SCIE - The Social Care Institute for Excellence. Gathers and publicises knowledge about how to make social care services better. SCIE is an independent organisation created in response to the government drive to improve quality in social care services across England and Wales. You can go to the main site or go straight to:

• PRACTICE GUIDES - so far only "Managing Practice", "Practice Guide for Assessing the Mental Health Needs of Older People" & "Guide to Fostering". More to come.

Research Mindedness for Social Work - a very useful guide to doing research written in plain English by the University of Southampton.

CEBSS - The Centre for Evidence-Based Social Services - "Evidence-based social care is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions regarding the welfare of service-users and carers." Be Evidence-Based is designed to provide easy access to key findings from critically appraised research in the field of Social Care.

Making Research Count - is a national initiative with a local presence. "This innovative collaborative venture between seven English universities offers staff in Local Authority Social Services Departments (and the NHS and voluntary organisations where joint schemes are running) the opportunity to work in partnership with their academic colleagues to develop evidence-based social work and social care practice, and to improve the dissemination of research."

What Works for Children - part of the ESRC funded EvidenceNetwork and is a joint initiative between Barnardo's, the University of York and City University. This is a three year project looking at the levers and barriers for implementing research evidence in health and social care practice. Our team produces resources for practitioners wanting to use evidence in their work. Have a look at our resources section for access to our evidence guide and EvidenceNuggets, summaries of research evidence.

National Children's Bureau (NCB) - promotes the voices, interests and well-being of all children and young people across every aspect of their lives. As an umbrella body for the children’s sector in England and Northern Ireland, we provide essential information on policy, research and best practice for our members and other partners.

Policy Rersearch Bureau - an independent, social policy research centre based in London. We are a group of professional social policy researchers who specialise in the family and young people.

EPPI-Centre - The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) is part of the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU), Institute of Education, University of London.

Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice - The Policy Press, in association with the ESRC UK Centre for Evidence Based Policy and Practice at Queen Mary, University of London, announces the launch of an important new journal in January 2005.

Research Unit for Research Utilisation - RURU is part of the Centre for Public Policy & Management (CPPM) and funded by the ESRC. It is a member of the ESRC's Network for Evidence-Based Policy. The overall aim of RURU is to facilitate the production and use of practical knowledge that will assist in enhancing the role of evidence in public policy and public services.

Institute of Public Care - brings together the existing work of the Social Services Research and Development Unit (SSRADU) and Oxford Dementia Centre (ODC) into an umbrella organisation that works at the interface between primary care, social care and social care housing.

The Social Services Research Group. - The network for research information planning & evaluation in social care & health services.

The Personal Social Service Research Unit - conducts research and policy analysis aimed at the improvement of equity and efficiency of community based health and social care services.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation research organisation.

The Society for Social Work & Research - a 'professional membership society for social workers who are interested in research'.

Warren House - the home of three research and development organisations. Access to research findings, some of which can be downloaded.

NatCen - the National Centre for Social Research. NatCen is the largest independent social research institute in Britain. It conducts social research among members of the public to provide information on a range of social policy issues in Britain.

DOH Children, Older People and Social Care - Department of Health's programme and policies for social care and health in England.

The Centre for Health and Social Care Research - Sheffield Hallam University Faculty of Health and Well Being, renowned for excellence in physiotherapy, nursing, sport and exercise, social work, occupational therapy, radiography, and biological sciences.

CHILDREN

Social Exclusion Unit - UK Government.

NSPCCinform - "specifically developed to share information with reserachers, trainers & practitioners working to protect children". Sign up for articles, news, email alerts, and lots more.

The Institute of Public Care - part of Oxford Brookes University and its purpose is to enhance the quality of services received by users of public welfare organisations through applied research and consultancy, management practice and development, dissemination of knowledge & specialist software design.

