Socio-Educational Resources for Academic Writing—Open-Access, Digital Data for Social Work Programs in Romanian Universities

Abstract

Throughout the generations, traditional academic writing skills development has taught students in socio-human programs to express their knowledge and thoughts with an evidence-based foundation, helping them make a special connection with their professional fields. However, a lack of digital learning and writing resources in this process has been identified. This study of the social work field connects digital academic writing, social protection functionality, and research innovations, identifying and exploring open-access (OA) educational and social resources for social work higher education (SWHE). Applying content analyses to online documents and websites, we identified key terms characteristic of social work, following a standard approach on formulating research questions, identifying categories, creating a code book, sampling, and measuring information. The research questions were as follows: How is digital academic writing being developed in social work education programs in Romanian universities? Where do researchers, students, teachers, and professionals gather OA digital information and data for academic innovation? What kind of OA information and data are contained in websites for academic writing? We also used OA socio-educational resource analysis to derive digital, evidence-based, and academic writing codes. The frequencies of these elements in documents and websites were examined. Professional samples of four OA documents and five academic and non-academic Romanian websites with extensions were processed. Furthermore, information from a non-academic official website concerning social protection functionality was observed, identified, and measured. We concluded that academic writing is not included as an independent course in the curricula of Romanian social work programs at universities; this topic is rarely researched. Digital and evidence-based education is also a marginalized topic in socio-human scientific resources. OA information, laws, reports, and statistics were identified. Information on scientific research, academic–non-academic partnerships, descriptions of good practices, and human resources information was lacking. In conclusion, this study contributes to increasing productivity and developing digital academic skills in social work education and research.

1. Introduction

The phenomenon of students dropping out from academic programs at the tertiary level is a general problem in higher education. Parents’ financial status and education do not significantly affect students’ academic performance if they participate in educational programs, submit assignments on time and prepare for exams [1].

This exploratory study aims to identify digital sources for social work academic writing in the Romanian higher education context, following the standard approach of Kim et al. (2010) on formulating research questions, identifying categories, creating a code book, sampling, and measuring information [2].

“Academic writing skills support effective professional communication, and research skills allow for evidence-based practice” [3] p. 54. It includes formal scientific writing and the editing of text according to well-established rules [4]. From a vocabulary perspective, academic writing means writing comprehensively, focusing on a scientific topic and the proposed objectives. The results and conclusions should be supported by scientific evidence [5]. This understanding of academic writing leads to practical writing based on evidence and a solid educational foundation. Student tutoring, supervision, workshop practice, a collaborative environment (between students and teachers and across higher education BA, MA, and PhD students), and searching in space-fixed libraries are traditional elements of academic writing [6]. Learning and developing writing skills has been challenging for generations of students, combining language with formal requirements and discovering the personal meaning of writing. Students should understand that academic writing is a form of knowledge, thought communication, and innovation across generations and disciplines [7].

Thesis writing is necessary to obtain a higher education diploma everywhere. Publications generally provide vocabulary [8], structural [9], and methodological [10] support for learners. Students are not taught where and how to gather official, open-access information for their subject. Today, higher education is characterized by an increasing level of digitalization, and a “more than human” approach includes digital technology mediation and data use as an essential part of academic work [11,12]. Searching data to write a scientific publication, thesis, or diploma-related work requires special skills for users from different fields in higher education [8]. Digital resources for academic writing represent a category of extensive digital tools utilized during the academic writing process. A study sample of the European Association of Teaching Academic Writing (EATAW) list and the Israel Forum for Academic Writing (IFAW) completed a questionnaire designed to research the academic writing process and tools used. Various digital resource tools were identified, including search engines, writing guides, online libraries, handouts, and phrase banks [13].

The theoretical underpinnings of academic writing are oriented in three distinct directions, with each direction contributing to the overall structure in a complementary manner. Study skills theory emphasizes developing the skills and competencies of those who engage in academic writing. The primary objective of writing is to facilitate cognitive development. The quality of academic writing is assessed based on its alignment with established criteria, with successful compositions meeting the established standards and deficient compositions falling short of these standards. According to the tenets of academic socialization theory, the culturalization of academic disciplines is of particular significance, with curriculum integration being a fundamental aspect of this process. Developing skills in composing diverse forms of academic writing, including essays, reports, and dissertations, is an integral academic subject. The development of academic writing is a multifaceted process that encompasses both support and supervision to foster students’ ability to articulate coherently complex and structured ideas and arguments. Academic writing centers underscore the divergent characteristics inherent in different disciplines. The development of students’ academic writing skills is based on the nature of their specialization. Social practice theory underscores the significance of the social context in students’ development. The remediation of activity deficits is possible within specialized institutions. The identity and purpose of the writer influence an individual’s writing skills [13].

