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Social Policy Resources at
the University of Ulster
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Useful
Internet Resources |
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Gateway sites:
Subject
gateways provide an access point to subject specific
information on the Internet. The information
included in subject gateways is normally high quality
information which has been evaluated against certain
criteria before it is included. |
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INTUTE Social Sciences
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INTUTE is a searchable portal
of web resources, collated and evaluated by subject
specialists. Either type in a keyword or browse
through the subject
lists
within
social
sciences.
Click on "Social Welfare". You get headings such
as Homelessness, Mental Health, as well as a direct
link to Social Policy. Click on
Social Welfare and you will find sub-headings
with information on articles, databases, journals,
organisations, mailing lists etc.
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BUBL |
BUBL
Information Service. Click on
Subject
Menus to look for Social Welfare, Social Work
or chose the Dewey area
360
on the index for web resources for Social
Problems and Services. Alternatively,
at the Home page, click on one of the "A
- Z" options. Here you can search
under headings such as
social
policy,
public
administration,
social
welfare etc. |
Social Policy Virtual Library
Now part of the
e-library for Global Welfare |
The
Social Policy Virtual Library at the University
of Bath provides access to a variety of web resources
of interest to social policy researchers. Updated
regularly, it provides links to on-line databases
and data sources, sites of major organisations,
libraries, research institutes, publications, journals,
documents and other educational material.
It also provides access to information on
research opportunities and funding |
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General Social
Policy sites: |
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ARK
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ARK
provides access to social and political material on
Northern Ireland in order to inform social and
political debate in the region and raise the profile
of social science research.
It carries out the
Northern
Ireland Life and Times Survey,
the
Young Life and
Times Survey,
the
Kids Life and
Times Survey
as well as the
Northern
Ireland Household Panel Survey.
Searchable databases
of research are available with some links to full
text documents. Databases include the
Qualitative Archive on Ageism,
ORB (Online
Research Bank) and
Childrens Online
Research Database.
ARK also
maintains a number of resources relating to the
conflict and politics in Northern Ireland including
CAIN,
information on the
Northern
Ireland Elections and the
Qualitative Archive on Conflict. |
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Centre for Policy
Studies |
CPS
is an independent centre right think tank which
develops and publishes public policy proposals and
arranges seminars and lectures on topical policy
issues, as part of its mission to influence policy
around the world. It also maintains a range of informal
contacts with politicians, policymakers, civil servants
and the press, in Britain and abroad |
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DEMOS |
Demos
is "an independent think tank and research
institute" whose role is "to help reinvigorate
public policy and political thinking and to develop
radical solutions to long term problems". The
Web site provides free access to the full text of
an extensive archive of its current and historical
publications from the mid 1990s to the present day.
It also has a good links section. |
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Economic and Social
Research Council |
The
UK's leading funding agency for research and training
in social and economic issues. The website has
recently been re-designed into 6 main profile types,
e.g. General Public, Academic etc. To see the
general range of publications and briefings, use the
General Public tab. For more details information on
making applications for research funding or to
see evaluations of current research projects, use
the Academic tab. |
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Institute for
Public Policy Research |
The
IPPR is Britain's leading centre-left think tank.
Its aim is to promote and contribute to a greater
understanding of key social, economic and political
questions." The site is covers research into
a number of policy
areas, e.g.
democracy,
power & citizenship;
housing,
international security and human
rights,
migration
& integration etc. The
Publications and Reports section gives either
executive summaries or full text documents. There
is also an
Articles
section proving the full text of articles written
by researchers in a number of different publications. |
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Internet Resources
for Statistics |
General
resources; British resources; E. U. resources; other
countries; international resources.
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Joseph Rowntree Foundation |
"...the
UK's largest independent social research and development
charity. It supports a wide programme of research
and development projects in the fields of housing,
social care and disability, young people, families,
and work, income and social policy".
There are summaries of research findings, and links,
to full text documents published by the Foundation.. |
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NISRA - Northern Ireland Research and Statistics
Agency |
NISRA is "the principal
source of official statistics and social research on
Northern Ireland's population and socio-economic
conditions". |
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Office for National Statistics |
The
site is organised around major themes
including
Crime & Justice,
Health & Care,
Social & Welfare and more. |
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Pamphlet Collection
at the LSE |
A collection
of 90,000 pamphlets from the 19th and early 20th
centuries. Good for historical research and
covers topics such as Poor Law, Welfare State, Housing. |
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Policy Hub |
This government
site claims to be 'the first port of call
for all concerned with policy making'.
The Hub aims to promote strategic thinking
and improve policy making and delivery
across government. You can set up email
alerts to keep up to date with new
developments and reports.
