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FAQs on Research Gateway
General
What is NCSS doing to promote research in the social service sector?
NCSS builds research capability and facilitates research among VWOs through the provision of funding support, resources, and sharing of research expertise and knowledge. The Research Gateway is one of the platforms to facilitate social service research.
From April 2012, NCSS and SSTI have provided access to EBSCOhost, an e-journal database, for VWOs to tap on and build their research capability. |
Why should VWOs embark on research?
Applied research can help VWOs improve their service delivery: |
| a) | Needs assessment studies can help VWOs identify clients’ changing profile and the challenges they face, in order to determine if existing services continue to effectively meet their needs. |
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| b) | Programme development research enables VWOs to review evidence-based practices and innovative service models to help in the conceptualisation and design of programmes. |
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| c) | Evaluation research allows VWOs to determine the performance, relevance and effectiveness of services in order to continually improve service quality and standards. |
Research Abstracts
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3) |
How can I access the full reports of the research projects?
For completed studies, the contact information for the full report is indicated at the end of every abstract. See example below.
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4) |
If I am interested to share my research projects, who should I contact?
NCSS welcomes the sharing of social service projects on the Research Gateway. If you would like to share your research projects, please contact: |
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Dr Justin Lee |
Ms Grace Chan Research and Strategy Department Service Development Division National Council of Social Service Tel: 6210 6591 |
5) |
Where can I get journal articles to value-add my research and help me stay abreast with new developments in the social service sector?
From April 2012, all member VWOs can access more than 3,400 e-journals from EBSCOhost’s SocINDEX, Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection, and Non-profit Organisation Reference Centre. |
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6) |
How can I access the EBSCOhost e-journal database?
Member VWOs and SSTI’s current academic students can access the database through http://search.ebscohost.com. A user ID and password are required. |
7) |
What can I do if I am a staff of a member VWO but do not have a user ID and password to access EBSCOhost? |
| a) | Login to VWO Corner; or | |
| b) | Email Ms Grace Chan via your official email account to request for a user ID and password |



