HARRIS LIBRARY

The following Pathfinder is intended to step you through the basic library research process for identifying resources relating to The Management/Community & Social Development Concentration and the Dual Social Work and Management of Nonprofit Organizations Program. Management is both the people that run an organization and the process of using available resources for accomplishing an organization's goals. The art of management enables individuals to lead organizations. In the context of social work administration leadership is through personal rather than positional power. Although the "multidimensional" complexity of the subject area makes it difficult to adequately describe the literature, this pathfinder begins to point the way.

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 nonprofit management are:

Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (3rd ed.). New York: The Free Press.

Bryce, H. J. (2000). Financial and strategic management for nonprofit organizations: A comprehensive reference to legal, financial, management, and operations rules and guidelines for nonprofits (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Carver, J. (2006).  Boards that make a difference: A new design for leadership in nonprofit and public organizations (3rd ed.).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chait, R. P., Ryan, W. P., & Taylor, B. E. (2005). Governance as leadership: Reframing the work of nonprofit boards. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2001). The nonprofit handbook. Management (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.

***New*** Crutchfield, L. R., & Grant, H. M. (2008).  Forces for good: The six practices of high-impact nonprofits.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Edwards, R. L., & Yankey, J. A. (Eds.). (2006).  Effectively managing nonprofit organizations. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Greenfield, J. M. (Ed.). (2001). The nonprofit handbook. Fund raising (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.

Hampton, J. J. (Ed.). (1994). AMA management handbook (3rd ed.). New York: Amacom.    
(Also available as an E-book)

Hart, T., Greenfield, J. M., & Johnston, M. (Eds.). (2005). Nonprofit internet strategies: Best practices for marketing, communications, and fundraising success. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Herman, R. D., and Associates. (2005). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hudson, M. (2005). Managing at the leading edge: New challenges in managing nonprofit organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Levy, C. S. (1982). Guide to ethical decisions and actions for social service administrators: A handbook for managerial personnel. New York: Haworth Press.

Martin, L. L. (2001). Financial management for human service administrators. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

National Association of Social Workers. (1990). NASW standards for social work personnel practices (Rev. ed.). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers.

Patti, R. J. (Ed.). (2000). The handbook of social welfare management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Powell, W. W., & Steinberg, R. (Eds.). (2006).  The nonprofit sector: A research handbook (2nd ed.).  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Salamon, L. M. (Ed.). (2002). The state of nonprofit America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Saul, J. (2004). Benchmarking for nonprofits: How to measure, manage, and improve performance. St. Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

Shafritz, J. M. (Editor-in-chief). (1998). International encyclopedia of public policy and administration (Vols. 1-4). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Smith, D. H., Stebbins, R. A., & Dover, M. A. (2006).  A dictionary of nonprofit terms and concepts.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

***New*** Snow, R. M., & Phillips, P. H. (2008).  Making critical decisions: A practical guide for nonprofit organizations.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Wilbur, R. H. (Ed.). (2000). The complete guide to nonprofit management (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

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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 nonprofit management (in alphabetical order):

     Arts management
     Boards of Directors
     Directors of corporations
     Fund raising
     Health facilities administration
     Human services management
     Mission statements
     Nonprofit organizations management
     Organizational change
     Public administration management
     Public welfare administration
     Social work administration
     Strategic planning
     Voluntarism Management
     Volunteers – management

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 nonprofit management. 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.

     Boards
     Budgeting
     Business planning
     Capacity building
     Finance
     Fundraising
     Information systems
     Leadership
     Personnel
     Public relations
     Quality management
     Strategic planning
     Supervision
     Volunteers

Search The Library Catalog for: KEYWORD SUBJECT

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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 nonprofit management 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. (Last reviewed: 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 September 28, 2005. Last updated November 7, 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.)

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 nonprofit management include:

Administration and Policy in Mental Health   online at: OhioLINK.   (Public catalog.)

Administration in Social Work   online at: Haworth, EBSCOhost.  (Public catalog.)

Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing   online at: Haworth.  (Public catalog.)

Leader to Leader   online at: OhioLINK.  (Public catalog.)

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly   online at: EBSCOhost.  (Public catalog.)

Nonprofit Management & Leadership   online at: OhioLINK.  (Public catalog.)

Stanford Social Innovation Review    (Public catalog.)

Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations  online at: OhioLINK.  (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 nonprofit management:

Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
A membership-based organization, the Association is devoted to promoting ethical and professional fundraising. The site provides access to current news about fundraising and philanthropy. Some features of the site are only available to its members. (Listed April 23, 2001. Last updated January 30, 2007.) (AFP)

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 web site). 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, 2001. Last updated March 17, 2002.) (Benton)

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog provides comprehensive access to information on programs and projects administered by Federal departments and agencies, along with details on funding levels. The home page provides information on how to use the catalog, brief descriptions of Federal agencies and pointers for developing and writing grant proposals. The Catalog itself allows you to search by many different criteria including name of agency, applicant eligibility, program deadlines and type of assistance. (Listed April 1, 2001.) (CFDA)

Catalog of Nonprofit Literature
[Formerly: Literature of the Nonprofit Sector]
"The Catalog of Nonprofit Literature is a searchable database of the literature of philanthropy. It incorporates the unique contents of the Foundation Center's five libraries and contains more than 25,000 full bibliographic citations, of which more than 17,000 have descriptive abstracts. It is updated daily."--Website.  Items included are relevant books, articles, and non-print resources such as CD-Rom and audiovisual materials. Roughly 67% of the citations have abstracts.  [Note:  Under the former title it began as a printed abstract service. Hard copy available in the Harris Library.]  (Listed October 27, 2005.  Last updated August 17, 2007.) (LNPS)

Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle is a bi-weekly newspaper focused on a range of funding and philanthropic issues important to the non-profit community. The Deadlines section of the site links to current information on grant and fellowship opportunities. "The Daily Column provides daily news updates and has a Blog Roll thta show links to blogs relted to fundraising and philanthropy."  Full access to articles and other features is only available to subscribers, although non-subscribers may view the Tables of Contents of current and past issues. (Listed April 23, 2001. Last updated August 16, 2007.) (ChronPhil)

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services-Nonprofit Genie (FAQs)
[Formerly: Nonprofit Genie]
Originally sponsored by the California Management Assistance Partnership, this section of the CompassPoint Nonprofit Services site provides "plain language" answers to frequently asked questions about nonprofit issues.  (Listed November 9, 2005. Last updated August 16, 2007.) (NPOGenie)

The Foundation Center
This is the best place to start when you are trying to find information on foundations. The Foundation Center has five regional offices -- including one in Cleveland. The Foundation Finder in the Find Funders section allows you to locate information on more than 61,000 private and community foundations in the United States (you must have at least part of the foundation name to do the search). You  can also find basic information on nonprofit organizations using the 990 Finder. The Getting Started section provides an online tutorial on proposal writing, Frequently Asked Questions, and other online resources.  The Center also offers free access to its Philanthropy News Digest providing articles on grantmaking and philanthropy, as well as offering information on RFPs. (Listed April 23, 2001. Last updated August 16, 2007.) (FdnCtr)

Free Management Library for For-Profit and Nonprofit Organizations
The Free Management Library was established as a community resource for managers of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. It provides access to documents relating to an extensive range of topics including: employee performance, leadership development, program management, ethics, crisis management, organizational communications, interviewing and much, much more. The Library is hosted by the Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits in Minnesota and is developed and maintained as a community service by Carter McNamara, Ph.D. of Authenticity Consulting, Minneapolis. (Listed April 1, 2001.) (MAPNPLib)

Guidestar: The National Database of Nonprofit Organizations
Produced by Philanthropic Research, Inc., this site provides a searchable database of over 850,000 nonprofit organizations, including some foundations. Searches can be limited to a particular geographic region or zip code area. Summaries of the organization's mission and Forms 990 are included for each entry. In addition, the site provides links to current news items related to charities and a glossary. Accesssing most of the information requires a free registration. (Listed April 23, 2001.  Last updated August 16, 2007.) (Guidestar)

