Microcomputer Softwarefor Independent Social Work Practice

Social workers engaged in independent practice who are interested in automating their routine office tasks and more specialized management information activities face a number of important issues in, the selection of hardware and software. In the previous issue of the Journal' of Independent Social Work was a discussion of computer hardware for such purposes. Explored in this article are software programs for word processing, data base management, spreadsheets, statistical, integrated, ut~lity and accounting programs. In addition the author addresses special concerns in the selection of software including applications programs versus special purpose and public domain software, user "friendliness," program complexity, and cost.