What Works for Children? - part of the ESRC funded EvidenceNetwork and is a joint initiative between Barnardo's, the University of York and City University. This is a three year project looking at the levers and barriers for implementing research evidence in health and social care practice, and the team produces resources for practitioners wanting to use evidence in their work.

The Centre for the Study of Autism (US) - an overview of materials and resources for autism and related syndromes.

The Trust for the Study of Adolescence - aimed at improving knowledge about adolescence through research, training, publications & influencing policy-makers.

Child & Adolescence Psychiatry On-line - articles, research, jobs, letters, etc.

MENTAL HEALTH

NIMHE - The National Institute for Mental Health in England. A DoH site "Establishing the mental health research network."

The Mental Health Research Network - a central point of information and reference, connecting service users and carers to researchers and mental health professionals. Aims "to provide the infrastructure to support large scale, high quality research in mental health and social care which has implications for services and treatments".

Erowid - a member-supported organization providing access to reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants and chemicals and related issues. We work with academic, medical, and experiential experts to develop and publish new resources, as well as to improve and increase access to already existing resources. We also strive to ensure that these resources are maintained and preserved as a historical record for the future.

The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health - latest news, publications, research, jobs, links, etc.. It's "core aim is to improve the quality of life for people with severe mental health problems by enabling the development of excellent mental health services, which are valued by users, carers and professionals. We seek to achieve this by influencing national policy and practice through a co-ordinated programme of research, service development and training."

The Institute of Psychiatry - provides post-graduate education and carries out research in psychiatry, psychology, and allied disciplines, including basic and clinical neurosciences. The Institute is world renowned for the quality of its research and it became a school of King's College in August 1997.

NELH - the National Electronic Library for Mental Health. It aims to meet the information needs of health care professionals who work in the field of mental health. This site contains the best available evidence to support people who are making mental health care related decisions. At present this includes NICE guidelines and technology appraisals, Cochrane systematic reviews, and a range of best practice articles (including Clinical Evidence chapters and WHO guidelines for mental health in primary care).

US National Mental Health Center - lots of US info on mental health.

TA - Transactional Analysis - some notes about TA from the Southampton Institute, UK.

DISABILITY

British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD) - a national organisation with an international reputation. However in recognition of Learning Disabilities Week (19-26 June), BILD is working at a local level to promote awareness in its home town of Kidderminster.

The King's Fund Library - disability organization providing "a combination of research, policy analysis and development work – either by ourselves or through grants to other, often community-based, organisations – and we provide education and training."

The Norah Fry Research Centre - research on services for people with learning difficulties.

ELDERS

The British Geriatric Society - information about geriatric medicine, gerontology and care of the elderly, with links to related sites.

Elder Web - an award-winning US web site for both professionals and family members looking for information on eldercare and long term care, and includes links to information on legal, financial, medical, and housing issues, as well as policy, research, and statistics.

Dementia Services Development Centre - at the University of Stirling, assists in the development and improvement of services for people with dementia and their carers, provides advice, contacts, consultancy and information to any person or organisation setting up or improving services. The Centre also provides training for managers and planners and undertakes evaluation research on services with a particular emphasis on innovative practice, and there are internal and external Publications, Workshops, Seminars and Conferences.

The Dementia Research Group - based at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery is one of the UK's leading centres for clinical research into dementia, and the hospital is the lead centre for trialling new drugs to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease (which causes the majority of dementias).

The Kingshill research Centre - to provide people with dementia and those who care for them with access to the information they need to understand and cope with dementia. The site also provides an overview of their research work.

Signpost - the national, non-profit making subscription journal produced by the Practice Development Unit (MHSOP) of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust in association with the Dementia Services Development Centre Wales. Its mission statement is: "Working together towards a better service and improved quality of life for people with dementia, older people with mental health problems, and their carers".

ECONOMICS & STATISTICS

DoH Statistics & Surveys - useful for general research. Or go straight to

• Health & Personal Social Services statistics here, or to

• Adult Social Care here or to

• Child Social Care here or to

• Community Care here or to

• Mental Health here or to

• Number-10 gov. statistics here - key government facts and figures for your area, together with other information of interest.

