| |
Library Liaison
Gwen Verkuilen
Contents
Introduction
Select Reference Resources
Find Journal Articles
Find Books
Selected Websites
How to Cite Your Sources
Course Guides
SO 228 – Sociology of Health
and Illness
SO 255 – Social Welfare:
Poverty and Public
Policy
SO 333 – Sociology of Genocide
Department Website
Sociology Department
Sociology Department
Homepage
|
|
The Sociology Subject Guide is intended to provide an introduction to sociology research resources. If you need in-depth assistance or if you have questions about any of the resources or services mentioned in the guide please contact the Sociology Liaison Librarian.
Other guides that may be of interest to those studying sociology include:
Current Events
Ethnic Studies
Gender Studies
Government Publications
Statistics
Electronic Reference Databases
Use the following electronic reference databases instead of wikipedia; these resources are full of quality information and are as easy to use as wikipedia.
The following resources are restricted to the Saint Anselm College community.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)
Oxford Reference Online (ORO)
Credo Reference
Individual Reference Titles
Sociology (General)
21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Dictionary of Sociology
Oxford Reference Online
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
Oxford Reference Online
Encyclopedia of Sociology
Ref HM425.E5
Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Encyclopedia of Social Theory
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory
Ref HM511 .C77
Social History
Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice
Ref HM671 .E53 (3 vols.)
Encyclopedia of American Social History
Ref HN57 .E58 (3 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America
Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000
Ref HN373 .E63
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements
Ref HN57 .E594
Special Topics
Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia
Ref LC189.95 .E38
Encyclopedia of Aging
Ref HQ1061 .E53
Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents and the Media
Gale Virtual Reference Center
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
Nursing Resource Center
Encyclopedia of Gender and Society
Gale Virtual Reference Center
Encyclopedia of Homelessness
Ref HV4493 .E53
Encyclopedia of Urban America: The Cities and Suburbs
Credo Reference
Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict
Credo Reference
Encyclopedia of Women and Gender
Credo Reference
Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences
Ref HQ1061 .H336
Handbook of Environmental Sociology
Credo Reference
International Encyclopedia of Adolescence
Ref HQ796 .I58
International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family
Gale Virtual Reference Center
International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities
Ref HQ1090 .I58
Research Methods
Encyclopedia of Measurement & Statistics
Ref HA29 .S2363
Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods
Gale Virtual Reference Center
SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research
Ref H62 .H2455
Survey Kit
Ref HN29 .S724
Return to top
The following resources are restricted to the Saint Anselm College community.
Search the following databases to locate journal articles in the field of sociology. Many of the databases will require you to use WebBridge to locate the full text of an article. To learn how to use WebBridge, please watch our video tutorial (3.5 mins; includes audio).
If you would like to browse Geisel Library's collection of sociology related print and electronic full text journals go to Journal Finder's Social Sciences Journals listing and scroll down until you see the heading for Sociology.
Core Sociology Databases
SocINDEX
SocINDEX, the core sociology database on campus, indexes over 590 academic journals, monographs, and conference papers related to the field of sociology. With thousands of full-text articles available, SocINDEX is an essential tool for researching how your topic has been examined by sociologists.
Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier indexes articles from a wide range of disciplines including the social sciences, humanities, and the hard sciences such as chemistry or biology. This is a good resource with which to begin your research, especially on a topic that is inter-disciplinary.
JSTOR
Search here for full-text articles from major journals in the humanities and social sciences, including Annual Review of Sociology, American Journal of Sociology, and the Sociological Quarterly. Coverage is generally from the beginning of publication to within 5 years of the current issue.
PsycINFO / PsycARTICLES
Even though their primary use is for psychology research, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES do index a number of journals in the field of sociology. Depending on your topic, it can be helpful and at times necessary to see how the field of psychology is researching your topic.
Sage Journals Online
To search all journals available through our subscription package limit your search to "SAGE Content Available to Me." To see a list of available journal titles, click the Browse tab and select "SAGE Content Available to Me."
Special Topic Databases
Below is a list of popular sociology related databases, depending on your topic you may need to consult other subject specific databases. For assistance in choosing a database feel free to contact the sociology liaison librarian or view our article databases page.
Alternative Press Index (API) / Alternative Press Index Archive
Use API to locate articles on social, cultural, or political movements that exist outside the mainstream; you will need to use WebBridge to locate the article in full text.
Communication and Mass Media Complete (CMMC)
Use CMMC to research the role that media plays in society.
