Research in Human Services

Find Scholarly Articles

Example of a Scholarly Article

To see an example of a scholarly article, including its layout and language, see Early concern and disregard for others as predictors of asocial behavior from the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Searching for Articles

To find articles on a particular topic, it is usually best to search in an article database.

 Recommended Article Databases

  PsycINFO (ProQuest)  Tutorial

Provides abstracts and indexing to journals, books, book chapters, technical reports and dissertations in all areas of psychology. This database is produced by the American Psychological Association (APA). International in scope; coverage is from 1887 to the present.

A tutorial for this resource can be found at: https://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/training/proquest-qrg.pdf

  ERIC (EBSCO)

Indexes and abstracts education journals, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations and theses, books, and Department of Education (ED) research reports. References for ED research reports often have links to the full text. Coverage goes back to 1966. The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

  Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)

Indexes the literature of social work, human services, and related fields. Includes citations to journal articles and dissertations. Covers 1979 to the present.

  Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest)

Indexes the literature of sociology and related fields. Includes citations to journal articles, dissertations, books, conference papers, and magazines. Offers abstracts and selected full text.

Other times, you may be interested in browsing academic journals to keep abreast of current issues or explore topics in a particular area of study. Click the plus sign to expand the Recommended Academic Journals.

 Recommended Academic Journals

  Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal publishes original articles focused on clinical social work practice with children, adolescents, and their families. The coverage addresses current issues in the field of social work drawn from theory, direct practice, research, and social policy. The range of topics includes problems affecting a variety of specific populations, in special settings.

  Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy^® publishes empirical research on the psychological effects of trauma. The journal is intended to be a forum for an interdisciplinary discussion on trauma, blending science, theory, practice, and policy.

  Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology

The Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology brings together the latest research on psychopathology in childhood and adolescence, with an emphasis on empirical studies of the major childhood disorders (the disruptive behavior disorders, depression, anxiety, and pervasive developmental disorders). Studies focus on the epidemiology, etiology, assessment, treatment, prognosis, follow-up, and developmental course of child and adolescent disorders

  Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice^® publishes articles on the application of psychology, including the scientific underpinnings of the profession of psychology.

  Children and Youth Services Review

Children and Youth Services Review is an interdisciplinary forum for critical scholarship regarding service programs for children and youth. The journal will publish full-length articles, current research and policy notes, and book reviews.

  Psychology of Violence

Psychology of Violence^® is a multidisciplinary research journal devoted to violence and extreme aggression, including identifying the causes of violence from a psychological framework, finding ways to prevent or reduce violence, and developing practical interventions and treatments.

  Behavior Therapy

Behavior Therapy is a quarterly international journal devoted to the application of the behavioral and cognitive sciences to the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of psychopathology and related clinical problems. It is intended for mental health professionals and students from all related disciplines who wish to remain current in these areas and provides a vehicle for scientist-practitioners and clinical scientists to report the results of their original empirical research.

  Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology^® publishes articles that advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal includes significant empirical contributions as well as scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development.

  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

JCPP publishes the highest quality clinically relevant research in psychology, psychiatry and related disciplines. With a large and expanding global readership, its coverage includes studies on epidemiology, diagnosis, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatments, behaviour, cognition, neuroscience, neurobiology and genetic aspects of childhood disorders.  Articles published include experimental, longitudinal and intervention studies, especially those that advance our understanding of developmental psychopathology and that inform both theory and clinical practice.

  Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (PBI) offers sound, research-based principles of positive behavior support for use in school, home and community settings with people with challenges in behavioral adaptation. Regular features include empirical research; discussion, literature reviews, and conceptual papers; programs, practices, and innovations; forum; and media reviews.

  Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (RASD) will publish high quality empirical articles and reviews with a primary focus on applied topics. These areas will include but not be limited to diagnosis, incidence and prevalence, methods of evaluating treatment effects, educational, pharmacological, and psychological interventions across the life span. The primary audience for the journal will be researchers and clinicians with advanced degrees in the areas of mental health, education, communication disorders, rehabilitation, and allied disciplines.

  The Gifted Child Quarterly

Gifted Child Quarterly (GCQ) publishes original research and new and creative insights about giftedness and talent development in the context of the school, the home, and the wider society. Each issue offers quantitative and qualitative research studies that explore the characteristics of gifted students, program models, curriculum and other important areas that maximize the development and education of gifted students.

  Journal of Advanced Academics

Journal of Advanced Academics (JOAA) is a quarterly journal that focuses on research that supports and enhances advanced academic achievement for students of all ages. In particular, JOAA publishes articles that feature strategies for increasing academic achievement, programs that promote high levels of academic achievement and engagement, and programs that prepare students to engage in high-level and rigorous academics.

  Focus on Exceptional Children

Feature articles and detailed profiles of exceptional children published as a service to teachers, special educators, curriculum specialists, administrators and those concerned with the special education of exceptional children.

Find Scholarly Articles in Other Subject Areas

Need to find a scholarly article in a subject area other than human services? Go to the Library's Subject Guides and choose the most relevant area of study. Look for a section title Articles or Databases.

If a broader search would be useful, try the Library's Articles & More search.

Finding a Cited Article

Suppose you need to find the full text of an article for an assigned reading, or you want to find an article that was cited in another source. The Library is here to help! For a full description of various methods for finding full text, please see the Finding Full Text Guide.

Interlibrary Loan

If Falvey does not own the article you are looking for, you may request a copy using our interlibrary loan services. To request a digital copy of an article or book chapter, please use ILLiad. To request a book that is unavailable in Falvey Library, please use EZBorrow.

Evaluating Sources

Always carefully evaluate sources before including them in your research. Academic journal articles vary in format. Sometimes, you may be looking for a research study or experiment. These articles follow a particular format. Look for section headings like "Literature Review," "Methods," "Results," or "Conclusions." Other scholarly articles may review current or past literature, rather than conduct a new research study or experiment. These types of articles may also be considered scholarly.

For more information on evaluating sources, please see the guide to Evaluating Information.

Conducting a Research Study

The library has some useful books and guides for conducting a research study.

Writing a Proposal

• Research proposals: a guide to success

See the full results for Falvey's books on Proposal Writing in Human Services, and Proposal Writing more generally.  Some of these titles are more geared toward grant writing, but soliciting grants or funding for research proposals is often part of the same process.

Research Design and Methodology

E-Reference materials on research methods in the social sciences can give a good overview or answer quick questions:

• Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods
• Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods
• Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics
• Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods