45 Human Services
Canadian Settlement in Action: History and Future
Alexandru Caldararu, Julie Clements, Rennais Gayle, Christina Hamer, and Maria MacMinn Varvos (NorQuest College)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
The five chapters of this book encapsulate the past, present, and future of Canadian immigration and settlement. The topics, in part, cover the history of immigration to Canada through an objective lens that allows readers to learn what transpired with the settlement of specific ethnic groups, as well as address Canada’s current policies and approaches to immigration. This leads to an exploration of the challenges that newcomers to Canada and the settlement sector are encountering today. Readers and learners of settlement studies will embark on a journey of self-reflection throughout this book as they engage in many activities, quizzes, and interactions which may be self-directed or instructor led.
Formats: Online, EPUB, and PDF
Diversity and Difference in Communication
The Open University
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This text explores the ways in which difference and diversity impact on the nature of communication in health and social care services. Interpersonal communication in health and social care services is by its nature diverse. As a consequence, achieving good or effective communication whether between service providers and service users, or among those working in a service means taking account of diversity, rather than assuming that every interaction will be the same. This text explores the ways in which difference and diversity impact on the nature of communication in health and social care services.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: HSRV 306
Child Maltreatment: An Introductory Guide with Case Studies
Susan Loosley and Jen Johnson
2023
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This guide provides an overview of the different types of abuse, including signs to look for when a child is being abused or neglected. Legal responsibilities to identify and report suspected child abuse are also presented. This resource also contains case studies with interactive questions that allow for theory to be applied to practice.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB
Foundations of Social Work Research
Rebecca L. Mauldin (University of Texas at Arlington)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This textbook was created to provide an introduction to research methods for BSW and MSW students, with particular emphasis on research and practice relevant to students at the University of Texas at Arlington. It provides an introduction to social work students to help evaluate research for evidence-based practice and design social work research projects. It can be used with its companion, A Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions by Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo, or as a stand-alone textbook.
Format: Online
Suggested for: HSRV 201
Graduate Research Methods in Social Work: A Project-based Approach
Matthew DeCarlo (La Salle University), Cory Cummings (Nazareth University), and Kate Agnelli (Virginia Commonwealth University)
2021
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Our textbook guides graduate social work students step by step through the research process from conceptualization to dissemination. We center cultural humility, information literacy, pragmatism, and ethics and values as core components of social work research.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Reviews: Open Textbook Library
Suggested for: HSRV 489
Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions
Rebecca L. Mauldin (University of Texas at Arlington) and Matthew DeCarlo (Radford University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This short guidebook provides information about selecting a research topic and research questions, searching for literature, reading and understanding scholarly writing, and writing a literature review to synthesize what is known and what remains to be learned about a social problem. For students who appreciate the availability of resources on the internet, it also provides links to additional materials. It can be used with its companion textbook, Foundations of Social Work Research by Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo, or as a stand-alone guide.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Suggested for: HSRV 201
Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Volume I
Susan Tyler
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This discusses biopsychosocial, sociocultural, and social change dimensions of behaviour, as well as information on human development from the prenatal period through late adulthood.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, and more
Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Volume II
Whitney Payne
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This discusses biopsychosocial, sociocultural, and social change dimensions of behaviour, as well as information on human development from the prenatal period through late adulthood.
Formats: Online, PDF
Introduction to Social Work
Jessica Gladden (Ferris State University)
Licence: CC BY
This book was written by MSW students to provide an overview of topics in social work, including in child welfare, health, criminal justice, and services to the elderly.
Formats: Online, PDF
Suggested for: HSRV 201
Introduction to Substance Use Disorders
Patricia A. Stoddard Dare (Cleveland State University) and Audrey Begun (Ohio State University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC
Introduction to Substance Use Disorders (2020) is an Open Educational Resource book designed for use in an introductory substance misuse course. These materials were developed using a variety of published sources and online materials, including resources produced by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Routledge Handbook of Social Work and Addictive Behavior (2020), edited by A.L. Begun and M.M. Murray, and most notably Theories and Biological Basis of Substance Misuse, Part I and Part 2 by A.L. Begun.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Making Sense of a Global Pandemic: Relationship Violence & Working Together Towards a Violence Free Society
Balbir Gurm, Glaucia Salgado, Jennifer Marchbank, and Sheila Early (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
2020
Licence: CC BY-NC
This online book provides a wealth of information on relationship violence focusing amongst other things on definitions; the scope of the problem, theoretical frameworks, interventions and prevention strategies. It provides information on legal statutes (Provincial; Federal and International) and contains numerous links to additional resources to inform the reader. The book also highlights some emerging issues such as the importance of cultural safety; relationship violence in the workplace and on post-secondary campuses.
Format: Online
Northern and Indigenous Health and Healthcare
Edited by Heather Exner-Pirot (University of Saskatchewan), Bente Norbye (UiT The Arctic University of Norway), and Lorna Butler (University of Saskatchewan)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC
The provision of northern health care entails many unique challenges and circumstances that are rarely represented in mainstream health sciences education. This OpenEd Resource provides accessible content on health and health care from a northern perspective for the growing number of health professionals being educated in northern communities.
Formats: Online, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI
Principles of Social Psychology
2015
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
This textbook is based on a critical thinking approach, and its aim is to get students thinking actively and conceptually – with a greater focus on the forest than the trees. Yes, there are right and wrong answers, but the answers are not the only thing. What is perhaps even more important is how students get to the answers – the thinking process itself. To help students better grasp the big picture of social psychology, this text has a consistent pedagogy across the chapters.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB, and more
Suggested for: HSRV 201
Rural and Northern Social Work Practice: Canadian Perspectives
Bonnie Jeffery and Nuelle Novik
2022
Licence: CC BY
This book highlights the contextual foundation of social work practice with rural and northern communities by addressing the importance of place using anti-oppressive perspectives. Practice competencies are presented, including an emphasis on trauma- and violence-informed approaches and the importance of addressing the mental wellness of social workers practicing in these communities. The book explores selected areas of social work practice including abuse and intimate partner violence, mental health issues and addictions, newcomers and immigrant populations, older adults, and child protection work.
Formats: Online, PDF, EPUB
Suggested for: HSRV 306
Scientific Inquiry in Social Work
Matthew DeCarlo (Radford University)
2018
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
As an introductory textbook for social work students studying research methods, this book guides students through the process of creating a research project. Students will learn how to discover a researchable topic that is interesting to them, examine scholarly literature, formulate a proper research question, design a quantitative or qualitative study to answer their question, carry out the design, interpret quantitative or qualitative results, and disseminate their findings to a variety of audiences. Examples are drawn from the author’s practice and research experience, as well as topical articles from the literature.
Format: Online
Social Work, Sociometry, and Psychodrama: Experiential Approaches for Group Therapists, Community Leaders, and Social Workers
Scott Giacomucci
2021
Licence: CC BY
Published by Springer, this open access text focuses on the intersection of social work with psychodrama, discussing how this approach can be used in trauma-informed practice.
Formats: PDF
Understanding Homelessness in Canada: From the Street to the Classroom
Kristy Buccieri, James Davy, Cyndi Gilmer, and Nicole Whitmore (Trent University)
2022
Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
Have you ever wondered about why homelessness exists in Canada? This book brings together lived experience representation and the most recent research to explore homelessness in Canada, from a range of different perspectives. Readers are challenged to think about homelessness from various academic viewpoints, including the fields of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, Mental Health and Public Health Studies, Population Studies, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences. The authors pose seemingly simple questions and then, through the use of real life scenarios, embedded interview videos, artwork, and interactive activities, demonstrate how the answers are actually rather complex. Understanding Homelessness in Canada: From the Street to the Classroom is a must-read for Canadians everywhere.
Format: Online
Wellbeing, freedom, and social justice: The capability approach re-examined
Ingrid Robeyns
2017
Licence: CC BY
This book provides an in-depth examination of the capability approach, including a discussion of common critiques.
Formats: Online, PDF