Social Sciences Glossary

My name is Bernadette, I am in the Social Sciences program, and I have been in my program for a year. Since Social Sciences is a really broad program, you have a lot of options for university, and the program of Social Work at university is the program I am planning to go when I finish cégep. Since a lot of people do not really know what Social Workers do, my glossary can help them understand a little bit more that career. I will be including 20 terms with their definition, the pronunciation of the word, the translation to French, and an example of the term in a sentence. I used Google to find the vocabulary, the definitions and the translations, I used Lextutor to find the examples, and since I could not find pertinent images for the terms on Wikimedia commons, I did not use any. Understand these terms to get an idea of what Social Work is.

advocacy: noun; The act of directly representing or defending others.; Example: The Parliamentary Committee on Land took advantage of this difference and accused UWONET of not representing the views of all women, it can therefore be said that ideological differences has the potential of being counter productive on ADVOCACY efforts for women's rights issues.; fr: plaidoyer
assessment: noun; The typically short-term process to determine the nature and progression of a presenting issue by identifying strengths and capacities in the client system and what can be changed to minimize or resolve it.; Example: It's a difficult problem that requires careful ASSESSMENT.; fr: évaluation
confidentiality: noun; The duty or practice of keeping private information secret and safe from unauthorized access or disclosure.; Example: Most often survey research is in keeping with the moral and ethical traditions of openness, truthfulness and CONFIDENTIALITY [if required].; fr: confidentialité
conflict of interest: phrase; A situation where a person or organization has competing personal, financial, or professional loyalties that can make it hard to remain fair, objective, or impartial.; Example: Within the leadership of women's movements there is CONFLICT OF INTEREST due to political difference, this lack of corporation between leaders of women's organisations results to women not supporting other women politically (Tripp, 2002:19).; fr: conflit d'intérêts
counselling services: noun; Professional, confidential talking sessions where trained experts help people navigate emotional, psychological, and life challenges.; Example: The family may also require advice on bereavement and COUNSELLING SERVICES.; fr: services de conseil
consultation: noun; An interpersonal relationship between an individual or organization possessing special expertise and someone who needs that expertise to solve a specific problem.; Example: Most will offer a free CONSULTATION session to see if this is likely to be a good match.; fr: consultation
empowerment: noun; Giving someone the power, right, or authority to do something, or the process of becoming stronger and more confident in controlling your life.; Example: Patient EMPOWERMENT and patient-centered care encourage patients to take more responsibility for their care and to learn from their own experiences.; fr: autonomisation
evidence: noun; Refers to information tending to establish facts.; Example: However, there's EVIDENCE that inequality has been increasing at all levels.; fr: preuve
evidence-based practice: phrase; The use of outcomes-based research to guide decisions and interventions.; Example: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (EBP) aims to maximize the effectiveness of psychological interventions; fr: pratique fondée sur des données probantes
inequity: noun; Systemic and structural disparities that lead to unequal access to resources, opportunities, and rights, disproportionately affecting marginalized and oppressed groups.; Example: I discussed the INEQUITY of treatment of this group up until the early 1970's when government papers were released to improve services.; fr: iniquité
intersectionality: noun; An analytical framework that shows how different personal characteristics—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—overlap to create unique combinations of discrimination and privilege.; Example: The INTERSECTIONALITY of race and justice cannot be overlooked.; fr: intersectionnalité
intervention: noun; The act of stepping into a situation to improve it, change a course of events, or prevent things from getting worse.; Example: That’s why early INTERVENTION is key.; fr: intervention
psychosocial: adjective; Of or involving the influence of social factors or human interactive behaviour, it recognizes the complex interdependence of individual psychology, cultural and social/interpersonal context.; Example: Such long-lasting misery has what's called a PSYCHOSOCIAL aspect to it.; fr: psychosocial
resilience: noun; The mental and emotional ability to adapt to crisis, trauma, or difficult life experiences and keep moving forward.; Example: Her grief is still there, but her RESILIENCE is too.; fr: résilience
social exclusion: noun; A process where individuals or groups are pushed to the margins of society and denied full access to essential resources, rights, and opportunities.; Example: Good quality housing is kept for the host population by the threat of discrimination and SOCIAL EXCLUSION, thus 'forcing' immigrants to live together.; fr: exclusion sociale
social justice: noun; The fair and equitable treatment of all individuals and social groups within a society.; Example: It no doubt offers the most coherent critique of neo-liberalism, highlighting the importance of SOCIAL JUSTICE and indigenous social development.; fr: justice sociale
social work diagnosis: phrase; A professional evaluation that identifies a client's specific psychological, behavioral, or social challenges, along with their underlying causes, to guide a targeted intervention plan.; Example: An accurate SOCIAL WORK DIAGNOSIS helps practitioners evaluate a client's social functioning, environmental context, and behavioral patterns to guide effective interventions.; fr: diagnostic de travail social
subpoena: noun; A subpoena is an official legal order that requires a person to appear in court to give testimony or to produce specific documents and evidence.; Example: Parents feared the SUBPOENAS could lead to child abuse charges, which the government could then use to strip them of custody of their children.; fr: assignation
supervision: noun; The act of watching over a person, place, or activity to make sure things are done safely, correctly, and according to the rules.; Example: This medical SUPERVISION on women's bodies can be seen as a negative intrusion.; fr: surveillance
trauma: noun; The psychological, emotional, and social impact of deeply distressing or harmful experiences that overwhelm an individual’s ability to cope.; Example: In a bid to escape the mental torture and TRAUMA they were in, four prisoners reacted by breaking down emotionally.; fr: traumatisme