- Welcome
- Books
- Journal Articles
- Databases
- Journals
- Archives & Primary Sources
- Data & Statistics
- Government Information
- Laws & Legislation
- Maps & GIS
- Media
- Websites
- Writing & Citing
Welcome
Welcome. You can use this guide to begin your research or book an appointment to work on your research with Martha Attridge Bufton, your subject specialist. She can help you find the research materials you need for your assignments and papers: see the side menu for her contact information.
Evaluating information
Beware online "filter bubbles"
Research process
Form a research topic (Loyal Marymount University)
Instructional videos
- Using Social Work Abstracts, CBCA and CPIQ (for Canadian content)
- Search faster, search smarter (using keywords; University of Sydney)
See our Library Guide for Social Work for a listing of library resources including bibliographies, dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Visit GreyNet for an international directory of organizations in grey literature.
Additional library guides:
- Aging in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Social Gerontology
- Canadian Government Policy Cycle
- Child Studies
- Health Care: Public Policy and Statistics
- Homelessness
- Immigration
- Multiculturalism
- Poverty
- Sexuality Studies
- Sociology of Education
- Taxation: Public Policy and Statistics
- Women's Studies
Books
Use keywords to find books, government and other documents as well as films in the library’s collection. For all relevant titles, click on the subject headings to continue your search.
Here is a small sample of books found in the library's collection that are related to social work:
- Absent citizens : disability politics and policy in Canada
- The cost of poverty
- How are Canadians Really Doing? (see also the link to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing under the "websites" tab)
- New immigrants' assessments of their life in Canada
- The new structural social work
- Social determinants of health : Canadian perspectives
- Social work : theories and methods
- Structural social work in action : examples from practice
- Trauma and the body : a sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy
Save search alerts: save your favorite searches for easy reference so that you can run these searches on demand (note: this feature saves your search terms but not the materials that you find).
Journal Articles
Start your search in Social Work Abstracts which is the key database for this discipline and broaden it by looking at the literature in psychology. Both CPI-Q and CBCA Complete have Canadian content. PAIS International has public policy-related articles.
For human rights publications, search HuriSearch.
Click on the Databases tab for a list of other sources to find social work journal articles.
Visit Greynet for an international directory of organizations in grey literature
Databases
You can also search PAIS International and Business Source Complete for policy-related literature and Child Development & Adolescent Studies for literature on children.
Journals
The following journals are recommended by faculty in the School of Social Work. Some of these publications are available only in either print or online while others are available in both formats.
British Journal of Social Work
CCPA Monitor (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
Canadian Review of Social Policy
Journal of Progressive Human Services
Archives & Primary Sources
If there is an historical component to your research, you might consider sources from the following institutions:
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has a mandate to acquire and preserve Aborginal heritage and offers:
- The Aboriginal Resources and Services Portal provides a window to collections of resources created by or about Aboriginal peoples in Canada from private and government sources, digital copies of these works, virtual exhibitions, finding aids and other tools to locate materials.
- Aboriginal Peoples: Guide to the Records of the Government of Canada.
In addition, LAC also collects a wide assortment of materials on and by different ethno-cultural groups. This material includes: immigration records and guides, identity files, muster rolls, travel guides, passenger lists, land grants, etc.
Carleton University Archives and Research Collections
Rare books, special collections, and interlibrary loan materials are available for use within the Archives reading room in 503 MacOdrum Library. The collection offers the following title related to social work in its rare book collection.
Testing for understanding. A sound recording produced by the Council on Social Work Education in 1969.
Centre for Research Libraries
The Centre for Research Libraries, located in Chicago, Illinois, purchases specialized primary source materials rarely held by North American libraries. Carleton faculty and students can obtain these resources via extended interlibrary loan. Here is sample of materials in the CRL collection that are related to social work:
- Papers presented at the National Seminar on Globalisation and the Ageing: Implications for Gerontological Social Work
- Managing the contradictions : recovery from severe mental disorders
- Medical social case records submitted in the 1927 case competition of the American Association of Hospital Social Workers
- Other archives
- Canadian Women's Movement Archives
Depending upon your research, materials found in Library and Archives Canada, the Carleton University Archives and Research Collections and the Centre for Research Libraires could be used as either primary or secondary sources.
Data & Statistics
The Data Centre acquires, manages, and preserves quantitative computer-readable data files from the various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences and provides data-related services as needed to support research and instruction at Carleton.
Federal
- Aboriginal Peoples Survey 1991 and 2001 (Carleton University Data Centre)
- Aboriginal Peoples Survey (Statistics Canada)
- Ontario Data Documentation, Extraction Service and Infrastructure Initiative
- The Carleton University Data Centre provides access to quantitative computer-readable research data from various disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, and life sciences.