Social work is a practical discipline, and writing in social work is developing in two directions: academic and professional or practical aspects [3]. Information sources are searched in traditional and digital formats, including space-fixed and virtual libraries [8,9]. Academic information and data refer to scientific research and publications in social work innovations. Non-academic informal publications encompass public and official data. This data pertains to the functionality of the social protection and social work sectors within the societal context.

The attainment of a degree in social work (SW) from an institution of higher education fosters the development of practical, professional, and academic competencies that equip students for careers in helping and caring professions. Evidence-based professional communication and interventions encompass cultivating digital academic writing competencies for students, academics, and professionals. The subjects of these in the field of social work (SW) education are rooted in the social work profession, the functionality of the social work or social protection system, partnerships, human resources working with disadvantaged groups, and the methods and techniques used in the social work profession and research. Additionally, the needs and well-being of people from communities, the satisfaction of beneficiaries from social services, and other relevant topics are considered.

Research conducted in the United Kingdom within the social work profession has identified two characteristics within the professional writing process: “problematic” and “time-intensive”. The concept was employed in a variety of contexts, including “report”, “record”, and “communicate.” Social workers are tasked with various administrative responsibilities, for which the utilization of digital technology and professional writing skills is paramount. The subject of articles on this topic is the quality of practice-based academic writing, its specific characteristics, and the associated academic conventions and rules. Additionally, they offer insights into the challenges encountered by students and educators. A subsequent analysis of the U.K. university curriculum reveals that teaching academic writing as evidence-based writing was included in plans in an inconsequential and imprecise manner [14].

The history of social work education in Romania can be traced to the establishment of the “Princess Ileana” School of Social Work in Bucharest, which marked a significant milestone in the country’s social welfare sector. Dimitrie Gusti and his collaborators initiated the development of the SW profession, based on research carried out in rural areas. A four-year training program for the profession was implemented at university level from 1929 to 1959. The curriculum was developed using evidence-based research on the complex needs of families, the possibilities of intervention, improvements in the standard of living, and the development of rural communities. During this period, the foundation of the Journal of Romanian Sociology was established [15]. Gusti’s closest collaborator was the scientist Henri H. Stahl, who stated in an interview, “Until you have done the research yourself, you do not have a critical sense of the value of information” [16] p. 93.

The development of the modern Romanian SW system and higher education was initiated during the interwar period. It has become a prime exemplar of best practice at the European and international levels. Between 1929 and 1936, the Review of Social Work journal published research in the SW field [17].

Romania was part of the communist bloc after World War II for 40 years. The communist era reduced university education in SW to a post-secondary level in 1952 and abolished it permanently in 1969. Educational and professional training in the SW field was reestablished in various university centers, and research in this field was also resumed after the changes of 1989 [17].

The social system constitutes a crucial component of social protection in contemporary societies, providing non-contributory support to beneficiaries. This refers to the final resource available for individuals, families, and communities experiencing crises. Social insurance forms the social security system, which plays a contributory role. Social protection encompasses a range of social benefits, insurance programs, and assistance services available to individuals and communities. The efficacy of the protection system is contingent upon its balanced functionality at the national and global levels, thereby ensuring the sustainability of social security. The social work system is comprised of an institutional network and public–private collaboration (i.e., a public–private partnership), professionals, a multidisciplinary team serving as human resources, and normative laws relating to social policy, social services, and benefits for clients. Through the prevailing paradigms, the traditional beneficiaries of social welfare programs are orphans, people with disabilities, and older adults [17].

