Social Science Information and Documentation (in INSPEL)

Main studies on social science information behaviour in the 70s revealed that social scientists do not use formal information tools like bibliographies or reference databases, but rather rely on personal recommendations, browsing in journals, and citations found in other publications (often referred to as citation chaining) (Line 1971, 1980) They rely on monograph as well as on periodical literature, but their own citations refer to a large extent to primary data. Social scientists often use literature outside their own discipline (exceptions' psychology and economics) with the consequence that one may not always find relevant resources in just one database or information system. The data used by the social sciences does not always come from social science research, but is mainly taken from other contexts not indexed in social sciences information systems. Unlike the other broad scientific areas, social science information is not only used by researchers, but also by practitioners