Social Work: Doctoral Student Resources

If BC does not have a journal that you need an article from, you can use our free Interlibrary loan service (ILL). The Findit link will bring you to a Request link. You will receive an e-mail with instructions on how to sign-in to our system to get a pdf copy of the article. You will receive a copy of the article within 1-2 business days.

There are specific keywords that you can type into a social work database when you are looking for research-based articles. Here are some keywords that you might find to be helpful:

• data
• study
• findings
• methodology
• qualitative
• quantitative
• empirical

Combine any of these keywords with other words or phrases that describe your topic of interest.

If you search a database and the full article's not there, don't despair.  Look for the "FindIt" button:  or FindIt@BC.  Find It will offer help including:

1. If BC has the full text in another database, you will be taken to a list of databases for the full text. 
2. If BC subscribes to the print journal where the article appeared, the Catalog will say Find in Library and you can check which library or libraries may have the year/issue you need and where it is located.
3. If the article is not available online or in print at BC, use the link to Request the item. We can usually get the article from another library within a few days and email it to you.