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Social Science Libraries Section

IFLA Bibliography on Social Science Information Needs and Uses Studies

Mark Janes, July 2003

INFROSS, DISISS and associated articles:

Bath University Library (1971). Investigation into information requirements of the social sciences. Research report. 2 vols. Project head: Maurice B. Line. Senior research fellow: J. Michael Brittain. Research fellow: Frank A. Cranmer. Bath: Bath University Library.

Bath University Library (1980). Towards the improvement of social science information systems: overview of research carried out 1971-1975. Bath: University Library.

Line, M.B. (1971). 'The information needs and uses of social scientists: an overview of INFROSS'. In Aslib proceedings, 23, pp. 412-434.

Line, M.B. (1980). 'Secondary services in the social sciences: the need for improvement and the role of libraries'. In Behavioral and social sciences librarian, 1(4), pp. 263-273.

Line, M.B. (1980). 'Towards the improvement of social science information systems: overview of research carried out 1971-1975'. Design of information systems in the social sciences. Research reports series A. no. 1. Bath: Bath University.

Line, M.B. (1999). 'Social science information – the poor relation', in INSPEL 33(3), pp. 131-136

General/academic social science information user studies:

Case, D. O. (1986). 'Collection and organization of written information by social scientists and humanists: a review and exploratory study'. Journal of information science, 12, pp. 97-104.

Cronin, B. (1982). 'Invisible colleges and information transfer: a review and commentary with particular reference to the social sciences'. Journal of documentation, 38(3), pp. 212-236.

Ellis, D., Cox, D. and Hall, K. (1993). 'A comparison of the information seeking patterns of researchers in the physical and social sciences'. Journal of documentation, 49(4), pp. 356-369.

Folster, M.B. (1989). 'A study of the use of Information sources by social science researchers'. In Journal of academic librarianship, 15(1), pp. 7-11.

Garvey, W. D., Lin, N. and Nelson, C.E. (1971). 'A comparison of scientific communication of social and physical scientists'. In International social science journal, 23, pp. 256-272.

Gould, C.C. and Handler, M. (1989). Information needs in the social sciences: an assessment. Mountain View, CA: Research Libraries Group.

Palmer, J.P. and Sandler, M. (2003). 'What do faculty want?'. In Libray journal, Net Connect Supplement, pp. 26-8.

Slater, M. (1989). Information needs of social scientists: a study by desk research and interview. London: British Library Research and Development Department.

Slater, M. (1988). 'Social scientists' information needs in the 1980s'. In Journal of documentation, 44(3), pp. 226-237.

Stenstrom, P. and McBride, R.B. (1979). 'Serial Use by Social Science Faculty: A Survey', In College & Research Libraries, 40, 5, pp. 426-431.

Studies of applied social scientists:

Blake, B., Markham, T. and Skinner, A. (1979). 'Inside information: social welfare practitioners and their information needs'. Aslib proceedings, 31, pp. 275-283.

Grayson, L. (1978). Library and information services for local government in Great Britain. London: Library Association.

Mullings, C., Francis, G.M., and Wilson, T.D. (1980). A manual for the investigation of local government information needs. London: British Library, R&D Department.

White, B. (1974). Information for planning. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, Department of Urban Design & Regional Planning.

Wilson, T.D. and Streatfield, D.R. (1977). 'Information needs in local authority social services departments: an interim report on Project INISS'. In Journal of documentation, 33, pp. 277-293.

Wilson, T.D. and Streatfield, D.R. (1979). 'Information needs in local authority social services departments: a second report on Project INISS'. In Journal of documentation, 35, pp. 120-136.

Country studies:

Agrawal, S.P. (1991). 'Appropriation of national social science information resources in developing countries'. In Inspel. 25(4), pp.246-52.

Andrade, D.C. (1984). 'Bibliotecas universitarias de ciencias sociais e humanas'. In Revista da escola biblioteconomia da UFMG, 13(1), pp. 91-107.

Kaula, P.N. (2001). 'An overview of social science information activity in India'. International Information Communication and Education., 20 (2), pp.197-205.

Lempert-Lenderink, J. (1989). 'The supply of and demand for social science information in the Netherlands'. In International journal of information and library research, 1(3), pp. 175-184.

Monte, M.J. (1987), 'Documentacao em ciencias sociais'. In Ciencia da informacao, 16(1), pp. 3-12.

Schleyer, J.R. (1980). 'O ciclo da comunicacao e informacao nas ciencias sociais'. In Revista da escola biblioteconomia da UFMG, 9(2), pp. 225-243.

Vyas, S.D. (1993). 'Social science information in India: efforts towards bibliographical control'. In Third World Libraries. 4 (1), pp.78-80.