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Policy Studies Institute |
One
of Britain's leading research Institutes.
Follow the links section on the page for a useful
collection of links to Political Parties and other
think thanks such as Fabian Society etc. |
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Social Policy Digest |
The Digest aims
to provide an easily accessible listing of new
developments across the whole social policy field
for all those working in UK social policy. Use
the RSS feed option for a great way of keeping up to
date. |
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Social Policy Research
Unit |
Based
at the University of York, users can join a mailing
list to keep up to date with the latest research
findings from the Unit |
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SWAP |
Social
Policy and Social Work Subject Centre which is part
of the Learning and Teaching Support Network |
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Topic Specific Sites
UK
& EU Political Sites
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Direct Gov |
The
major UK government database with websites of
councils, and government departments.
Contains links to many other websites. |
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UK Parliament
site |
Excellent
site with House of Commons and House of Lords
Committee minutes, Hansard, Research and Publications
archives, Bill Tracker and factsheets. |
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Irish Government Web Server |
To
get social welfare information information click
on "Topics" in the left hand menu
of the home page and then "social welfare"
from the A-Z list to get to the
Department
of Social Protection.
The
Forms and Publications section
provides links to many online documents available
to download.
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Northern
Ireland Assembly |
Access to all the
documentation of the Assembly, including the
Official Report (Hansard),
Committee minutes and reports,
Assembly Questions and
Legislation (Bills).
In addition, the
Northern Ireland Assembly Research & Library
Service produces a number of extremely useful
Research
Publications which cover a variety of
topics of interest to Members, Committees and
the general public |
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Northern Ireland Public Web Server |
Access
to government departments and reports, e.g.
the
Department
of Health Social Services and Public Safety.
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EC Employment and Social Affairs |
This
website focuses on European Union activities
in policy areas such as employment, working
conditions, social inclusion and equality |
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Economic and
Social Committee of the European Union |
The
website provides details of the structure, activities
and role of the ECOSOC in the European Union. |
Children,
Elderly & the Family
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AgeInfo |
A
service provided by the
Centre for Policy on Ageing.
It has an information service with links to
searchable databases and world wide resources
on ageing. |
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Age
UK |
Age
UK (formerly Age Concern and Help the Aged) campaigns on issues like age discrimination
and pensions, and works to influence public opinion
and
government policy about
older people. |
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Barnardo's |
This
site contains many useful full text publications
in the
Resources section on a variety of topics
relating children and young people. |
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NSPCC Inform |
NSPCC
Inform is a free specialised child protection
resource for practitioners, researchers, trainers,
policy-makers and other professionals working
to protect children. The site contains a range
of free downloads of publications and information
sheets, statistics, recommended reading lists
for a range of child related topics and information
on public policy issues relating to child protection. |
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National Youth Agency |
Aims
to advance youth work. Press releases,
list of publications, training, conferences,
events etc. |
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Child Poverty Action
Group |
CPAG is the leading charity campaigning for
the abolition of poverty among children and
young people in the UK and for the improvement
of the lives of low-income families. It provides
Welfare Rights information, statistical information,
Research and Publications and a good links page. |
Community Conflict
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CAIN - Conflict
Archive on the Internet |
Renowned
University of Ulster based collection of resources
on the Northern Ireland conflict and society.
See: Key Issues for information on policing,
law and order, the administration of justice
as well as documents tracing events such as
Bloody Sunday and the development of the most
recent peace process |
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Community Relations Unit (part of the Office
of the First and Deputy Minister) |
The
Community Relations Unit is part of the Good
Relations and Reconciliation Division within
the of the Office of the First Minister and
Deputy First Minister. Originally establish
in 1987, the Unit's aims are; to increase cross-community
contact and co-operation and to encourage mutual
respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural
diversity. |
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Northern Ireland
Human Rights Commission |
The
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is
a statutory body established by the Northern
Ireland Act 1998. It Contains publications,
some cases, legislation and policy documents
covering their role in civil rights and equality
in Northern Ireland |
Criminal Justice
System
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Howard League for
Penal Reform |
The
Howard
League for Penal Reform is the oldest
penal reform charity in the UK. The Study Centre
section gives statistical information and some
general information on the penal system and
the need for reform. |
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Criminal
Justice System of Northern Ireland, comprising:
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Umbrella
site linking the 6 major areas of criminal justice
provision in Northern Ireland.
