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Social Work Research

Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Guidebooks

You'll find additional books about social work research methods in our Library Catalog.

You'll find additional books about academic writing in our Library Catalog.

Why Find Background Information?

Background information provides a general overview of a research topic including important terms and concepts, relevant names of people or places, and dates of specific events.

These resources are especially helpful during the idea generation stage. Finding good background information on a general topic can help you turn that topic into a research question.

They will also help you determine what vocabulary and background concepts you will need to identify relevant peer-reviewed sources in the databases and identify more specific areas of your topic that you may want to research further.

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