Women's Aid for stats on domestic violence.

Crime Reduction Unit - for National Crime statistics.

Social & Welfare - for various welfare statistics.

The Institute for Economic Affairs - 'to improve public understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society'. Lots of research stuff and they even have pizza evenings!

Personal Social Services Research Unit - Univ. of Kent - Multi-site unit focusing on policy research and analysis on equity and efficiency. Has downloadable publications, research areas and staff info.

Policy Studies Institute - "one of Britain's leading research institutes, conducting research which will promote economic well-being and improve quality of life. PSI enjoys a reputation for the rigorous and impartial evaluation of policy initiatives, and the publication and dissemination of research findings is central to PSI's ethos."

CIVITAS - "The Institute for the Study of Civil Society ..... is politically non-partisan and is financed by private donations. It accepts no government funding. The underlying purpose of CIVITAS is to deepen public understanding of the legal, institutional and moral framework that makes a free and democratic society possible."

The Social Market Foundation - "launched in March 1989 to provide a rich new source of innovative economic and social policy ideas. Steering an independent course between conflicting ideologies of conservatism and social democracy, the SMF pioneered work in the market-based reform of state healthcare, education and welfare provision."

POLICY, CODES OF PRACTICE & STANDARDS

GSCC Codes of Practice - the first ever UK-wide codes of practice for social care workers and employers provide a clear guide for all those who work in social care, setting out the standards of practice and conduct workers and their employers should meet.

TOPSS Occupational Standards - UK-wide standards of practice.

The Commission fro Social Care Inspection - Launched in April 2004, The Commission for Social Care Inspection is the single, independent inspectorate for all social care services in England. The commission was created by the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003. CSCI incorporates the work formerly done by The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), The SSI/Audit Commission Joint Review Team & The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).

BASW Code of Ethics - The British Association of Social Work code expresses the values and principles which are integral to social work, and give guidance on ethical practice.

GENDER RESEARCH SITES

Depend - advice for family members of transsexuals.

GIRES - Gender Identity research & Education Society.

Gendys Journal - .

International Journal of Transgenderism - the first scientific journal on transgenderism. The journal is peer reviewed and its editorial board consists of leading scientists from all over the world.

Femina - provides women with a comprehensive, searchable directory of links to female friendly sites and information on the World Wide Web.

Domestic Violence Data - co-ordinates information about projects, events and research.

Menweb - Men's Voices Magazine - articles, issues, groups, forums.

SOCIAL WORK LAW

For researching law go to my Social Work Stuff Law page - you'll find general law sites and direct links to the full text of all the specific Acts relevant to social work.

GENERAL RESEARCH SITES

Intute - internet resources for social research from the universities of Bristol, Birmingham and Exeter. These are the social work pages.

SOSIG: The SOcial Science Information Gateway. "A trusted source of selected high quality internet information for researchers and practitioners in the social sciences, business and the law." Go straight to The SOSIG social worker page here - a free, "teach yourself" tutorial that lets you practise your Internet Information Skills.

Care & Health.com
- an on-line social work community "committed to improving the quality of care delivered in the UK". Information, debate, links, jobs, etc. You can sign up for a free weekly email update and a free monthly magazine. Go straight to the following:

• the on-line archive - articles from previous editions, where you can search for subjects.

• Policy Watch

- keeping track of the latest policy - changed weekly.

Two big academic portals to start off any research:

1. The Virtual Library:
Started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the web, this site is maintained by academics who are specialists in their fields so the quality and reliability is considered to be excellent. The link above is the main site, but there are 'mirror' sites all over the world, so it's best to bookmark the one that is closest to you geographically.

