Typical questions

• • I need data on the take up of paternity leave in the UK.

• • I want to read recent articles on the funding of the social care system.

Starting points

• • The study of social policy can be theoretical or applied. Try to determine whether practitioner, evidence-based or academic resources are required. Other questions to ask include the geographic nature of the research, date coverage and relationship to any national government policies.

• • This chapter highlights general resources for social policy. It includes sub- sections on Social work, Health services, Children and Older persons. Practitioners may also find useful the Medicine and Nursing and Education chapters. Other related chapters are Government Publications and Grey Literature as these types of literature are commonly requested.

Recommended resources

Key organisations – scholarly – UK

Social Policy Association

www.social-policy.org.uk

Professional association supporting researchers and students. Use its website to find events and course listings, plus information about new publications and research projects.

Key organisations – scholarly – international

European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research

www.euro.centre.org

United Nations affiliated intergovernmental organisation concerned with evidence- based research on social policy in the UN-European region. Its website provides free access to recent publications and news about ongoing research projects.

European Network for Social Policy Analysis - espa.net

blogg.hioa.no/espanet

Network of academic researchers studying social policy in Europe. Its website is a good source for keeping up to date with the latest research and tracing national and regional social policy groups.

International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW)

www.icsw.org

Non-governmental organisation which has consultative status with the United Nations. Its website provides free access to news, lists of national members and policy reports covering social protection and the alleviation of poverty.

International Social Security Association (ISSA)

ww1.issa.int

Major organisation supporting social security departments and agencies. A central focus is upon public administration of social security and benefits. Its website has extremely useful country profiles that provide information on the main types of social security provisions and benefits. These include data and links to key organisations. The resources section also has an excellent directory of external databases/websites covering all aspects of social security, workers’ protection and social insurance worldwide.