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Social Work 170

Helpful links and search tips for SOWK 170 - Introduction to Social Welfare

Peer-Reviewed vs. Popular Periodicals

View this YouTube video in fullscreen (created and permission to reuse by Heard Library of Vanderbilt University).

What is a peer reviewed journal?

Peer-reviewed journals (also called "scholarly" or "academic" journals) contain original research articles within a specific subject domain.

These articles are reviewed by other experts before publication and share many or all of these qualities:

  • List authors' names, email addresses, and affiliations (e.g. Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney)
  • Use section headers (these may vary): Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion
  • Include tables or figures of statistical data
  • Cite references to other quality sources

Here are two examples:

NOTE: Some peer-reviewed journals will include literature reviews, book reviews, and opinion essays. None of these present original research however!

This table summarizes the differences between peer-reviewed journals and other periodicals, but please ask a librarian if you have further questions!

Suggested Search Terms

This list may help you get started, but is by no means complete!  Try using these keywords, or combinations of keywords, within LOPERSearch or other library databases.

For example:  gender AND "income distribution"

  • ageism
  • class differences
  • cultural sensitivity
  • disabilities
  • discrimination
  • diversity
  • gender
  • immigra*
  • income distribution
  • multicultural
  • poverty
  • racial and ethnic groups
  • racism
  • religious diversity
  • same sex relationships
  • sexism
  • sexual orientation
  • social inequality
  • social injustice
  • social justice
  • social problems
  • social services
  • social work*

    note the asterisk (*) at the end of a keyword will retrieve different forms of a word (e.g. immigration, immigrant).

    Primo Search


     

    Database Search

    Social Issues

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