In contrast, the modern beneficiaries encompass a more expansive demographic, including children of parents who are employed outside Romania, women, victims of human trafficking, NEET youth (a term used to describe teenagers and young adults who are neither enrolled in school nor employed), individuals struggling with addiction, migrants, and other vulnerable categories. Social work is predicated on implementing best practices founded on evidence-based interventions. This term was adopted from the field of medicine, incorporating research evidence. Social work draws from various social and human sciences, including education, sociology, psychology, and political science, and employs a distinct research methodology. Evidence-based practice is characterized by providing examples of good practice, interventions based on evidence, and scientific credibility [17,18].

The field of social work has been established on scientific principles, with a pragmatic approach to its practical applications. The network system functions efficiently when it has partners in the social protection sector (e.g., public–private partnerships between institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the public) and the academic field (e.g., universities, socio-human research centers for development and innovation).

In Romania, there was a total of 79 accredited universities in 2023 (45 state universities and 34 private universities), of which 23 universities had accredited bachelor’s (N = 33), master’s (N = 11), and doctoral PhD (N = 1) programs in the field of social work (SW). Apart from these programs, there are numerous other SW specializations in Romanian higher education, with connections to other socio-human fields, such as theology, psychology, educational science, and sociology. Actors in universities are involved in academic writing, preparing their reports, publications, degree-related works, MA or PhD dissertations, and theses every year [19].

This study intended to examine open-access data from OA documents and websites connected with Romanian social work education and the functionality of the social protection system. The research questions are as follows:

How is digital academic writing being developed in social work education programs in Romanian universities? Where do researchers, students, teachers, and professionals gather OA digital information and data for academic development? What kind of OA information and data is contained on websites for academic writing?

2. Methodology

This exploratory study aimed to ascertain the existence of digital, open-access academic and non-academic resources for innovation in writing and research, focusing on social protection and social work education. This objective was achieved by implementing document and website content analysis. Traditional document contents include text and other written information, but websites are digital structures that include texts, digital data, graphics, documents, animation, audio, video, and hyperlinked content [2]. Following the standard approach, the first step in this study was formulating research questions for qualitative analysis. The following procedures were identifying categories, creating a code book, and sampling [2].

Regarding code identification, we focused on academic writing literature in social work education and the innovative, scientific orientation of social protection functionality [13,14,17]. Data collection is based on a qualitative methodology, and the instrument is the code book. The process is based on searching documents and websites and the frequency of keywords. For the corpus of papers and web content, we used “academic writing”, “evidence-based”, and “digital”, and the occurrence frequency of these key terms was determined. Here, we listed academic and non-academic information categories.

The sampling stage was limited to the expert, non-probabilistic selection of four online documents [20,21,22,23] and five academic and non-academic websites [24,25,26,27,28], focusing on the research questions and using a method of choice related to the objectives and qualitative analysis intentions.

Following the method in [29] for the existing or missing aspects of the information, the MMFTSS website [28] and its extensions [30,31,32,33,34] were analyzed. A scale of one to zero was used, where zero indicates the total absence of information and one indicates its detailed existence. A value between these two (0.5) indicates information partly stored on websites.

3. Results

3.1. Academic Writing in Social Work University Programs—Social Protection Research, Innovation, and Digital Inclusion in National Programs

The first question to find an answer for was the following: how are academic writing skills being developed in Romanian universities in SW programs? The content of a document published by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) was analyzed. This national agency aims to organize the learning, teaching, and researching process, finishing studies and diploma awards, and the functionality of institutions and human resources in higher education. The use of the concepts of “academic writing”, “evidence-based”, and “digital” in the normative document for SWHE were studied. The academic education in BA and MA programs in SW belongs to the specific area of “Social, Political and Communication Sciences”, according to ARACIS standards. The PDF document was investigated, focusing on pages 26–36 and 161–165. In the BA and MA plans, there are at least 2 weeks for the elaboration of a bachelor’s thesis or dissertation and 10 credits for passing the final exam (in addition to the 180 compulsory credits), according to the norms for the learning process. Subjects that are compulsory must comply with a distribution of 70% compulsory and 30% optional. Optional subjects are counted above this distribution. Eight fundamentals (general), seven domains, twenty-three specializations, and eleven complementary disciplines are listed indicatively. This list does not recommend a subject (compulsory, domain, specialization, or complementary) called “academic writing” for inclusion in the curriculum. A complementary course of “academic techniques and skills” is the recommendation of the ARACIS document and mentions a course for “evidence-based social work”. The “digital” keyword had a frequency of 0 in the document. Internet connections are included as obligatory in the technical–material basis of the university—higher education institutions are obligated to have information and communication systems (computer networks, Internet access, etc.) available to teachers, researchers, and students working and learning in SWHE [20].

