Database Guide - Social Policy and Practice

Social Policy and Practice is a useful source for social work and public health students. Coverage includes: public & social policy; public health; social care; community development; mental and community health; homelessness; housing; crime; equalities; law and order; children and families; older people. Coverage is from the 1890s to the Present, where available.

• Go to LibrarySearch.
• Log in using your CCCU username and password. If you are away from campus, or connecting with your own device over Wi-Fi, you will need to include @canterbury.ac.uk after your CCCU username.
• Select Find Databases A-Z from the left hand menu on the home page then click on S, finally click on the link to Social Policy and Practice to open it in a new tab.

Type your keywords into the Basic Search box e.g. care leavers social work. (Note: Boolean operators AND and OR are not recognised in this search field)

Use the Multi-field Search to build up a complex search. This has three boxes (and the option to add more) and the most effective way to search it is to put one concept into each box. You can combine your terms using the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT from the drop-down menu.

Try searching Social Policy and Practice by following the steps outlined below. You’ll practice using some of the most common functions and be ready to search for information for your assignments.

1. Using the Basic Search, search for the keyword loneliness. How many results do you find?
2. Using the Basic Search, search for the words mental health. (Note you can type this without speech marks)
3. Using the Search History function (in the top left-hand corner of the screen), combine your keywords by checking the box next to each item and using the AND operator. Click on Display Results. How many results do you find?
4. Using the left-hand panel, limit your results to the last ten years by selecting a Specific Date Range.
5. Find an interesting article from your result list and see if you can access the full-text of the the article by clicking on Full Text Finder.
6. Reflect on the type of information appearing in your search. How will you use this information in your assignments? How could you make your search more specific?

Your Learning and Research Librarian will be able to help you make the best use of online resources. Email with your query or, for detailed guidance, book a tutorial.