Each separate site has links to policy documents,
full text publications, advice and further
contact information |
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Ministry of
Justice |
The
work of the Ministry of Justices covers
criminal, civil and family justice, democracy,
rights and the constitution. Its website
includes links to full text policy documents and
other Ministry publications. |
Equality
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Equality and Human
Rights Commission |
The
Commission (comprising the former
the Commission for Racial Equality, Disability
Rights Commission and Equal Opportunity
Commission) aims to work for a "fairer
Britain". The
publications section of the site
includes downloadable reports
and research information. |
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Equality Commission for Northern Ireland |
The
commission took over the functions previously
exercised by the Commission for Racial Equality
for Northern Ireland, the Equal Opportunities
Commission for Northern Ireland, the Fair Employment
Commission and the Northern Ireland Disability
Council. Like the above sites, much of it is
available full-text online, including research,
guidance and legislation. |
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Government
Equalities Office |
Deals with issues of equality strategy and
legislation. GEO takes the lead on issues
relating to women, sexual orientation and
transgender equality matters. |
Health and
Social Services
Housing and Homelessness
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Northern Ireland
Housing Executive |
As
well as the specifics of social housing policy
in northern Ireland, the site has research documents
and statistics on homelessness, rural issues,
corporate and strategic plans and equality. |
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Communities and Local Government |
This
site deals with housing and homelessness, social
exclusion, local government and urban policy.
All government press releases, consultation
documents and green and white papers for these
subjects are included, as well as research reports
and statistics |
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University of Ulster - Housing Internet links |
Lots
of useful information on a range of housing
and homelessness issues. |
Poverty
and Social Exclusion
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Centre for Analysis
of Social exclusion (CASE) |
Part
of the LSE, the core research of CASE is divided
between five inter-related strands: economic
exclusion and income dynamics; social welfare
institutions; family change and civil society;
community, area polarisation and regeneration;
and exclusion and society. The site contains
a range of full text reports, briefing and papers. |
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Child Poverty Action
Group |
CPAG
is the leading charity campaigning for the abolition
of poverty among children and young people in
the UK and for the improvement of the lives
of low-income families |
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Welfare
Reform on the Web |
This
initiative from the British Library scans and
creates a digest for Welfare related topics
as they are published and sent to the British
Library collections. Welfare
Reform Digest aims to help social policy
practitioners and researchers to keep up to
date with this flood of literature The
Digest includes journal articles, reports, newspaper
references, books and conference proceedings.
The digest began in 1998 and now appears monthly. |
Voluntary
Organisations and Charities
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Northern
Ireland Council for Voluntary Action |
Umbrella
body for voluntary and community organisations
in Northern Ireland. Lots of news information,
full-text guidance, links to CommunityNI, the
gateway to the NI community sector, with best
practice, guidance and other publications. |
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Citizens Advice |
Citizens
Advice provides help for people
with legal, money and other problems, co-ordinates
social policy, media, publicity and parliamentary
work and maintains an information and advice
website at
www.adviceguide.org.uk which receives over
400,000 visits per month. The site contains,
facts, figures, and full-text publications. |
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Charity Choice
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An
encyclopaedia of Charities on the Internet.
Extensive searchable listing (with contact details)
of charities in the UK |
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Charity Commission
for England and Wales |
The
Charity Commission is established by law as
the regulator and registrar for charities in
England and Wales. Their site contains guidance
on setting up, regulating and managing a charity.
Full text publications, Strategic reports and
information |
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National Council
for Voluntary Organisations |
NCVO
represents the views of the voluntary sector
to policy makers. They carry out in-depth research to promote a
better understanding of the sector and its
activities.
Services
offered include policy briefings,
information networks,
events and a wide range of
publications, including good practice
information.
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Data
Archives and Question Banks
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CASS
- Centre for Applied Social Surveys |
Provides
short courses in survey methods and is developing
a survey question bank for Social Scientists. |
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Survey Question Bank |
The SQB
is aimed at social and economic researchers. It
provides access to the questionnaires, in PDF
format, from a range of major UK and cross-national
social surveys conducted, for the most part, since
the mid-1990s. |
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ARK
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Access to the
Northern
Ireland Life and Times Survey,
the
Young Life and
Times Survey,
the
Kids Life and
Times Survey
as well as the
Northern
Ireland Household Panel Survey. |
ECASS - European Centre for Analysis in
the Social Sciences
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ECASS is located at the University of Essex and is
a centre for comparative and longitudinal data analysis |
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UK
Data Archive |
The
largest UK collection of machine readable Social Science
Data in the UK. |
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RCADE
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Resource
Centre for access to Data on Europe
A central collection of statistical data on Europe.
A free academic online database is available to over
2,5000 datasets. R.cade is also the official
disseminator for Eurostat |
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Office for National Statistics |
Provides
access to general statistics and to Datasets |
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