LibGuides: Introduction to Social Work Research: Background Information

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.

Recommended Resources

Encyclopedia of Social Work This link opens in a new window
2013 - present. 5 users.
An online collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press, the Encyclopedia of Social Work offers hundreds of overview articles on a range of key topics in social work study as well as concise biographies of influential figures in social work history
Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
2004 - present. Unlimited.
The Oxford Handbooks contain in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. Handbook articles review the key issues and cutting-edge debates, as well as providing arguments for how those debates might evolve.

UT Austin currently has access to Handbooks in all available subject through 2024.
SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
Selected titles. Unlimited users.
Platform for Sage book and reference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more. Only select book titles purchased by the UT Libraries are fully accessible.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files.

For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide

Statistical information is a great way to get a sense of the magnitude, or scope of the problem. Use one or more of the resources below for the magnitude portion of your paper.

Statistical Abstract of the United States This link opens in a new window
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
The Statistical Abstract of the United States is a compilation of social, political and economic statistics. The focus is on national data, but some tables cover regions, states, cities, and comparative international statistics. Each table identifies the source of the data. Tables can be downloaded in xls or pdf format.
Divided into broad sections such as Population, Health and Nutrition, Education, Foreign Commerce and Aid, Prices and many others, the database can be searched or browsed to retrieve results that can then be narrowed by source, geography, time period, subject, and other breakdowns.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Statista provides statistical data from thousands of institutions and sources. It provides access to data from market and opinion research institutions, as well as from business organizations and government agencies.
Statista includes data on more than 85,000 topics from 18,000 sources. About 20 percent of the total data in Statista comes from sources available free online, such as the World Bank and the U.S. Census, but the data also includes numerous exclusive sources which include industry, marketing, and trade groups. Much of the data is related to marketing, demographic, government and industry information, and is international in scope. Data can be downloaded in JPG, PowerPoint and Excel.
While historical and time series data are not a focus of Statista, the metadata about each table provides all the necessary information to go to the table’s source, where historical information may be available.
SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new window
Most current edition. 5 users.
Updated regularly. An Internet-based mapping application that enables users to develop interactive thematic maps and reports using thousands of demographic, business, and marketing data variables. Professional mapping applications can take over 20 hours of training to use, but SimplyMap is designed so that most users need less than 10 minutes of training in order to use the product.
Please either create a free account or use the Guest Login to enter the site.
We have a limited number of users for this database. Please select the logout option before you leave your session. When the limit is reached, a username and password prompt will probably be displayed. If this happens, simply wait 15 minutes and then try the link again.

Perform a scoped Google search for statistical information online. Here's an example of a search that is limited to .gov webpages:

Search: adverse childhood experiences statistics site:gov

Other endings:

site:edu

site:org

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. 9 users.
Updated daily. A global information resource, providing full-text access to top national and international newspapers (including full text of the Wall Street Journal), newswires, business journals, market research reports, analysts reports and web sites. Contains over 8000 publications with content from 118 countries in 22 languages.
This database was formerly called Dow Jones Interactive.
We have a limited number of users for this database. Please select the logout option before you leave your session. When the limit is reached, a username and password prompt will probably be displayed. If this happens, simply wait 15 minutes and then try the link again.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated continually. Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis®—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an interface that offers discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited
Newspaper Source Plus provides a full-text digital collection of the world's major news content. It includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires and news magazines. In addition, it offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources.

Ask a Librarian

Chat With Us

EID login required