Social Work and Sociology resources
Databases
Complete Freedom Collection (ELSEVIER)
The Elsevier Freedom Collection is a service that provides access to the full text of around 1,700 scientific, medical and technical journals from the Elsevier Group.
Publishers included in the Freedom Collection include Academic Press, Pergamon, W. B. Saunders, Mosby, North Holland, Churchill Livingston, JAI and ESME.
A collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers (NASW Press) and Oxford University Press (OUP). A classic reference work that has been a valuable tool for social workers for over 85 years. It offers hundreds of summary articles on key topics in the study of social work, as well as concise biographies of influential figures in the history of social work. It also provides links to external resources and information to help expand and contextualise research. It is a resource designed for a broad audience studying or working in the field of social work, as well as related fields such as public health and sociology.
Offers essential content covering important issues related to race in society today. Essays, articles, reports and other reliable sources provide an in-depth look at the history of race and provide critical context for learning more about topics associated with race, ethnicity, diversity and inclusiveness.
Family and Society Studies Worldwide
A leading source of research, policy and empirical practice in family science, human ecology, human development and social work. Contains 1 306 000 records covering all fields and needs for social work, sociology and general medicine. Documents range from 1970 to the present day.
SAGE Humanities and Social Science (HSS) Package - User guide
Online platform containing over 660 Humanities and Social Science journals with full-text access from 1999 to the present. It includes peer-review journals, many of which have an impact factor in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Highlights include education and special education.
- Tutorial [SPA]
Scopus is the largest database of citations and abstracts of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Offering a comprehensive summary of the world's research output in the fields of science, technology, medicine, medicine, social sciences, and the arts and humanities, Scopus includes intelligent tools for tracking, analysing and visualising research.
Produced by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Comprises 450 publications on social work and human services dating back to 1965. Provides citations and abstracts on all aspects of the social work field, including theory and practice, service areas, and social problems and issues.
The world's most comprehensive and prestigious sociological research database. More than 2,100 records available. Subject headings are extracted from a thesaurus. Contains full text of 820 publications since 1908, over 830 books and 14,600 papers.
Sociology Source Ultimate provides access to 1,413 active full‑text sociology journals, including the largest number of peer‑reviewed journals of any sociology research database.
- Videotutorial [SPA]
The Web of Science is the collection of databases of bibliographic references and citations to periodicals that collect information from 1900 to the present day. It is made up of the Core Collection, which includes the indexes of Science, Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities, as well as the Proceedings of both Science and Social Sciences and Humanities, together with the tools for analysis and evaluation, such as the Journal Citation Report and Essential Science Indicators. In addition, it has the databases that complement it included in the licence for Spain: Medline, Scielo and Korean Citation Index.
- Tutorial [SPA]
Provides access to the full text of around 1,400 journals (generally since 1997) published by John Wiley and Sons. The dominant language of the articles is English. The subject matter covers both the scientific and humanities fields.
Free databases
Centro de Documentación Virtual (CDIM)
Imserso, in collaboration with the SIIS Documentation Centre of the Eguía Kareaga Foundation, has created the Virtual Documentation Centre (CDIM) with the aim of strengthening knowledge management in the fields of ageing, older people, and social services.
This centre has been designed to meet the information needs of researchers, social services professionals, policymakers and evaluators, as well as affected individuals, students, and media professionals. The CDIM will include a specialized collection of around 50,000 references, more than 80% of which will be available in digital format. Accessible through an online catalogue via the Imserso website, it will cover a wide range of topics such as ageing, personal autonomy, dependency, care, loneliness, and the situation of older people. Users will be able to access up-to-date information, make specialized inquiries, request documents, and stay informed about relevant regulations, events, and news in the sector. In addition, they will have access to carefully prepared resources, including electronic newsletters, bibliographies, thematic dossiers, and reports that identify and analyze scientific literature, providing an evidence-based perspective.
As a strategic tool for the ageing and social services sector, the CDIM aims to promote knowledge that supports solutions to improve the well-being of older people.
You can subscribe to its newsletter for updates.
Specialised open-access repository for social science research. Run by the Open Science Framework and hosted by the University of Maryland. Available permanently and free to the public, and is driven and managed by a steering committee of sociologists and members of the professional research library community.
Portals and search engines
It belongs to the Institute of Development Studies and International Cooperation of the University of the Basque Country. Disseminates a collection specialised in development and cooperation. It includes a selection of links of interest by subject.
Information and meeting point for professionals working in social services and other areas of intervention related to people at risk of exclusion.
State Centre for Documentation and Information on Social Services (CEDISS)
Created by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. It organises documentation on social services and resources in Spain and in the most advanced countries in this field. It has a library specialised in social action and social services.
General library resources
Reference works
Produced by the ONCE Foundation.
Spanish official organisations
Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
From its website you can access several portals such as the Immigration Portal, Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia, Local Integration, etc.
Portal of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. It gathers sources of information on disability, the elderly, family, drug addiction, gender violence, equal opportunities, etc.
International official organisations
Portal that brings together topics of interest such as culture and education, development and humanitarian aid, employment and social affairs, environment and local development, etc.
MISSOC: Mutual Information System on Social Protection in the Member States of the European Union
The European Commission's portal for the exchange of information on social protection in the member states. It provides detailed information on each country, and also offers the opportunity to compare and analyse different social protection systems.
It has five action lines: peace and security, development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law.
Spanish non-official organisations
Laboratory of ideas that provides scientifically based information and analysis for the resolution of problems that affect society, both visible and those that sometimes go unnoticed.
Conference of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work.
Entity that represents and defends the interests for the improvement of university training in social work. Its aims are the quality of training, to constitute a space for dialogue, and to promote scientific activity.
The aims of the Foundation are to contribute to the knowledge of the social reality of Spain, to be a stable and continuous reference in the field of social exclusion and applied sociology, to offer a meeting place for people, groups and entities that work in social analysis.
General Council of Social Work
Representative, coordinating and executive body of the Colleges of Social Work. Responsible for regulating professional practice and ensuring the prestige of the profession. It defends the fulfilment of human rights and social justice.
International non-official organisations
International Association for Schools of Social Work (IASSW)
Association established for the promotion of social work education throughout the world. Provides a forum for the exchange of social research, promotion of human rights and social development.
International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW)
Is active in a wide range of fields within the general areas of social development, social welfare and social justice. This includes issues such as food and nutrition, health and welfare services, social protection, education and housing, as well as many others relating to economic development, human rights and community participation.
International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
World organisation to fight for social justice and human rights, through the promotion of social work, models of good practice and the development of international co-operation.
Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU)
Housed at the University of York, it is one of the most prestigious sites for social policy research. Its aim is to develop services to help people in vulnerable situations; poverty, old age, disability.