Systematic Literature Searching in Social Work: A Practical Guide With Database Appraisal

Abstract

Context: In response to the growth of evidence-based practice in social work, systematic literature reviews offer significant value to social work but are often met with concerns of time scarcity. Purpose: Through a case study search strategy addressing the research question “What are practicing frontline social workers’ experiences of bureaucracy?,” this article seeks to promote efficiency by providing a practical guide for conducting systematic literature searches and an appraisal of database performance in qualitative social work research. Method: The total citations, unique hits, sensitivity, and precision for each database were calculated before conducting a cross-study comparison with three previously published social work systematic searches to identify emerging performance trends. Results/Conclusion: Relying on a single database is subject to bias and will not provide comprehensive or sensitive findings; however, due to consistent high performance across four systematic searches, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Social Science Citation Index are recommended for future literature searching in social work.

Stigma and health of Indian LGBT population: A systematic review.

“…We used Google Docs for sharing the updated information instead of mails and messages. In addition to the PRISMA checklist, the steps suggested by Pascoe et al (2021) were followed to plan the layout of the study in a comprehensive manner. The authors laid out 15 steps to answer the research question through a systematic literature review following guidelines with rigor within an appropriate time frame (McFadden et al, 2012; McGinn et al, 2016).…”

Responses to COVID-19 in Major Social Work Journals: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies, Comments, and Editorials

“…The author aimed at not only finding papers related to social work and the pandemic but also exploring social work journal editors’ editorial direction and strategic focus amid the COVID-19 surge. A systematic search (Pascoe, Solomon, & McGinn, 2021; Taylor, Wylie, Dempster, & Donnelly, 2007) of terms related to the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The search was confined to 43 major social work journals listed in the 2018 JCR, which had been carried out 1 month after the initial outbreak in a similar study.…”

A systematic review of literature regarding food insecurity in Sweden

“…Finally, it is important that the researcher reports how the actual assessment of the quality of the sources has been arrived at. In recent years, several researchers in social work have carried out systematic reviews, but also in other scientific areas (Bearman et al., 2012; Crisp, 2015; Kelly, 2012; Pascoe et al., 2021; Snider, 2019).…”

“…The systematic review as a research tool offers a type of academic rigor to the search for literature that does not occur and is not required in the traditional narrative review. 1 For social work, the desire to focus on evidence-based practice means that this form of review offers a more scientific and comprehensive analysis, which can be used to inform practice and research development (Pascoe et al, 2021). However, it has the constraint of appearing time and resource heavy, which has led to a belief that it is more complex than is necessary for the field of social work (Crisp, 2015).…”

“…Our steps inspired by Pascoe et al. (2021) were as follows Research question established as outlined above. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined as outlined below. Potential databases were assessed for suitability using the top academic databases (2020) and judgment of the relevance to the research question. The databases were tested in mock attempts at repeating data searches for consistency and reliability. SCOPUS and PubMed were selected as primary databases and Google Scholar as a secondary information database. A group of food insecurity related words and synonyms was gathered for the purposes of searching the databases. Nineteen words of phrases selected with the additional search parameter of Sweden. Search strategy developed of which years to be searched (1996–2020), country (Sweden), and which catalogue to file the results in (Endnote). Testing of searches was again carried out in mock attempts at repeating data searches for consistency and reliability. Searches ran using Boolean operators OR among the synonyms with AND added to include the condition of Sweden being included. Searches catalogued in Endnote and then duplicates removed using an algorithm developed by Bramer et al.…”