Where to go for community sector research

Whether you’re a student researching for an assignment or a practitioner gathering the latest research for insight into possible service improvements, finding what you are looking for can be time consuming. Doing a simple internet search is often the default but dedicated research hubs and clearinghouses cut down the work involved and ensure the returned results are always highly relevant.

We’ve put together a list of the major hubs for community sector research below. These online sites are free to use and they make a great tool for students studying online that may not have access to university libraries. The sites collect reports and research that fall under their scope and add them to their searchable databases. You can browse the sites and in some instances subscribe to receive free notifications when new content is available.

General community sector hubs

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) catalogue http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications-catalogue/

The AIHW is a national agency set up by the Australian Government with the aim to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians through better health and welfare information and statistics. What you’ll find: information on a wide range of health and welfare topics, ranging from expenditure, hospitals, disease and injury, and mental health, to ageing, homelessness, disability and child protection. Brotherhood Library Current Awareness Portal (BroCap) http://bsllibrary.org.au/

BroCAP posts the latest information relevant to the Brotherhood of St Laurence's research, policy and service agendas. The site’s strengths are its frequent updates and the wide range of categories you can search via.

What you’ll find: this site is not limited to research, it also features articles and journal papers on topics such as health & wellbeing, digital inclusion, financial inclusion, inclusive growth and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People.

ACWA Members' only resource library http://www.acwa.org.au/member/account-information Members will need to login for access

ACWA’s own go-to library of resources for practitioners and students. The library is configured into sections to make finding the resources that interest you easier.

What you’ll find: topics include aged care, children and families, volunteering, social protection governance and workforce and skills.

Specialised community sector hubs

AIPC Library http://www.aipc.net.au/articles/

The Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors online library includes over 200 articles and case studies along with theory, practice and communication sections for targeted information.

What you’ll find: resources related to counselling, life coping skills and mental health

The Centre of Applied Disability Research Clearing House http://www.cadr.org.au/clearing-house

This clearinghouse monitors and disseminates key findings from relevant applied disability research and evaluation. It includes links to external, third party sites that either contain specific documents or research papers, or are gateways to further disability sector resources. What you’ll find: disability related papers, practical resources and data

Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/The aim of this clearinghouse is to promote discussion and disseminate relevant Indigenous justice information to government policy makers and those working in the Indigenous justice field.What you’ll find: Indigenous justice resources including research and evaluations; national datasets; programs and projects; and research and policy centres.

National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse http://www.aihw.gov.au/national-aged-care-data-clearinghouse/ This is an independent repository that brings together AIHW’s information on clients and services across aged care including residential and community aged care and transition, respite and assessment programs.What you’ll find: information and statistics on aged care in Australia, including data cubes. Researchers and stakeholders can request custom data from the Clearinghouse to meet specific requirements or if the information is not readily available online.

Centre for Multicultural Youth Knowledge hub http://www.cmy.net.au/topic/knowledge-hub This knowledge hub hosts information collected by the Centre over more than two decades of working with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The site differs to the others on this list in that it limited to the Centre’s work only, but it features almost 300 resources and has excellent search functionality.What you’ll find: factsheets, good practice guides, case studies, reports, policy papers and project evaluations related to multicultural youth

Protecting Australia's Children: Research and Evaluation Register, 2011-2015 https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/pacra/discover

The Register is a searchable database of 944 research and evaluation projects conducted between 2011 and 2015.

What you’ll find: exactly as the title promises this register is exclusively dedicated to child protection.

Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) Library https://aifs.gov.au/our-work/resources/aifs-library or to search its original work https://aifs.gov.au/publications

The AIFS is the Australian Government's key research body in the area of family wellbeing. AIFS conducts original research to increase understanding of Australian families and the issues that affect them, as well maintains a library of resources produced by others.

Included in the Institute’s network is the Knowledge Circle (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child and Family Resources Portal), Australian Gambling Research Centre and Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) information exchange.

Source: http://www.acwa.org.au/

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