowledge from the closed cloisters of privileged, well-endowed university campuses to ... dedicated professionals and interested amateurs, to concerned journalists and policymakers."¹

Social Good:

Berkeley scholars want their publications to be read -- by other researchers in their field, by academics, independent scholars, and policy makers. They freely contribute their time as authors, editors and peer reviewers; the university in turn buys back the content that they have given away.

There is a growing gap between what scholarly journals cost, and what libraries (including major research universities) can pay. As libraries are forced to cancel journals, researchers worldwide lose access to the articles with research that they need... and that the researcher/authors provided for free.

Open Access is a much needed alternative to the for-profit publishing model.

Good for you:

Open Access doesn't just help those without access, many studies have shown that it also increases citation to your article. More people read it, and more of them cite it.

¹Willinsky, J. (2006). The access principle : The case for open access to research and scholarship. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Funding

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:18:42 -0700

Berkeley Research Impact Initiative (BRII) supports faculty members, post-docs, and graduate students who want to make their journal articles free to all readers immediately upon publication. BRII subsidizes, in various degrees, fees charged to authors who select open access or paid access publication.

Impact

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:44:57 -0700

Authors often want to submit their articles to the most prestigous and/or highest impact factor journals. Journal Impact Factor from ISI is a measure of the frequency with which the "average article" in a journal has been cited in a given period of time. ISI's Journal Citation Reports can create a list of the most highly cited journals from a highly selective group of journal titles.

This method is not without controversy as some research has found that there is no statistical correlation between the impact factor of a journal and the actual citation rate of its articles, and that journals that publish many reviews tend to have higher impact factors (since reviews are frequently cited).

EigenFactor and its Article Influence score, is another way to measure impact. It also includes cost factors, and takes into account the different citation patterns in the social sciences vs. the sciences.

PLOS (Public Library of Science) is developing article level metrics, so that each article will be assessed on its own merits, not just on that of the journal as a whole. And research shows that open access to an article increases its citation.

Authors' Rights

sedwards@library.berkeley.edu (Susan Edwards) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:56:18 -0700

We call on UC authors and scholars … to exercise control of their scholarship … to ensure the widest dissemination of works…. *

As the author of a work you are the copyright holder unless and until you transfer the copyright to someone else in a signed agreement.

Copyright is a bundle of rights, not just one right. You do not have to surrender all your copyrights when you publish, though some publishers may ask you to do so. Transfer of copyrights can lead to problems, for example, you may not be able to make copies of your own work to share with your students or colleagues without permission. Transfer of copyrights to the publisher also confers enormous market power on the publisher, as the exclusive owner of the rights to your work.

By retaining your copyright, or by transferring your copyright but retaining some rights, you can control the dissemination of your research. By removing access barriers (including cost) you allow more readers to access your scholarship. UC recommends that you can retain at least some of your rights:

You can amend the copyright transfer agreement that you get from your publisher -- or you can ask one of us and we would be happy to help you.

You can use this form which allows you to Keep Copyrights and Transfer Limited Rights to the publisher.

Or you can Transfer copyrights but reserve some rights, by using the language from that webpage or from the Amendment to Publication Agreement.

Or try the Scholars Copyright Addendum Engine (from SPARC or Science Commons)

* from The Case for Scholars' Management of Their Copyright (PDF) endorsed by the UC Academic Council, April 2006