Wilson, M.C. (2000). 'Evolution of social science information sources in Asia: the South Korean case'. In IFLA Journal, 26(3) pp.183-6.

Review/position articles on studies of social science information:

Adam, R. (1975). 'Meeting the information needs of social scientists'. In Information scientist, 9(4), pp. 141-148.

Adam, R. (1983). 'Putting the 'social' into social science information'. In Behavioral and social sciences librarian, 3(1), pp. 3-17.

Brittain, J.M. (1982). 'The pitfalls of user research, and some neglected areas'. In Social science information studies. 2(3), pp. 139-148.

Hobohm, H.C. (1999). 'Social science information and documentation – time for a state of the art?'. In INSPEL, 1999(3), pp. 123-130.

Hogeweg-De Haart, H.P. (1983). 'Characteristics of social science information: A selective review of the literature. Part I'. In Social Science Information Studies, 3, pp. 147-164.

Hogeweg-De Haart, H.P. (1983). 'Social science and the characteristics of social science information and its users'. In International forum on information and documentation, 8(1), pp. 11-15.

Hogeweg-De Haart, H. P. (1984). 'Characteristics of Social Science Information: A Selective Review of the Literature. Part II'. In Social Science Information Studies, 4, pp. 15-30.

Wilson., T.D. (1980) 'On information science and the social sciences'. In Social science information studies, (1), pp. 5-12.

General reviews of the user study approach:

Dervin, B. and Nilan, M. (1986). 'Information needs and uses'. In Cuadra, C.A. (ed.). Annual review of information science and technology. Vol. 21. Washington, DC: American Society for Information Science. pp. 3-33.

Hewins, E. T. (1990). Information need and use studies. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology 25, 145-172.

Julien, H. (1996). A content analysis of recent information needs and uses literature. In Library and Information Science Research. 18(1), pp. 53-65.

Julien, H. and Duggan, L.J. (2000). 'A longitudinal analysis of the information needs and uses literature'. In Library & information science research, 22 (3), pp. 291-309.

Martyn, J. (1974). 'Information needs and uses'. In Cuadra, C.A. (ed.). Annual review of information science and technology. Vol. 9. Washington, DC: American Society for Information Science. pp. 1-23.

Paisley, W. (1968). Information needs and uses. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 3, pp. 1-30.

Rohde, N. F. (1986). Information needs. Advances in Librarianship, 14, pp. 49-73.

Talja, S. (1997) Constituting "information" and "user" as research objects: a theory of knowledge formations as an alternative to the information-man theory. In. P. Vakkari, R. Savolainen, & B. Dervin (eds). Information seeking in context. London: Taylor Graham.

Westbrook, L. T. (1993). 'User Needs: A synthesis and analysis of current theories for the practitioner'. In RQ, 32, pp. 541-549.

Wilson, T.D. (1981). 'On user studies and information needs'. Journal of documentation, 37(1), pp. 3-15.

Wilson, T.D. (1994) Information needs and uses: fifty years of progress? in: Fifty years of information progress: a Journal of Documentation review, edited by B.C. Vickery. London: Aslib. pp. 15-51

Bibliometric studies:

Dorban, M, and Vandevenne, A.F. (1992). 'Bibliometric Analysis of bibliographic behaviors in economic sciences'. In Scientometrics, 25(1), pp. 149-165.

Pierce, S. (1992). 'On the origin and meaning of bibliometric indicators: Journals in the social sciences, 1886-1985'. In Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 43(7), pp. 477-487.

Line, M.B. (1981). 'The structure of social science literature as shown by a large-scale citation analysis'. In Social science information studies, 1(2), pp. 67-87

Ward, P.L. (1999). 'Capitalizing on a past investment: why we need bibliometric studies of social science literature again'. In INSPEL, 33(3), pp. 137-142.

Social studies of the social sciences:

Crawford, E. T. (1973). The sociology of the social sciences: a trend report and bibliography. The Hague ; Paris: Mouton, 1973.

Dogan, M and Pahre, R. (1990). 'The fate of formal disciplines: from coherence to dispersion'. In Creative marginality: innovation at the intersections of social sciences. Boulder, CO: Westview. Pp. 85-113.

Wagner, Peter, Björn Wittrock, "Analyzing social science. On the possibility of a sociology of the social sciences", In Peter Wagner, Björn Wittrock, Richard Whitley (eds.), Discourses on Society, Dordrecht: Kluwer. pp. 3–22

Wagner, Peter, Björn Wittrock, "States, Institutions, and Discourses. A Comparative Perspective on the Structuration of the Social Sciences", in: Peter Wagner, Björn Wittrock, Richard Whitley (eds.), Discourses on Society, Dordrecht: Kluwer. pp. 331–357

Whitley, R. (2000). The Intellectual and Social Organisation of the Sciences, 2nd. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.