Federal
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Statistics and Data
- Canadian Statistics (selection of summary tables provides an overview of statistical information on Canada’s people, economy and governments)
- Census information
- Community Information Database (based on census data, provides socio-economic and demographic data and information for all Canadian communities)
- Justice statistics Beyond 2020 tables
- Statistics Canada
- Statistics Canada Health Indicators
Provincial
Government Information
To find government policies, check the following:
- Canadian Heritage. Click on "Cultural diversity and rights" in the left-hand menu, then "HUman Rights" and then "Canada's Reports to the UN" which is the middle section of the page. These reports detail government policies and activities (federal and provincial) related to a number of important international treaties and, in particular, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Click on "publications and resources" in the left-hand menu and then either audit reports or evaluation reports.
- Office of the Auditor General of Canada. The OAG publishes reports that evaluation government policies and programs. You can also search the websites of the provincial offices of the auditor general.
- Library of Parliament of Canada. The library produces publications on policy issues and you can search the site for your topic.
- Search the Canadian Government Policy Cycle subject guide. In particular, the section on Action introduces you to the variety of ways that the Canadian government can implement policy.
- Search both the Canadian Research Index and the Canadian Public Policy Collection which are specialized databases.
- Search our catalogue: do a keyword search and choose "government documents" for the location of the materials.
- Find government information online using the library's customized Google search. You can sort the rersults by level of government (federal, provincial, municipal).
In addition, the following federal government departments or organizations have responsibility for issues related to social work:
- Canada Mortage and Housing Corporation
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- Correctional Service of Canada
- Department of Finance (including Canadian government budgets)
- Department of Justice
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Government of Canada
- Health Canada
- Health Canada National Anti-Drug Strategy
- Health Canada Seniors
- Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)
- HRSDC Income Security Programs
- HRSDC Indicators of Well-being
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
- Parliament of Canada
Federal responsibilities include making laws "for the peace, order and good government of Canada,” except for those assigned to the provincial governments including:
- direct taxation in the province for provincial purposes
- natural resources
- prisons (except penitentiaries)
- education
- hospitals
For links to federal and provincial legislation, click on "Law: Legislation and Regulations" on the Law Subject Guide.
- City of Ottawa
- Community Information Centre of Ottawa
- Community Information Centre of Ottawa e-Blue Book (online directory)
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Laws & Legislation
- Justice Laws (consolidated statutes)
Other federal legislation
- Ontario E-Laws
- Quebec Laws & Regulations
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII): for all provinces
Other provincial sites
British Columbia
Ontario
Maps & GIS
Media
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collections include
- Aboriginal peoples
- Canada's Digital Collections (operated by Industry Canada from 1996 to 2004 and archives at LAC)
- Ethnocultural groups
- Photographs
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada's online screening room allows you to watch hundreds of films free online documentaries, animated and alternatiave drama films.
Carleton University film collection
Our collection contains many films related to social work including:
- Between: living in the hyphen. This films interweaves the experiences of a group of Canadians with one parent from a European background and one from a visible minority.
- I'm not the Indian you had in mind. I'm not the Indian you had in mind explores the stereotypical portrayal of our First Nations peoples in the media.
- Four Feet Up. A National Film Board of Canada documentary on child poverty in Canada.
- Home safe. A documentary that deals with how Canadian families with children live with the threat and the experience of homelessness.
- The M-word records the history of various immigrant groups who are not officially recognized in the history books.
- Polytechnique is a dramatization of the Montreal Massacre of 1989 where several female engineering students were murdered.
- A safer sex trade explores the stigma of prostitution through the eyes of three women.
Websites
Educational website
Grey literature
Social work organizations
- Canadian Association of Social Workers
- Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE-ACFTS)
- Council on Social Work Education (United States)
- International Federation of Social Workers
- National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (United States)
- National Institute for Social Work (United Kingdom)
Social research groups
- Ontario Public Interest Group (OPIRG) Toronto
- Caledon Institute of Social Policy A private, non-profit social policy think tank that conducts social policy research and analysis.
- The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Canadian Council on Social Development
- Canadian Index of Wellbeing Provides analyses of changes in Canadians' lives in areas such as health, standard of living, quality of the environment, time use, education and skills, community vitality, and civic engagement.
- Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations that participated in the recent review of Canada's compliance with the United Nation's International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Canadian Policy Research Networks (closed in 2010 but information still available on website)
- The Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) (Canada)
- The Council of Canadians
- National Council of Welfare
- Social Research and Demonstration Corporation Canada (a non-profit research organization, that develops, does field tests and evaluates social programs)
- Think Tanks (University of Alberta Library)
- Vanier Institute of the Family
Social Work Gateways
- Charity Village Canada's supersite for the nonprofit sector
- PRAXIS (Resources for Social and Economic Development)
- Social Work Access Network (SWAN) (University of South Carolina)
- Social Work Internet Guide (University of Sydney Library)
Related Carleton University websites
Special Topics
Aboriginal Canadians
- Aboriginal and Indigenous Social Work
- Assembly of First Nations
- Aboriginal Healing Foundation
- Aboriginal Links: Canada and US (Links to resources all subjects dealing with Aboriginal culture and rights)
- Centre for Aboriginal Health Research
- National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)
- Turning Point (Native Peoples and Newcomers Online)
- Turtle Island Native Network Highly recommended
- Unicef Canada Aboriginal children’s health: Leaving no child behind. Canadian supplement to The State of the World's Children 2009
- Wigwamen Non-Profit Residential Corporation
Abuse and Violence
- Institutional Child Abuse (Law Commission of Canada files archived by Library and Archives Canada)
- La Marsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution (York University)
- Child Welfare Information Gateway (United States)
- National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (Canada)
- Victims of Violence (Canadian Centre for Missing Children)
Aging
- American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
- 50plus.com Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus
- Canadian Association on Gerontology
- Canadian Senior Citizens Information and Services Center
- The Council on Aging of Ottawa
- Long Term Care Planning Network A Canadian national resource centre for aging and long term care planning and education.
- Nova Scotia Centre on Aging
- refdesk.com: Seniors Online
Bereavement
- Bereaved Families of Ontario
- Bereaved Families of Ontario - Ottawa Region
- Bereaved Families of Ontario - Toronto
- Bereavement Ontario Network
- Cruse Bereavement Care (United Kingdom)
- Sample reading list (Martha Attridge Bufton)
Children and Youth
- Carleton University Library: Child Studies Subject Guide
- Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-Being
- Teen Health and Wellness
Disabilities
- ARCH Disability Law Centre (Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped)
- Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
- CHADD: Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Children with Disabilities
- CERA:Centre for Equality Rights in Accomodation
- Council of Canadians with Disabilities
- DAWN Canada: DisAbled Women's Network Canada
- Disability-Related Policy in Canada
- Disability Resources Monthly (DRM) Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet
- EASI: Equal Access to Software and Information
- LDOnLine: Learning Disabilities Information & Resources (United States)
- NEADS (National Educational Association of Disabled Students)
- Neil Squire Foundation
- Community Living Ontario
- The Ontarians With Disabilities Act: ODA Committee
- National Institute of Disability Management and Research
Family
- Adoption Council of Canada
- Canadian Association for Family Resource Programs
- Centre for Families, Work, and Well-Being
- Family Law Centre provides comprehensive information on Canada's Divorce and Family Law
- Family Service Canada
- Vanier Institute of the Family
Feminism
- Canadian Women's Internet Association
- Canadian Women's Movement Archives
- Carleton University Library: Women's Studies Subject Guide
- Women of Color Websites
Health
Homelessness
- Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa
- Canada Without Poverty
- Canadian Federation of Municipalities (reports: The State of Canada's Cities and Communities 2012 and Trends and Issues in Affordable Housing and Homelessness)
- Homelessness & Housing (Canadian Social Research Links)
- National Council of Welfare
- Ottawa Innercity Ministries
- PovNet (British Columbia)
- Raising the Roof Solutions for Canada's Homeless
- The Workfare Watch Project
- Pilot Atlas of Risk of Homelessness (This atlas represents interactive risk of homelessness data. To view, you require a HIGH SPEED INTERNET CONNECTION and a recent version of SAFARI, FIREFOX and/or Google's CHROME.)
Human Rights
- Amnesty International Canada
- Carleton University: Educational Equity Policy (Equity Services)
- Carleton University Library: Human Rights Subject Guide
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Human Rights Organizations and Resources
- Office of the High Commisioner for Human Rights (United Nations)
Immigration and resettlement
Ceris: The Ontario Metropolis Centre
Labour
- Canadian Labour Congress
- Canadian Union Of Public Employees
- Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
- International Council on Social Welfare
- Interational Labour Organization
- The Ontario Federation of Labour
- PSAC: Public Service Alliance of Canada
Mental Health
-
Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
- Mental Health Commission of Canada
Restorative Justice
Sexual Orientation
- Carleton University Library: Sexuality Studies Subject Guide
- Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives
- Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition
- EGALE Canada / Equality For Gays & Lesbians Everywhere
- Gay and Lesbian Resources (University of Arizona Library)
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Studies (University of California)
- GayCanada.COM
- The Dr. Kelly McGinnis Library (Canada`s largest gay, lesbian, bi, transgendered lending library)
- NGLTF National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Substance Abuse
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug use: Subject Guide
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
- The Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research
- National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (PREVLINE)
- Substance abuse: Access to Justice Network (Choose "Substance Abuse" from the 'Select a keyword" pull-down list)
Suicide Prevention
Wellbeing
Writing & Citing
Copies of the most recent versions of the major academic style manuals (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA, Turabian) are available at the Research Help Desk (2nd floor, MacOdrum Library).
Guides to citing online materials
Recommended websites
613-520-2600 x2985