Professor Michael Dupre
Spring 2006
The following guide is intended to intended to provide an overview of some of the resources available in the library and online for the study and research of social stratification issues. For further assistance, please take advantage of the reference
services available to you in Geisel Library. Stop by the Reference Desk or contact us online at Ask A Librarian.
Reference books are shelved by Library of Congress call number in the
reference stacks near the reference desk. They may not be checked out, but photocopiers are available
on the lower level of the library. Link to useful reference titles.
The library catalog is an excellent resource for finding
book chapters, government documents and background information on your topic. Link to useful subject headings.
A database called WorldCat will give you access to even more book materials. In fact, it comprises all the books cataloged by all the libraries in all the world! Borrowing materials via Interlibrary Loan is a very easy process when using WorldCat. Ask for assistance at the Reference desk if needed.
The following indexes and databases will enable you to access additional journal readings in the field of social stratification.
When searching these databases, use key phrases such as:
(affirmative action or discrimination) and college and athlet* and coach*
(poverty or poor) and global*
(digital divide or computer literacy or information poor) and public librar*
academic achievement and (class or social status)
Please note: an asterisk (*) is a commonly used symbol in most databases. Used at the end of a word stem, it provides for all variants on the word stem. (e.g. ethic* retrieves ethic, ethics, ethical)
See Search Strategy Work Form to formulate your own search strategy.
:
SocINDEX
This sociology database provides full-text articles from journals, books, monographs, and conference papers. Coverage is of all subdisciplines of sociology, including criminal justice, ethnic and racial studies, gender studies, social psychology, urban studies, and more. (Coverage varies with publication; with some, it goes back to 1895.)
:
Academic Search Premier
A broad index providing abstracts and some full-text articles for a range of academic areas, including stratification issues.
Alternative Press Index
"Indexes journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change." (1991 - present)
Contemporary Women's Issues
If your research covers gender issues, this will be a helpful source of information.
ERIC
For research pertaining to all aspects of education including stratification issues about college students.
JSTOR
Use this to find articles in selected scholarly sociology journals (American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Contemporary Sociology, Public Opinion Quarterly, etc.) written prior to about the last five years. JSTOR is an archive of back issues of selected journals.
LexisNexis Academic Universe
To locate newspapers articles that report stories on social inequity issues.
PsycINFO
If your research relates to the field of psychology, this is an important database.
Google Scholar
In November 2004 Google introduced Google Scholar, a search engine to locate scholarly literature. Materials found in Google Scholar include "peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations" (About Google Scholar, 2006). Some, but not all, of the content in Google Scholar is available in full text. Google Scholar is a good starting point for research, but it is not considered comprehensive for scholarly content. For the most thorough search of a topic, consult subject-specific indexes (CJ Abstracts, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, etc.).
Social Stratification
This is a bibliography of key readings, provided by Chris Swanson's Society for Social Research (SSR).
Sociological Tour through Cyberspace
A well-organized outline of useful links, sometimes with accompanying commentary by the author, Michael C. Kearl, sociology professor at Trinity University in Texas. Check out the Social Inequality,
Gender & Society, and Race & Ethnicity links.
Yahoo – Sociology: Social Class and Stratification
From the Yahoo! Directory. Categories include Digital Divide’ and ‘Income Inequality’. In addition, there are 19 site listings.
Compiled by: Nancy "Sam" Urtz
