The following Pathfinder is intended to step you through the basic library research process for
identifying resources relating to the
Community & Social Development
concentration. Community development, within the context of "community practice," is a method
of empowering low income, marginalized or oppressed populations to prepare them to make use of
social and economic investments by influencing and changing the attitudes and behaviors of the
financial and economic power brokers within the community. Building on existing community
strengths, the community development practitioner serves as a catalyst in the rebuilding of
communities through grassroots organizing and economic development.
Consult the
Steps to Research and Writing
a Paper for more detailed information.
References to book and journal titles are specific to items owned by the MSASS Harris Library
and Case Western Reserve University libraries (although in most cases the resources can be found in
other academic and public libraries). The websites that are included at the end of the Pathfinder
are intended as a starting point for research on the Internet and are not meant to be inclusive.
1. Start by locating resources that provide an overview of your topic.
This will help you define terms in that discipline and provide background information in your
subject area.
Encyclopedias,
handbooks
and
subject specific
dictionaries offer good places to start.
Some titles specifically related to community development are:
Dale, A., & Onyx, J. (Eds.). (2005).
A dynamic balance: Social capital and
sustainable community development. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Provides online access to articles from the print version of the
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and the
Dictionary of Cleveland Biography. The website is maintained by Case Western Reserve
University and the Western Reserve Historical Society. [
Hard copies of the 1st and 2nd
editions are available in the Harris Library.]
Epstein, P. D., Coates, P. M., Wray, L. D., & Swain, D. (2006).
Results that matter: Improving
communities by engaging citizens, measuring performance, and getting things done. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ewalt, P. L., Freeman, E. M., & Poole, D. L. (Eds.). (1998).
Community
building: Renewal, well-being, and shared responsibility. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Hardcastle, D. A. (2004).
Community practice: Theories and
skills for social workers (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lightburn, A., & Sessions, P. (Eds.). (2006).
Handbook of community-based clinical
practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Murphy, P. W., & Cunningham, J. V. (2003).
Organizing for community controlled
development: Renewing civil society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
***
New***
Rothman, J., Erlich, J. L., & Tropman, J. E. (Eds.). (2008).
Strategies of community
intervention (7th ed.). Peosta, IA: Eddie Bowers Publishing.
***
New***
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2008).
Community organizing and
development (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Sawyer, P. R. (2005).
Socialization to civil society: A
life-history study of community leaders. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Weil, M., & Reisch, M. (Eds.). (2005).
Handbook of community practice.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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2. Search the online catalog for additional books that will give you the history, context,
definitions and theories.
Define the terms that you want to use when you are doing a search for materials. If you do a
subject search in the online catalog, the system limits you to using predefined Library of Congress
Subject Headings.
Click here for
more information on doing a subject search.
Some subject headings for community development (in alphabetical order):
Coalition (Social sciences)
Community development
Community development corporations
Community leadership
Community organization
Community power
Power (Social sciences)
Social capital (Sociology)
Social change
Sustainable development
Doing a keyword search will give you many more titles than a subject search and may help you
focus the results. When you do a keyword search the system looks in the title, subject and table of
contents fields.
Click here for more
information on doing a keyword search.
To do effective keyword searching, you will need to think of
concepts and terms related to
your topic. Consulting a thesaurus will help you find synonyms for concepts.
Click here for a list of
thesauri owned by the Harris Library.
In addition to the subject headings above, here are some general terms (in alphabetical order)
to use when searching for information on community development. When you narrow your search you
will make an additional list specific to your topic.
NOTE: Using a system's truncating symbol (in this example, the asterisk "*") at
the end of the root word will provide you with records using variations of that word.
Citizen participation
Coalition (coalition*)
Community building
Community development
Community empowerment
Community partnership
Community practice
Community organization
Grassroots
Urban development
Urban renewal
You can do a key word search from this pathfinder.
Enter your search terms just as you would from the keyword search menu in the online catalog
and then click on "search."
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3. Find some general articles on your topic.
After you have located books on your topic, you will want to look for general journal articles
in your subject area. Case and OhioLINK offer several general databases. These include: Expanded
Academic ASAP, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, Periodical Abstracts, SIRS Researcher, and Social
Sciences Index. These databases provide a mix of popular magazine articles and scholarly research
articles. You can get to these databases by choosing the Research Databases option in the
Library Catalog.
Note:
Access is limited to authorized users.
TIP: When you search in general databases, you will sometimes retrieve citations
to book reviews related to your topic. These book reviews may be helpful in leading you to book
titles and/or authors in your area of interest.
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4. Search subject specific databases for more scholarly journal articles.
