Clinical Social Work: Guidelines, Meta-Analyses & Systematic Reviews
Evidence Based Practice Databases
Researchers may also be interested in consulting the State of Oregon's Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Services unit who publish a webpage of approved evidence-based practices and process in compliance with SB 267
- California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child WelfareMaintains a clearinghouse for evidence-based child welfare programs and practices.
- Campbell Library of Systematic ReviewsProvides access to systematic reviews, usually international in scope, in education, criminal justice, and social welfare.
- Guidelines CentralGuideline summaries from medical societies and government agencies
- SAMHSA Evidence-based Practices Resource CenterMaintains a registry of mental health and substance abuse interventions that have been reviewed and rated by independent reviewers.
- Social Programs that WorkCollection of social program interventions evaluated for effectiveness, sponsored by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy
- Social Work Reference Center
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Provides practice-focused information resources for social workers and mental health professionals on a variety of topics, including adolescent health, aging, end-of-life care, clinical social work and diversity.
Primary Research Article Databases
- PsycINFOMaintains citations and abstracts for journal articles, books, and dissertations in psychology about human behavior from 1879 to the present. Nearly 2500 journals are indexed in PsycINFO, and the database is updated weekly.
- PubMed (Interface for MEDLINE)
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Provides citations and abstracts for journal articles in all areas of medical practice and research from 1953 to the present.
Search Strategies
Search the database most appropriate for your topic for systematic reviews or meta-analyses. If none are found, move to the most appropriate disciplinary database.
Focus on finding original research studies as opposed to literature reviews.
If you are still not finding useful articles, consider that your search may be too narrow. Sometimes you need to find items that are similar enough to your question that you can extrapolate the findings.
- Databases such as PubMed (MEDLINE) and PsycINFO have limits that can be applied for systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and qualitative research.
- Adding the term "systematic review" or "meta-analysis" to your search is another strategy for limiting your search.
- Look for research that had a study population similar to your client.
- Look for key indicators of empirical research in the title and abstract, such as references to an experimental group and control ground comparison, or a stated research methodology.