The master’s level has three areas delimited within the ARACIS regulations: professional master’s degrees, scientific research master’s degrees, and didactic master’s degrees. The disciplines in the professional master’s degree curriculum are oriented towards the qualifications and development of the labor market (national and international). This level ends with writing an applied, original, evidence-based, and theoretically grounded work. The curriculum is obligatory and consists of a stage of thesis elaboration in the fourth semester. The thesis must comply with academic standards: the research topic must be relevant to the SW field, must be written accurately, must have theoretical content that scientifically substantiates the theme and working hypotheses, and research tools must be presented; a critical section is an up-to-date bibliography that is appropriate to the topic and the field. The Master’s Degree in Scientific Research in SW is organized exclusively within doctoral schools and provides training in scientific research skills, which include fundamental and applied research [20].

Next, three universities’ documents were analyzed: Vest University from Timisoara—UVT [21], Lucian Blaga University from Sibiu—ULBS [22], and Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj—UBBC [23]. Digital, evidence-based, academic writing skills development in social work higher education departments and courses were searched for. Analyzing three files of university plans, with a specialization in SW, two subjects with this name and another course, in which the learning–teaching activities characteristic of the field “academic writing” are included, were identified. UVT is a public university in Timisoara. For students in the first year of the bachelor’s cycle, the SW department offers a complementary course of 2 credits called “Ethics, Integrity, and Academic Writing”. UBBC, a state university, includes the obligatory course “Research ethics with children and academic writing” in the master’s degree named European Master in Children’s Rights. ULBS, a private university, offers first-year students an optional one-semester course, “Technique of elaboration of scientific papers” (one course, one seminar, three credits), within the bachelor’s program in SW.

3.2. Open-Access Academic Resources for Writing in SWHE

The research question was the following: Where do researchers, students, teachers, and professionals gather OA digital information and data for academic innovation? OA information searches for research and innovation led to four academic Romanian sites.

A national and public authority in the field of research and innovation is the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization—MCID [24], with the role of synthesizing and coordinating in the fields of scientific research, experimental and technological development, innovation, communications, and digitalization, a new field in Romanian society and research. As an independent, central authority, it was established under this name in 2020. It is essential to note that the transition in public management coincided with the period during which data were collected for the present study. The current website of the MCID is under construction due to political changes. The research activities are proposed to be carried out through universities and research centers in Romania. Direct research in the field of social protection was not included. Several research laboratories that could be relevant to social protection were identified: the Vocational Training Centre, the Laboratory of Good Experimental Practices, the Laboratory of Economic, Statistical, Informatics Analysis, and Ergonomics of Work Systems, and the Laboratory of Risk Assessment, Occupational Health, and Safety Management. Among European research partnerships, the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, which has common objectives with the social protection of the elderly and active aging conducted by MMFTSS [28], was identified. Among the achievements between 2020 and 2024 for the digitization of Romania, the construction of the PCUe “Single Electronic Point of Contact” website [35] stands out. Among the various types of services, there are the following categories: “Health and social assistance”, “Administrative service activities and support service activities”, and “Social security in the public system”. These achievements were listed before the changes in the current public management. Many of the site’s links have no content because it is under construction. An essential objective of these digitization activities is to centralize links between existing national websites. In the field of social protection, there are links to two important national non-academic websites: ANOFM—Agenția Națională de Ocupare a Forței de Muncă, or National Employment Agency [36], and CNASR, Colegiul Național al Asistenților Sociali din Romania—National College of Social Workers of Romania [24] (Figure 1).

ANOFM [36] is a national agency that implements the legislation, policies, and strategies developed by the Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth, and Social Solidarity on employment, vocational training for jobseekers, and support and protection for vulnerable groups (unemployed, people with disabilities, those working abroad, young NEETs, graduates, etc.). The purpose of the agency is to stimulate employment and prevent unemployment. The national website describes the functionality of the agencies, national policies, legislation in force, and their changes, statistics, and national projects. It is linked to the EURES—European Employment Services website [37] and the county agencies AJOFM [38].

