social care services

SCIE: systematic reviews

The most trustworthy knowledge comes from systematic reviews where a whole body of work on a given topic is examined, using set ways of deciding what is relevant, how the quality of different studies should be judged and how the messages should be brought together. Looking at a whole body of work in this way means that there is less potential for the messages from research to be unduly affected by single studies.

SCIE: systematic maps

SCIE has developed systematic mapping of social care research. Systematic mapping is a way of taking stock of the existing literature on a particular topic. It is a tool that offers policy makers, practitioners and researchers an explicit and transparent means of identifying narrower policy and practice-relevant review questions. It also enables the identification of gaps in the evidence base and the assessment and comparison of in-depth systematic literature reviews within the broader literature.

SCIE: guides

A one-stop shop for social care practitioners, presenting key findings, current legislation and examples of what is working well to guide and inform practice. Topics include mental health; children, young people and families; disability; fostering; and older people.

Confidence Through Evidence Toolkit

A part of IRISS's Evidence Informed Practice Portal, the toolkit provides guidance on the process of finding and using evidence for service innovation and improvement. It has four steps designed to help users acquire, assess, adapt and apply evidence in practice, and involves a number of learning activities to help improve skills and confidence in these areas.

research in practice for adults: key Issues

Resource designed to provide ready access to relevant policy, available evidence and emerging practice on topics of current importance. It addresses topics where the evidence base is currently less well-developed, but where practitioners and managers still need to access emerging evidence and information to help inform their practice. Themes include outcome-based commissioning and contracting, support brokerage, joint strategic needs assessment, and social firms.