Once you have assembled general journal articles on your topic, you can begin focusing on
scholarly research articles. Citations, abstracts and, sometimes, the full-text of journal articles
are found in a variety of databases available through Case Western Reserve University and OhioLINK
to
authorized users.
Case and OhioLINK databases are available by clicking on
Research Databases in the
Library Catalog.
The World Wide Web also makes available a range of databases. Some of these require a
subscription fee to be paid; others are free.
Click here to view a list
of selected databases available on the web that are related to social work and the social
sciences.
Literature on community development is found in many disciplines. Some of the databases that
will have articles on this topic include:
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases. The subject categories
include the areas of public policy, social policy and the social sciences. It includes citations
for books as well as journal articles and covers a wide range of planning and public administration
journals and books, including government publications. The coverage is from 1972 to the present.
[Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
Social Work Abstracts is available electronically through the
Case Research Databases list. It
contains more than 45,000 records from 1700 social work related journals. Topics covered include
service delivery, social work practice, homelessness, aging, child and family welfare, community
organization, and substance abuse. The coverage is from 1977 to the present. This database
corresponds with the printed publication
Social Work Abstracts
. [Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
SocINDEX is available electronically through the
Case Research Databases and the
OhioLINK Research
Databases. SocINDEX includes citations, abstracts, and some full-text for all subdisciplines of
sociology. SocINDEX provides data mined from more than 500 "priority" coverage journals as well as
1,040 "selective" coverage journals. It also includes indexing of books, reports, and some other
formats. Also included is a useful sociology specific thesaurus for subject term searching. It
replaces
Sociological Abstracts in the OhioLINK database. [Listed September 28,
2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
Sociological Abstracts is a database available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases. It indexes 2600 journals in
sociology and related disciplines from over 55 countries. It also contains citations to many
relevant dissertations and conference proceedings. Sociological Abstracts is an excellent source
for information related to general community practice issues. The coverage is from 1963 through
June 2005. This index corresponds to the formerly printed publication
Sociological Abstracts. OhioLINK stopped subscribing to updates from this database
effective June 2005, as a result nothing after that date will be present in the database. Check
SocINDEX for current information. [Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated November 11, 2005]
CAUTION: The setup will vary for different databases. In many databases if you
type in a phrase the system will look for the exact phrase. It does not add an "
and" between words. So if you type "urban poverty homeless" you will get zero
results because it will look for those words in that exact order. It is often clearer to enter one
term at a time and combine the end results.
TIP: Look in the descriptor field and/or use the online thesaurus to lead you to
additional terms.
NOTE: Online databases are distributed nationally and are not specific to Case
Western Reserve University. The University will not own all the journals that are cited in the
databases.
Click here for
information on finding journal titles in the online catalog.
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5. Browse current issues of journals that contain literature on your topic.
Click here for a list of journals to which the MSASS Harris Library subscribes.
Journals that are most likely to contain information on the topic of community development
include:
Community Development Journal online at:
OhioLINK,
Oxford University Press,
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Grassroots Development: Journal of the Inter-American Foundation
online at:
Publisher's website. (Public
catalog)
Journal of Community Practice online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Journal of Housing and Community Development online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Journal of the Community Development Society (Public
catalog)
Stanford Social Innovation Review online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Additional journals that cover general topics in Sociology and social studies are available in
the
Electronic
Journal Center.
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6. Do a Web search on the Internet for additional information.
Information located through the Internet can provide supplemental material to scholarly research
articles. Material retrieved from websites should always be
evaluated for
currency, authorship, bias and accuracy.
Following are selected websites that might be helpful when looking for information on community
development:
Association for Community Organization & Social Administration (ACOSA)
"ACOSA is a membership organization for community organizers, activists, nonprofit
administrators, community builders, policy practitioners, students and educators." (From the ACOSA
website). The organization hosts an annual symposium, sponsors the
Journal of
Community Practice
, and promotes the dissemination of research related to social administration and community
organizing. Resources on the site include reports, bibliographies and links related to social work
and community development. [Listed October 27, 2005.] (ACOSA)
Benton Foundation
"The Benton Foundation seeks to articulate a public interest vision for the digital age and
to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems" (From the Benton Foundation
website). Their publication
Technology Literacy Benchmarks for Nonprofit Organizations
is a useful guide to help non-profit organizations assess themselves around technology
literacy. [Listed December 21, 200. Last updated March 17, 2002.] (Benton)
The Center For Community Solutions
"The Center for Community Solutions provides strategic leadership to improve targeted health
and social conditions in Greater Cleveland through research, analysis, communication, and
organization of community resources for action. Formerly the Federation for Community Planning,
Community Solutions maintains its strong historical commitment to Helping the People Who Help
People."--Website. Some interesting items that can be found here include:
Planning & Action (newsletter);
Social Indicators;
Cleveland Neighborhood Profiles and
Neighborhood Asset Maps and Resources;
Economic Indicators; and
Ohio Nonprofit Financial Data Source (Database). [Listed November 10,
2006.] (CCS)
Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development
The Center, which is affiliated with the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case
Western Reserve University, seeks to address the problems of persistent and concentrated urban
poverty. It is dedicated to understanding how social and economic changes affect low-income
communities and their residents. The Center maintains the
Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood
Data for Organizing Area Network on Data and Organizing (NEO CANDO) - a free and publicly
accessible social and economic data system covering the entire 17 county Northeast Ohio
region, or for specific neighborhoods within the region. (NEO Cando was formerly the
Cleveland Area Network on Data and Organizing (CANDO) - a database of statistics on income levels,
education, vital statistics, crime, and housing in Cleveland neighborhoods.) The
full-text of some publications of
the Center are available online. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated March 27, 2008.]
