MSW Distance - Annotated bibliography assignment - Social Work

Off campus research: What you will need

Use your NetID to log in to library resources off-campus.
Register your Dal card as your library card as soon as possible!
Quick video on Remote Access to Research Materials

Your NetID will allow you to log in to Dalhousie subscriptions (such as journals, databases, and other online resources) from anywhere. Check out this quick video if you have questions about remote access to library resources.

If you have a NetID that has not yet been activated, visit the NetID & Password page.

When accessing Dalhousie online library resources off campus, you will be prompted to login with your NetID. The screen will look like this:

You Dal card is your library card, but not until you register! Registering is easy, and can be done online. Please note that it takes 24 hours for your registration to be processed. Register online using this form.

If you would like help with registration, here is a short video tutorial on registering your Dal card as your library card.

Important! When filling out the form, make sure to click YES to register for a CAUL card. This card will allow you to visit and borrow books from most university libraries in Canada.

If you do not yet have a Dal card, please phone the DalCard Office (902-494-2334) to obtain your barcode that you can use to register.

Why is the CAAL card (Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries), formerly the CAUL card so great for distance students?

The CAAL card lets you borrow material in person from almost any Canadian university library. If you are a distance student at Dal but live in another city with a university, you may be able to borrow from their library! Here is a full list of participating libraries.

How do I register for a CAUL card?

When registering your Dal card as your library card using this form, make sure to check "Yes" to apply for a CAUL card. The card will arrive by mail.

Distance students will want to take advantage of our free Document Delivery services. Books from Dalhousie and other universities can be delivered to your home! Watch this video to learn more - Document Delivery for Distance Students (video).

On-campus students can also take advantage of Document Delivery to order books and articles that are not available at Dal. Watch this video to learn more - Document Delivery (video).

More short videos on ordering resources:

Getting started with research

Novanet is Dalhousie's online library catalogue. Use Novanet to find books; use databases to find articles (click the "Articles") tab for more information on finding articles.

E-books can be read online using your NetID and password. Click "Find online" and then click "Full text."
Print books can be mailed to you for free via our Document Delivery service.
Here is a quick demo I created specifically for Social Work distance students:

A database is a collection of journal articles and other scholarly information. Databases can be general or subject-specific. Dalhousie subscribes to some databases that are extremely good for finding Social Work scholarly literature.

Social Work databases:

Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window
*Key database for Social Work* Indexes over 1400 journals focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development.
Social Work Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Social Work Abstracts offers extensive coverage of more than 900 social work and human services journals dating back to 1965.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
*Key database for Psychology* - also great for Social Work. Covers the academic, research and practice literature in psychology from over 45 countries in more than 30 languages.

Not finding much? Check in a multidisciplinary database:

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive academic multi-disciplinary database, Academic Search Premier provides full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles.
Research Library This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts 2300+ journals and newspapers in many subject areas including: arts, business, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's studies.

Don't stop there! There are plenty of other places to look for journal articles on your topic. Check out the Find articles tab of the Social Work Research Guide.

Database help sheet for Social Work students
Here is a downloadable PDF handout to introduce you to database searching. If you still have questions, feel free to get in touch!

Each entry on your Annotated Bibliography will need to be cited correctly. Here are some great resources for APA citation:

Dalhousie APA Quickguide
OWL at Purdue APA Citation
Use the links on the left to navigate
APA citation video (from Memorial University)
For the more visual learners!

You might want to consider using a citation management program to store and keep track of your citations. Dalhousie students have free access to RefWorks, but there are also open source options like Zotero and Mendeley.