Introduction to Human Services: Principles & Survey of Practices
Kristyna Carroll610-519-5391
RefWorks[Details]
Selecting a Topic & Background Research
The Library has a large number of subject specific online encyclopedias, companions and handbooks with exhaustive and well-researched entries written by subject experts. These essays are generally helpful startiing points and can help you in defining and focusing your topic. Essays generally include bibliographies that will lead you to further sources on your topic.
Find a sampling of useful sociology and methods resources below. More encyclopedias, companions and handbooks can be found on the E-Reference Resources list and in the library's online catalog.
Example E-Reference Resources
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education Encyclopedia of Counseling Encyclopedia of Disability Encyclopedia of Health Care Managment Encyclopedia of Homelessness Oxford Companion to the Mind
Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
The most efficient approach to locating scholarly journal articles on any topic is to start out with one of the library’s databases such as ERIC or Social Services Abstracts. These databases index hundreds of scholarly journals and will link you to articles on your topic of choice.
The library has subscriptions to numerous scholarly journals in education and psychology. The links on the library’s web site are your access point to the full text online. You may be prompted to authenticate as a Villanova student. Use your Villanova user id and email password. You can find some of the same content through Google, but you may not be able to link to the full text.
For interdisciplinary topics, you may need to search subject-specific databases in other subject areas, such as sociology or criminal justice. Check the Subject Guides for other great library resources that may be useful for your research.
Article Databases for the Human Services
PsycINFO 1872-current (ProQuest) ERIC (ProQuest) Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest) Education Full Text (EBSCO)- See the video tutorial for useful tips!
Education Administration Abstracts (EBSCO)Article Database Search Tips
- Use synonyms, brainstorm and mine found resources
- Notice controlled vocabulary, index, descriptor and subject terms. Take good notes!
- Use truncation to search for all terms with the same root: child* for child, children and childhood
- Combine terms with boolean operators, AND contains both terms, OR contains at least one term
- Search phrases; quotes work for most databases
- Use dropdown menu or radio buttons to limit search to fields such as title, subject, abstract, descriptors
- Save time and frustration with the Help menu: every database has one!
Getting to Full Text
Once you have identified a useful article, check to see whether it is available in full text from that database. You will see a link or an icon for an HTML or PDF version of the article (sometimes the full article is displayed below the abstract). If the article is not available in full text through that database, it may still be available through another vendor. Click the find it button to see if it is available. This will take you to the 360Link screen:
Citing Your Sources in APA Style
Even if you have experience with APA or other citation styles, preparing your citations can be difficult. The library is here to help!
Whether writing your reference list by hand or proofreading a Refworks bibliography, you will definitely need to have the APA rules on hand. Check out the resources below:
- If you need to see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association-the official authority on all things APA-stop by the Information Desk to browse a copy.
- If you find the Publication Manual confusing or scary (or both), try the APA Online Tutorial. This video guide is clear and easy to watch. It gives a thorough overview of how to format your paper and cite your sources.
- For those trickier scenarios (how do I cite my class notes? how do I cite a blog post?), try searching the APA Style Blog. This is another official APA site, so it is an authoritative source.
- For example, see their advice for citing an interivew.
- The Purdue OWL and Research & Documentation Online are clear and easy to understand sources of information for how to use APA style. Since they are not official publications of the APA, check the Publication Manual when in doubt.
Academic Integrity
Use proper APA style to ensure that you are meeting the academic integrity standards of your field.
Avoiding Plagiarism
- How to recognize plagiarism (guide to correct paraphrasing from the School of Education, Indiana University Bloomington)
- Plagiarism Facts for Students (Lone Star College)
- Try "You Quote It, You Note It!" (interactive tutorial from Acadia University in Nova Scotia)
- What is plagiarism? (Georgetown University)
- Avoiding Plagiarism (Purdue University)
- Plagiarism and how to avoid it (Drew University)
Take this quick quiz to see whehter you know how to properly parahrase!
Questions about citation styles or academic integrity? Librarians and the Villanova Writing Center can help!
Employment Resources
Occupational Outlook Handbook- Counselors: Especially scroll down to see the earnings summary.
- Social and Human Service Assistants
Books
- A guidebook to human service professions: helping college students explore opportunities in the human services field (2009)
edited by William G. Emener, Michael A. Richard, John J. Bosworth
Falvey Main, 3rd Floor: HV10.5 .I4 2009 - Careers in education (2004)
by Roy Edelfelt and Alan Reiman
Falvey Main, 3rd Floor: LB1775.2 .E37 2004 - Careers in health care (2005)
by Barbara M. Swanson
Falvey Main, 3rd Floor: R697.A4 S93 2005 - Opportunities in social work careers (2003)
by Renee Wittenberg
Falvey Main, 3rd Floor: HV91 .W56 2003
Make an appointment to meet with Kristyna
Have a question? Please don't hesitate to contact me! You can use the form below to request an appointment in person, over the phone, or virtually through our chat services. Or, you can always email me directly with any questions or concerns. I look forward to hearing from you!
