SCIE research briefing 20: Choice, control and individual budgets: emerging themes

Methodology

The initial search for references was undertaken at SCIE:

• Databases searched: Ageinfo, Campbell Collaboration, Cochrane Library, HMIC, SSCI, Social Service Abstracts, Social Policy and Practice, EBSCO Host,
• Online resources searched: Social Care Online, Google, SOSIG
• Research databases searched: Regard, Refer, National Research Register, Joseph Rowntree Research in Progress
• A limited range of journals (however EBSCO host was used for a search across all their titles)
• Previous SCIE scoping work on direct payments

The references were imported into two EndNote libraries:

• Individual Budgets as the main focus (73 refs.)
• Direct Payments, including material scoped in February 2004, plus updated search results (244 refs in total, 61 since the beginning of 2004.)

The references arrived at in this way were amplified by:

• additional internet searches
• handsearching a number of journals, including Generations (US), The Gerontologist (US), The Australasian Journal on Ageing, and Ageing Well (Australia)
• contacting a number of individual academic and other experts personally, for contacts and references, by 'phone and/or e-mail.

Advice and feedback was also received from:

• Participants at the LSE seminar day on Direct Payments, 28 March 2006
• The Individual Pilots Evaluation Team
• The SCIE stakeholder consultation group