(PovertyCtr)
The Coalition on Human Needs (CHN)
CHN promotes adequate funding for human needs programs, progressive tax policies and other
federal measures that address the needs of low income and other vulnerable populations. CHN tracks
many human needs issues at the federal level and provides members and general public with federal
analyses, news reports, and Congressional updates. This is an easy website to navigate and
resources are current. [Listed January 26, 2004.] (CHN)
Community Development Society
A membership organization that provides leadership to professionals and citizens involved in
community development. Members learn about the profession, network, and access current research and
reference information through an annual conference, publications, and listservs. [Listed October
27, 2005.] (CDS)
Community Development Xchange
"CDX works to ensure that community development is recognised and supported as powerful
way of tackling inequality and achieving social justice. As an organisation with members from
across the UK, CDX reflects a diverse range of interests in community development across all
sectors and fields." The CDX
Resources
section has a link to the
Resource Library
which has information on topics related to community development. [Listed July 10,
2007. Last updated March 27, 2008.] (CDX)
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
Provides online access to articles from the print version of the
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and the
Dictionary of Cleveland Biography. The website is maintained by Case Western Reserve
University and the Western Reserve Historical Society. [Listed April 17, 2001.] (ECH)
HUD USER
Produced by the Office of Policy Development and Research of the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, this site offers a
Bibliographic Database that provides access to abstracts of over 10,000 reports,
books and articles on housing and community development issues. The full text of the annual
State of the Cities report is also available on the site, along with a related data system
focusing on 114 selected U.S. cities. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 18, 2003.] (HUD)
NeighborhoodLink
"The Best Links to Information and Resources for the People of Cleveland, Ohio." Sponsored by
the
Center for Neighborhood Development and the
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, at
Cleveland State University, this site is the result of
cooperative efforts by government, educational, business, and social service sectors in Cleveland.
It provides access to information on transportation, employment, health care, government and
family services. Take a look at the Interactive MAPS that cover the Cleveland Statistical Planning
areas. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated March 27, 2008.] (NHlink)
Neighborhoods Online
Neighborhoods Online was created in 1995 by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values in
order to "provide fast access to information and ideas covering all aspects of neighborhood
revitalization" including housing, education, crime, jobs, health, poverty, and the environment.
The resource-rich site has many links to organizations, listservs, and model programs. [Listed
April 23, 2001.] (NOL)
Organizing for Neighborhood Development
This is a direct link to the 1985 publication
Organizing for Neighborhood Development which, in spite of its age, is excellent reading.
It highlights a number of Cleveland initiatives around community development and organization in
the context of organizing community groups. The publication is mounted on the home page of
TenantNet: The Online Resource for Residential Tenants, an information site for New York tenant
issues. The URL for the home page is
http://www.tenant.net [Listed April 1, 2001.] (OrgDev)
Praxis
Produced by Richard J. Estes of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work, this
site provides access to a vast array of web resources on international and comparative social
development. PRAXIS has been designed to meet the informational needs of two audiences: 1. social
work educators and students with international interests; 2. other educators and students who
require assistance in locating useful national and international resources on social and economic
development. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 10, 2007.] (PRAXIS)
The Urban Institute
The Institute gathers data, analyzes policies, evaluates programs, and informs community
development to improve social, civic, and economic well-being. Involved in all 50 states and
abroad in more than 28 countries, the organization shares research findings with policymakers,
program administrators, businesses, academics, and the public online and through reports and
scholarly books. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 10, 2007.] (Urban)
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7. Evaluate the information you have collected from books and articles.
Consult the bibliographies of the books and articles you have selected. This will lead you to
additional references and authors to investigate. Make notes of the gaps in your literature so that
you can use this information when you do additional searches.
Click here for more
information on evaluating the information you have collected.
