ABSTRACT
Policies for the social sciences, for the continuing support, diversification, and expansion of ongoing activities, require first and foremost to be founded on a knowledge base of what resources currently exist. Unfortunately, at both national and international level, this situation is far from clear. Little is known of the state of the social sciences, as regards either their present condition or the circumstances surrounding the disciplines' development. The demand for information on the social sciences, especially as regards the distribution of money and manpower, is becoming increasingly acute from a political viewpoint. Social scientists themselves, however, are also becoming more interested in the state of their disciplines, although their concerns are frequently of a more theoretical nature.