CNASR [18] is the National College of Social Workers, established in February 2005 as a professional, non-governmental, public interest, apolitical, non-profit organization with legal status, and it is autonomous and independent. CNASR represents, defends, and promotes the rights and interests of social workers at local, national, and international levels. It defends the honor, freedom, and professional independence of social workers in practicing the profession and ensures observance by social workers of their obligations towards beneficiaries, institutions, and society under the deontological norms of the profession [18].

A scientific publication site for social protection studies and social work education or professional innovation is Revista de Asistență Socială—The Review of Social Work journal [25], which appears in the virtual space in the field of SW research. It is a scientific forum of experience, good practice, ideas, and results dissemination. “The Journal is aiming at becoming a forum of debate for all those interested in social work in Romania and abroad, such as academics, social workers, researchers, students, decision-makers or other professionals wishing to be up to date with recent theories, approaches, practices and policies in the field”. It is a peer-review journal with an ISSN. It is accessible from an online library called the Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL) database and is published four times a year. Articles are written in English or Romanian, and the site has an archive, in which the first publication is from 1929, continuing to 2025 [25]. The abstracts of the articles and the keywords are open access. Searching for the word “academic writing” in the index using keywords, the result was 0. I looked for additional keywords that are related to this concept: “evidence-based” and “digital” (

Table 1. Abstracts in the Social Work review journal with different keywords: digital, evidence-based, and academic writing (N).

Keyword Name	Frequency (N)
Academic writing	0
Evidence-based (SW, intervention programs, practice)	7
Digital (resources, literacy, digitalization, agility index, era, age, environment, inequality, divide)	10

Source: Revista de Asistență Socială [25].

). Social work education was mentioned in eight cases, and social protection and “welfare” were included in some abstracts.

The auto definition of another site [26] with scientific content in the socio-human field is as follows: “The Virtual Library of Sociology is an initiative of the Research Institute for Quality of Life, Romanian Academy, and collects, digitizes, organizes, and offers structured access to specialized materials in the field of sociology and related disciplines”. Results of the findings were monitored (

Table 2. Frequency of articles in the Virtual Library of Sociology journal, with digital, evidence-based, academic writing (N).

Keyword Name	Frequency (N)
Academic writing	0
Evidence-based (EU FAR Database)	2
Digital	2

Source: Biblioteca Virtuală de Sociologie [26].

) after applying different codes to scientific articles, reports, publications, and research. Searching for the academic writing topic yielded zero results (Figure 2).

The evidence-based term was used in connection with EU database research. The term digital appears in two studies (Table 2). Social work education had a single article and social protection 27

The Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala—Review of Research and Social Intervention journal (

Table 3. Articles in the Review of Research and Social Intervention journal with different keywords linked to digital, evidence-based academic writing codes (N).

Keyword Name	Frequency (N)
Academic writing	2
Evidence-based	25
Digital	33

Source: Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala [27].

) belongs to Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Romania. It was first published on 2003 and has been in OA form since 2008. The journal’s mission was formulated on the site: “aims to promote interdisciplinary social research that addresses how social, educational, medical, and political institutions respond to the needs of people and, at the same time, to the challenges of changing contemporary societies. To be an inspiration, the Journal proposes that each article should include recommendations regarding the interventions proposed by the authors, based on quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods research” [27]. Academic writing and evidence-based subjects are among the topics covered in this journal, and the frequency of different codes is included in Table 3. Social work education (N = 54) and social protection data and information (N = 102) have a significant presence on this site.

3.3. Open-Access Non-Academic Resources for Writing in SWHE

This part of the study analyzed the content of a public and official website on social protection in Romania.