2. The BUBL Information Service:
An information service for people in higher education, maintained by Strathclyde University in Scotland. Contains leads to other internet resources, journals, search facilities, news, mailing lists and mail archives, and a UK Home Page.

RRI - The Regional Resource Institute for Human Services, Portland State University, US. 'To improve Human Services through applied social research'.

Confer - is an independent organisation providing lectures, courses and conferences in the fields of psychotherapy, counselling, psychology and medicine.

ATFloydian resource - over 650 links for students and researchers on all subjects of interest to social workers.

The Impact of the evidence based paradigm - an article on the University of Sheffield website commenting on the spread of the idea of evidence based practice from health to other professions.

EARL - Electronic Access to Resources in Libraries - a UK libraries service. Has an 'Ask a Librarian' service.

The British Library - search for books, journals, reports, etc.

The Consortium of University Research Libraries - "to increase the ability of research libraries to share resources for the benefit of the local, national and international research community."

The Muslim Health Network - "established to play a principle role in promoting, preserving, and protecting health and health education amongst Muslim Communities in the UK. The network will endeavour to encourage and organise co-operation between representatives of the voluntary organisations and statutory authorities engaged in health improvement and promotion activity within the community. It will further attempt to redress health inequalities and to advance education and training in health issues affecting the United Kingdoms 1.6 million Muslim community."

The Wounded Healer - a site for psychotherapists and others who have experienced the devastation of traumatic experiences.

Encyclopedia - free US-based encyclopedia for general research.

Encyclopaedia Britannica - on-line version of the famous reference volumes.

The British Library - online version.

The Social Work History On-Line Time-Line (US only) - a page of links to information about the development of social work in the US, including some useful links to the present US government.

World Lecture Hall - Social Work - free online course materials from around the world from University of Texas.

World Wide Web Resources for Social Workers - New York University.

Three parts of the Eastern Michigan University site:

1. The Institute's Applied Research Center assists decision makers to better serve children, families, and communities. The ARC assists by conducting needs assessments, policy studies, planning studies and program evaluations. This unit provides technical assistance to local, state and national public and private organizations in strategic change.

2. The National Foster Care Resource Center for family, group and residential care was established at Eastern Michigan University in 1990. The National Foster Care Resource Center develops new resources; identifies and disseminates model programs; provides technical assistance, training, and program evaluation services; and develops networks and facilitates collaboration among agencies concerned with children in out-of-home placements.

3. The Institute for the Study of Children, Families & Communities (ISCFC) explores current issues and applies scholarly research to enrich our lives and solve everyday problems.

JOURNALS

The British Journal of Social Work - Published for the British Association of Social Workers, this is the leading academic social work journal in the UK. It covers every aspect of social work, with papers reporting research, discussing practice, and examining principles and theories. It is read by social work educators, researchers, practitioners and managers who wish to keep up to date with theoretical and empirical developments in the field.

European Journal of Social Work - a new forum for academic debate in the social professions. It publishes refereed papers on key contemporary issues in social policy, social service institutions and strategies of social change. The focus is primarily European, but major international contributions are also published. The Journal aims to reflect the diversity of cultural and conceptual traditions in which the social professions in Europe are grounded. At the same time it seeks to examine emerging European paradigms in methodology and comparative analysis.

Age & Ageing - an international journal publishing refereed original articles and commissioned reviews on geriatric medicine and gerontology. Its range includes research on ageing and clinical, epidemiological and psychological aspects of later life. Age and Ageing is the journal of the British Geriatrics Society.

Ageing and Society - The Journal of The Centre for Policy on Ageing and The British Society of Gerontology. Published six times a year, Ageing and Society is an interdisciplinary and international journal devoted to publishing papers which further the understanding of human ageing.

Signpost - the national, non-profit making subscription journal produced by the Practice Development Unit (MHSOP) of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust in association with the Dementia Services Development Centre Wales. Its mission statement is: "Working together towards a better service and improved quality of life for people with dementia, older people with mental health problems, and their carers".

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