Thirteen universities in Australia and NZ choose Century of Social Sciences(TM) by Thomson Reuters

Thirteen universities in Australia and NZ have selected Century of Social Sciences(TM), a superior and unique set of archival data (backfiles) covering ground breaking research in the social sciences back to 1900, from Thomson Reuters for their education and research needs.

Century of Social Sciences expands the coverage of Web of Science(SM), the largest and most comprehensive citation database available, which provides straightforward access to more than 11,000 of the world’s leading peer reviewed journals and 110,000 conference proceedings.

The 13 universities include Monash University, University of Queensland, University of New South Wales, University of Adelaide, Griffith University, University of Technology Sydney, Swinburne University, University of Auckland, University of Otago, University of Canterbury and Massey University.

Said Mr Robert Stafford, collection management librarian, Monash University Library, “Older research is often overlooked in the social sciences as it has been difficult to access, so as leading research library, we saw the Century of Social Sciences as a very valuable acquisition.”

Mr Derek Whitehead, director, Information Resources and University copyright officer, Swinburne University of Technology commented, “Web of Science is an important research resource at Swinburne, and we have received many requests from academics and researchers for deeper access to the backfiles. So when we got the chance to purchase the Century of Social Sciences backfiles back to 1900, we saw this as an opportunity to significantly improve our access to this already valuable research resource. Swinburne researchers have already told us how delighted they are with the improved access.”

Said Marilyn Fordyce, Information Resources manager, University of Otago Library, “One of the strategic objectives in 2009 for the University of Otago Library included extending the availability to our researchers of electronic journal backfiles from key publishers. The Century of Social Sciences supports this objective by increasing the discoverability of key social sciences journals back to 1900, matching that available in the sciences, and optimising the benefit of our investment in backfiles. Aligned to this, Otago social science researchers now have the citation tools and links available to trace the works and the impact of key thinkers in this influential early 20th century period.”

Culled from over 300 prestigious journals, this archive of social sciences data makes information dating back to 1900 available to researchers, faculty, authors and students, allowing them to track research trends, authors, and articles over the entire 20th century, and to identify seminal studies that form the basis for today’s research.

The world itself changed dramatically during the first half of the 20th century, and the published research during this period is reflective of these great changes. Available nowhere else, Century of Social Sciences continues in the tradition of Century of Science(TM) which was released in 2004.

These social science journals represent a collection of the oldest and most prestigious sources in their respective fields. Full bibliographic and cited reference data is available in disciplines such as communication, education, geography, history, law, political science, and public health.

Century of Social Sciences also features extensive coverage of high-impact psychology journals, including key titles associated with Sigmund Freud.

Said Mr Jeroen Prinsen, director of Australia and NZ, Thomson Reuters, “We are pleased that these 13 universities have decided on Century of Social Sciences as their main resource of choice for social sciences and their continued support for Web of Science. This demonstrates the value of the depth of research available in the Century of Social Sciences backfiles. As the leading global provider of intelligent information to academic and research communities, we have always worked closely with them to support their higher education and research needs more intuitively.”