Similar to other innovations in the helping field, the peer movement has mushroomed into many diverse practices and approaches. Reports, reviews, research and resources documenting this growth have been published in a variety of places. The major purpose of this annotated and indexed bibliography is to centralize these publications into one single, continuously updated source. In this way, it is hoped that the more than 1200 entries spanning 1980 to 1996 included in this Bibliography can provide support, stimulation and information to practitioners, researchers, and other decision-makers who wish to examine the movement in more depth or learn about a variety of program options and choices. While the majority of entries in this Bibliography are published reports of the rationale, training and practices of peers helping peers, there are a number of entries which establish the theoretical and empirical bases for peer helping. In addition this Bibliography contains information about books, manuals and other training resources.
Each entry in the Bibliography has been assigned a code number which appears before that entry and again in the author and subject matter indices. Many articles have been cross-referenced and may appear in more than one section of the Bibliography or may appear under more than one listing in the subject matter indices. Entries in this Bibliography from ERIC, the data base of the Educational Research Information Clearinghouse, have included the ERIC system locator serial number for those persons who wish to retrieve the document through ERIC's microfiche system.
Every effort has been made to locate all the works available on peer helping and list them in this Bibliography. In some cases copies of articles were not available for annotation. In a few instances portions of a particular reference disappeared and consequently a date or a journal name may be missing. When articles had their own annotations they were generally included without editing. In many cases annotations were created or existing abstracts edited in order to articulate the relationship between peer helping and the substance of the article. The letters or phrase following each annotation is the code for the person(s) who prepared that annotation.
Virtually all of the works listed in this Bibliography are subject to copying restrictions placed by authors, publishers, and Canadian and United States laws concerning copyright. Therefore, we are generally not permitted to make copies of any of the listed works to send to interested parties. We suggest that users locate the article in a local public, college or university library and abide by the policies connected with that institution. Authors can typically provide low or no cost reprints or complimentary copies of their articles, and their contact addresses are usually included with the original publication. Publishers generally require payment for copies or reprints, and where appropriate, their addresses have been included with each bibliographic citation.
Persons who are interested in peer teaching or peer tutoring will find a few listings in this Bibliography, but should also consult the comprehensive bibliography, Peer Teaching and Peer Tutoring: An Indexed and Annotated Bibliography, which is also available from Peer Resources (1052 Davie Street, Victoria, British Columbia, V8S 4E3, CANADA).
Additional listings for peer mentoring can be located in two sources: Gray, W.A. & Gray, M. M. (1986). Mentoring: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of Important References. West Vancouver, British Columbia: International Centre for Mentoring (675 Inglewood, V7T 1X4, CANADA), and Gray, M. M. (Ed.) (1989). Annotated bibliography on mentoring. Mentoring International Journal, 3(4).
Persons interested in self-help and peer support groups are referred to the work by Rubin Todres, Self-Help Groups: An Annotated Bibliography, 1970-82, published by the National Self-Help Clearinghouse (33 West 42nd Street, Room 1222, New York, New York, 10036.) Another useful work in this area is by Judith Burns, Svetlana Lenko, and Hector Balthazar (1989), Resources for Self-Help: Materials Held by National Voluntary Organizations in Canada published by the Canadian Council for Social Development, 55 Parkdale Avenue, Box 3505, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4G1, CANADA.
Despite the long hours and dedication of all the above persons, none of them are responsible for any errors or omissions which may be associated with this Bibliography. All such problems are the complete and sole responsibility of a mysterious virus which affected the computer. These problems can easily be controlled by feedback from users.