The national non-academic site of MMFTSS (Ministerul Muncii, Familiei, Tineretului si Solidaritatii Sociale—Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth, and Social Solidarity) is an official website [28] presenting with central attributions and responsibilities in social protection. It coordinates the INCSMPS (Institutului Național de Cercetare în Domeniul Muncii și Protecției Sociale—National Institute for Scientific Research in the Field of Labor and Social Protection), with the mission of innovation [30]. Research and innovation activities develop projects oriented towards policies relating to the labor market, social policy, demography, innovation, energy, and the environment. Research partners include several universities in Romania (Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj, West University of Timisoara, University of Bucharest, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Cantemir Christian University, University of Oradea) and national and international research institutions. ANPDCA, the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption [31], is another extension of MMFTSS, which protects and promotes children’s rights in Romania. This central website contains a map of the county child protection agencies, the DGASPC, the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection [39,40]. Another site extension, called the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [32], is the Romanian central authority, subordinated to the Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth, and Social Solidarity, with a role in coordinating activities for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, developing policies, strategies, and standards in the field of protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, ensuring the monitoring of the application of regulations in its field, and controlling activities related to the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. The MMFTSS central website [28] is connected to the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men [33], aiming to build a fair society for women and men, and preventing or intervening in cases of abuse and human trafficking. These sites provide (Figure 3) official, public information in the field of social protection for vulnerable categories (children, families, the elderly, people with disabilities, women and men, victims of abuse, human trafficking, etc.), operating with the following concepts: SW services and benefits, laws and regulations for the functioning of the system, statistics, eligibility, and rights of the beneficiaries of the system. Following the digitization of social service records, a national “Single Electronic Register of Social Services” website was built in 2018, containing legislation, statistics, reports and studies, lists, projects, and good practices related to social services in Romania. However, the links to this site have expired, and the open-access data is in danger. Information has already been extracted from this site, named SSR, “Servicii sociale in Romania”—Social Services in Romania [34].

Expert observation, identification, and classification actions on the MMFTSS site were used to examine the OA socio-educational information, identifying reports, laws, statistical data, research, good practices, and partnerships for traditional beneficiaries of social protection: children, people with disabilities, and older adults. Next, the method of [29] for measuring the observed OA information on the MMFTSS site and its extensions was adopted. Using a measurement of 0–1 for the information, classification was based on the extent of each type of information on the websites for different groups: children, disabled people, and the elderly. Zero indicates the total absence of this information, one indicates its clear existence, and a value between these two indicates that the data is partly available on websites.

A.

reports (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

B.

research or publications (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

C.

laws (1- if it is available, 0—not available)

D.

good practice example (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

E.

data statistics (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

F.

human resources information (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

G.

partnerships (1—if it is available, 0—not available)

The MMFTSS website and its associated extensions offer comprehensive information (

Table 4. Measurement results from the MMFTSS site and extension data in connection with statistics, laws, reports, publications, partnerships, human resources, and examples of good practice for traditional vulnerable groups.

Vulnerable Groups	Measurement
Children	5
People with disabilities	5
Elderly	5

Source: MMFTSS [29].

) regarding the development of legislation for vulnerable groups. In addition, they provide periodic statistics and reports on the functioning of the protection system for children, people with disabilities, and older adults. Research information, human resources, partnerships, and examples of good practice are partly included.

4. Discussion

Under the authority of the Ministry of National Education, accredited by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS), monitoring the graduation rate in all specialization fields has been a requirement since 2014 for Romanian universities [20,40]. Higher education in social work has been integrated into a specific area of the field of social, political, and communication science. Academic writing is vital in Romania’s higher education, social work, and social protection innovation. The emphasis on the normative, legal, and evidence-based aspects of social work is underscored in this inclusion.

Another regulation is writing a bachelor’s dissertation to obtain a diploma. In the list of courses proposed for the SWHE curriculum, “Academic writing” is not included as an independent subject, but the curriculum recommends an optional course, “Academic Techniques and Skills”. It has identified courses in which the development of academic writing skills is integrated. At bachelor’s level, universities have included as complementary or optional subjects “Ethics, Integrity, and Academic Writing” and the “Technique of elaboration of scientific papers”. At UBBC, an obligatory course, “Research ethics with children and academic writing”, is included in the master’s degree in SW. An optional subject, combined with others at BA level, is included. A compulsory course of academic writing, combined with the specific field of the course, is included at MA level [23]. Similar results were obtained by examining universities’ academic writing, which was imprecise in social work programs. A comprehensive reevaluation of the social work higher education curriculum is essential in Romania and on a global level. This reevaluation should encompass integrating academic writing courses grounded in evidence-based information and the digital innovation of socio-educational resources. The curriculum in social work must prioritize evidence-based education and OA, as well as academic and non-academic information resources, for writing and professional training.

