Information users and resources in the Social Sciences

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Information users and resources in the Social
Sciences

• LS32F Information resources in selected
  environments
• November 28 2005

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Objectives

• To present and discuss
• scope of the social sciences,
• the range of sub-disciplines,
• the activities of practitioners and researchers,
• the resources available and
• some sources which can be used for providing
  reference information in the social sciences.

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Outline

• The social sciences scope
• Social scientists researchers and practitioners
• Resources data, analysis, interpretation
• Access to print and electronic resources

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Social Sciences scope

• Interdisciplinary trends
• Anthropology Archaeology
• Area/Ethnic Studies
• Communication
• Economics - Finance and Banking Trade
• Education
• Geography/Cartography
• Gender Studies Women's Studies

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Social sciences scope (contd.)

• History
• International Relations
• Law/Criminal Justice
• Library Science
• Political Science Government, Public Admin
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Sociology/Demography

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2. Social scientists

• Researchers
• Practitioners
• Anthropologists, archeologists, geographers,
  geographers, historians, political scientists,
  sociologists, economists, psychologists, urban
  and rural planners

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Roles of social scientists

• Study all aspects of society from past events,
  and achievements ot human behaviour, and
  relationships between groups, - providing
  insights for understanding different ways in
  which individuals and groups make decisions,
  exercise power and respond to change and suggest
  solutions to problems.

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Research

• Major activity of many social scientists
  assembling facts and constructing theories.
• Applied research designed to produce information
  for decision making, or management.
• Interviews and surveys

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Research (contd.)

• Data, and information collection
• Field investigations
• Analysis of historical records and documents
• Laboratory experiments
• Administration of standardized tests
• Preparation and interpretation of maps and
  computer graphics

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Professionals in social sciences

• Anthropologists study origins
• Archaeologists examine material evidence
• Geographers analyze distributions
• Historians interpret the past
• Political scientists study the political
  systems
• Sociologists study social behaviour

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Multi-disciplinarity

• Researchers in one field may find that the areas
  of their research overlaps with work being
  conducted in another discipline.
• Increasing trend

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Practitioners

• Government agencies
• Social service organizations
• Marketing research and consulting firms

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Social worker
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Management
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Economist

• Prof Alvin Wint

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Sociologist

• Prof. Pat Anderson

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3. Resources in Social Sciences

• Reference sources print and electronic
• Research resources
• Quantitative and qualitative
• Sub-disciplines
• Li, Tze-chung, Social Science Reference Sources
  a practical guide, 3rd ed, Greenwood Press, 2000

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4. Access to resources

• SOSIG - Social Science Information Gateway
  http//www.sosig.ac.uk/
• freely available Internet service
• trusted source of selected, high quality
• information for students, academics, researchers
  and practitioners in the social sciences,
  business and law."
•  

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• Each resource has been evaluated and categorised
  by subject specialists based at UK universities.
• aim to match resources to the economics
  curriculum and the needs of researchers.
• target audience - students, staff and researchers
  in higher and further education.

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Resources on the Caribbean
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Economics - resources

• Internet resources that are particularly useful
  to economists can be classified into nine
  categories
• Primary resources
• News, Opinion and Discussion
• Data
• Job notices
• Book Catalogues
• Research
• Contacts
• Teaching and learning materials

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• Primary resources - including policy documents
  from governments, banks or interest groups
• News - national and international economic
  issues
• Opinion and Discussion - analysis and
  perspectives on economic theory and
  applications.
• Data - time series from thousands of sources,
  downloaded straight into your spreadsheet or
  statistical analysis package
• Job notices - national and international job
  opportunities for academic economists

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• Book Catalogues - These include university
  library catalogues, book publishers' sites and
  online bookstores.
• Research - from indices of printed papers, via
  online journals, to the latest research
  downloaded straight from an economist's home
  page. You can even use university library
  catalogues to locate the book or journal referred
  to on the Web.
• Contacts - information on researchers,
  institutions and courses as well as discussion
  fora for specific topics or interests
• Teaching and learning materials - including text
  to explain economic principles, interactive
  simulations to hone your intuitions and online
  quizzes to test your progress

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Access (contd)

• Internet Public Library
• Gathers links to reference materials covering
  computers, law, science, entertainment and
  education. Features sections for kids and
  teenagers.www.ipl.org

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INFOMINE - Social Sciences and
Humanities http//infomine.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/search
?liberalLarge annotated collection of Internet
resources related to humanities and the social
sciences, business, and general reference.
Resources have been determined to be "'of use' as
a scholarly information resource in research or
educational activites at the university level."
Collection can be searched or browsed by subject,
keyword or title. Part of The Library of the
University of California, Riverside's INFOMINE.
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Resources (contd.)

• Craig McKie, Department of Sociology and
  Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa,
  Ontario. Research Resources for the Social
  Sciences - McGraw-Hill Ryerson
• http//www.socsciresearch.com/r6.html
• http//www.socsciresearch.com/text.html (text
  only)
•  

• Craig McKie, Department of Sociology and
  Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa,
  Ontario. Research Resources for the Social
  Sciences - McGraw-Hill Ryerson
• http//www.socsciresearch.com/r6.html
• http//www.socsciresearch.com/text.html (text
  only)
•  

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Article on SOSIG

• Hiom, Debra (1998)  "The Social Science
  Information Gateway putting theory into
  practice"  Information Research, 4 (1) Available
  at http//informationr.net/ir/4-1/paper48.html

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Assignment for tutorial

• Identify two sources of social science
  information on the CSME

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Caribbean websites

• CARICOM Secretariat website
• Bank of Jamaica website
• Caribbean Development Bank
• Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
• Jamaica Human Development Report 2005