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Idealist.org
[Formerly: Internet Nonprofit Center (INC)]
Idealist.org, a project byActions Without Borders, serves as an online networking site for nonprofit organizations.  The website contains a directory of more than 61,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries and has comprehensive listings for job and volunteer opportunities.  There is a Resources section which has The Nonprofit FAQ and the Community Action Center.  (Listed May 18, 2001.  Last updated August 16, 2007.) (INC)

Independent Sector
The Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations committed to strengthening the not-for-profit sector. The site includes the Nonprofit Information Center, links to research findings, and lists of publications on nonprofit issues. (Listed May 18, 2001. Last updated August 16, 2007.) (IndependSect)

Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations
This academic center is sponsored by four graduate schools at Case Western Reserve University: the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, the Weatherhead School of Management, the School of Law and the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to providing information on the academic programs, this site offers links to related nonprofit sites. (Listed April 1, 2001.) (MCNO)

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Although much of this site is specifically geared to issues of interest to Minnesota nonprofit agencies, there is also a great deal of information that will be helpful to those outside of Minnesota. The Public Policy section provides resources on personnel issues (including sample policies), board development, lobbying, and fundraising.  (Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 21, 2003.) (MNCN)

National Network for Social Work Managers, Inc.
This association is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of social organizations by training and equipping social work managers. In addition to member information, the site provides network links to associations, nonprofit hubs, managerial issues and social work topics. (Listed April 1, 2001.) (NNSWMangr)

Network For Good
The Network For Good, formerly Helping.org, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the web to help people get more involved in their communities. It offers sections such as Donate , Volunteer , and Speak Out for the public to support, participate or comment on issues such as Hunger in America, Gay Pride, Physical Fitness and many other community causes. It uses Guidestar as its search engine and includes a section on Nonprofit Resources.  (Listed April 1, 2001. Last updted July 18, 2003.) (Netgood)

Npower
This service was created to help local area non-profits use technology to better serve their communities. According to their web site, NPower's mission is to provide technology training assistance to help nonprofits translate technology's promise into a better world. The site provides tips for integrating technology, assessing an organization's computer needs, and implementing a technology plan. (Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated November 9, 2005.) (Npower)

Philanthropic Studies Index (PSI)
The PSI is a "reference tool to the literature on voluntarism, nonprofit organizations, fundraising, and charitable giving." Citations to popular and scholarly periodical articles can be retrieved by doing a keyword search in the Index. The site is produced by the Joseph and Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Library. (Listed  April 23, 2001. Last updated March 5, 2007.) (PSI)

Philanthropy News Network
The mission of the Philanthropy News Network is to help people understand, support and work in the nonprofit world. Their web site offers an excellent alerting service around nonprofit issues including a daily online news service with links to newspaper articles (topics include education, foundations, fundraising, giving, technology, volunteers and more), and a free monthly newspaper on nonprofits and technology. The organization also offers a free twice-weekly electronic newsletter, though much of the content is commercially focused. The site also provides links to nonprofit jobs.  (Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated January 21, 2003.) (PJOrg)

TechSoup
Produced by Compumentor (an organization that matches volunteer technology professionals with nonprofit organizations seeking information) this site offers information on a range of technology issues such as Using the Internet, Hardware, Software, Technology Planning, Computer Networks, and Consultants. The site includes a number of Special Reports, as well as discussion boards and comments from people working in nonprofits who share their experiences with introducing technology. (Listed April 1, 2001.) (TechSoup)

USA.gov For Nonprofits
[Formerly: NonProfit Gateway]
This site provides an outline of links to Federal government information and services. The "Support" option under the Nonprofit Resources section allows you to search sources of funding availability with direct links to agency and cabinet level departments. (Listed November 9, 2005. Last updated August 16, 2007.) (NonProfGate)

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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.