The national site of the Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization [24] was under construction due to political management changes in Romania. An analysis of scientific content revealed that The Review of Social Work journal [25] and the Virtual Library of Sociology journal [26] include zero “academic writing” frequencies. The Review of Research and Social Intervention journal [27] belongs to Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Romania, and was identified as including research on academic writing, digitalization, and evidence-based information. Digital academic writing is not a scientific topic in sociology and social work. Interventions in social work involve evidence-based practice [18], and the digitalization of academic writing is an innovative process [13]. The National Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization is fundamental to social protection functionality innovation.

The Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth, and Solidarity’s national website [28] and the contents of any open-access connecting sites were analyzed. Professional OA website analysis requires the observation, classification, and measurement of information after the sampling phase, which is a complex step in the analysis process [2]. This study used a qualitative method, following [29], to measure information. Innovative social protection functionality is connected to information on research innovation, human resources data, examples of good practice, and public–private academic and non-academic partnerships [17].

The results of the exploratory examination of information were observed, identified, and classified as statistics, laws, reports, publications, partnerships, human resources, or examples of good practice. Research and scientific publication databases, examples of good practice, human resources information, and academic–non-academic partnership connections were found to be deficient. The site focuses on monitoring statistics in traditional fields (children in difficulty, people with disabilities, and older adults), presenting the evolution of the legislation and updating it. Specific reports related to these fields are presented on the site, but the partnership between the academic and specialized fields is partially missing. Information related to research in the field of social protection, such as good practice and human resources, was lacking. This OA information from websites (

Table 5. OA resources for social work higher education, research, innovation, and social protection data.

The Romanian Names and the categories of OA and Digital Resources
Academic Document Sites
Agenția Română de Asigurare a Calității în Învățământul Superior (ARACIS)
Universitatea de “Vest” din Timișoara (UVT)
Universitatea “Lucian Blaga” din Sibiu (ULBS)
Universitatea “Babeș—Bolyai” din Cluj (UBBC)
Academic and Research Innovation Sites
Ministerul Cercetării, Inovării și Digitalizării (MCID)
Revista de Asistență Socială
Biblioteca Virtuală de Sociologie
Revista de Cercetare și Intervenție Socială
Non-Academic and Social Protection Functionality Site
Ministerul Muncii, Familiei, Tineretului și Solidarității Sociale (MMFTSS)

Source: [39].

) is of significant importance in evidence-based academic writing and professional development.

5. Conclusions and Practical Recommendations

The novelty of this study is its data analysis in two directions, academic and non-academic documents and websites, simultaneously focusing on the innovation of functionality of social protection and evidence-based higher education. Developing academic writing skills for students is an ongoing process throughout tertiary studies. It has changed with the advent of digital technology. The educational fields of study also need to be innovative from this perspective. Social work is a practical profession, studied within socio-human specializations at a tertiary level. Academic writing is not directly included in the curricula of Romanian universities, and there is scarce research on this topic. Its connection with digitalization is a marginalized topic in scientific resources. Considering the definition of “academic writing”, this study recommends disciplines within which students can complete and develop academic writing skills using digital technology. “Professional Deontology” is an obligatory course that could develop academic and professional writing skills at bachelor’s level. Educational institutions must provide specialized and complementary subjects; for example, academic writing skills development can be included in “The Evidence-Based Social Work” course. Examples of complementary subjects that may involve learning digital “academic writing” include “Social Informatics” and “Academic Techniques and Skills”.

This study also considered OA resource classification in the social protection field, classified and measured as laws, reports, and statistical data. Scientific research, academic–non-academic partnerships, and human resources information are lacking on official websites. These should have a good structure, clear communication, and relevant information concerning social protection functionality with evidence-based writing. Visibility and communication on public websites in these domains should be developed. OA and official information resources can create a solid foundation for future research in social work and social protection functionality innovations.

This study has limitations regarding social protection, innovative functionality, and higher education in social work. Websites, documents, and codes were also limited in size. Nonetheless, it has developed a qualitative methodology for professional information exploration on websites that should be applied in the future. Tools derived from Artificial Intelligence (AI) potentially change the scenario of scientific academic writing.