Contemporary Women's Issues on Health and Human Rights (CWI)
Use CWI to locate articles on women and the role that gender and sexuality plays in society; you will need to use WebBridge to locate the full text.
Criminal Justice Abstracts
Use Criminal Justice Abstracts to locate research on various aspects of criminology; you will need to use WebBridge to locate articles in full text.
ERIC
Use ERIC to locate articles that focus on the topic of education.
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA)
Use WPSA to research topics relating to political science including public and social policy on the domestic and international levels; you will need to use WebBridge to locate articles in full text.
Return to top
Geisel Library Catalog
Search the library catalog to locate books in Geisel Library. Most sociology books are located on the Upper Level of the library in the H through HX sections.
To see what new sociology titles have been added to Geisel Library's collection go to the New Materials webpage and click on the link for Sociology & Psychology titles. Acquisitions for the most recent month are listed at the top of the page; to view previous acquisitions click on the months at the bottom of the page.
WorldCat
If you have searched the Geisel Library Catalog but could not locate a book on your topic try searching WorldCat, a database that allows you to search the collections of libraries throughout the United States. When you locate a title of interest, click on the ILL icon in the book's catalog record to request the item through interlibrary loan. Your book(s) will be available for pickup in the library within 7–14 days. For assistance in using this database please Ask a Librarian.
Ebrary
This library of thousands of e-books spans across all scholarly disciplines. Books can either be opened in QuickView for instant viewing or in the ebrary Reader (a downloadable plug-in), which provides enhanced functionality such as the ability to copy/paste, highlight, or take notes in a particular book.
Access restricted to the Saint Anselm College community.
Return to top
Searching the World Wide Web can yield a vast amount of information, but in terms of quality and reliability, your results may be uneven at best. The ease and speed with which individuals can publish information on the web, regardless of accuracy or quality makes it imperative that you know how to evaluate the information you find on the Internet. To learn more, see Judging What You Find.
One word of caution: never purchase an article found on the Internet, always check with a Reference Librarian to see if the article can be located in Geisel Library's print or electronic collection or through Interlibrary Loan.
Web Portals
Use the following web portals to locate sociological information on the Internet. Content will vary in terms of scope and content.
Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods
Gene Shackman P.H.D., hosted by the International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication
This site links to free online books, manuals, and articles on how to do social research, including surveys, interviews, and observations.
Global Social Change Research Project
Gene Shackman P.H.D., hosted by the International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication
Use this site to access World Social Change reports as well as reports about long term changes in political, economic, and social systems.
Research Resources for the Social Sciences
Craig McKie, of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
Use this website to search for Internet resources by sociological topic including: demographics, economics, women's studies, and more.
SocioSite
Social Science Information System at the University of Amsterdam
This website is unique for its international scope and for its Subject Areas link which directs you to resources on fairly specialized subject categories such as Activism, Men's Issues, and Sport.
Statistics Resources
The following websites are only a sampling of the statistical resources you may want to consult when searching for statistical information. In addition to the web sites listed below make sure to consult the Statistics Research Help page and the Government Publications Research Help page.
American FactFinder
Through American FactFinder you can pull up U.S. census data on various geographic regions including state, county, city, or census tract as well as industry and economic reports. If you need historical census data try Historical Statistics of the United States.
DataFinder: Population Reference Bureau
Through DataFinder you can create a statistical profile according to a specific country or region with variables of your choice. Data comparison reports can also be created and downloaded into Excel.
FedStats
FedStats is a gateway to statistical information published by over 100 agencies, sub-agencies, and quasi-government agencies of the U.S. federal government; search the website by subject, geographic region, or government agency.
NationMaster.com
NationMaster.com gathers statistics from a variety of statistical sources such as the CIA World Factbook, the United Nations, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presenting them in an easy-to-use graphical format.
OFFSTATS
University of Aukland Library
Use this website to locate official statistical resources for countries on the web. You can browse for statistics by country, region, or topic.
UNData
The United Nations has a wealth of statistical information available on its website, nearly all of it being available for free on the Internet. Statistics can be located by keyword or by browsing specific UN databases or country profiles.
UNICEF Statistics Page
Use the Customized Statistical Tables feature on UNICEF's website to generate downloadable tables of country-level data on a variety of social and economic indicators; available statistics have a particular focus on children's issues such as education, malnourishment, and immunization.
World Development Indicators Online (WDIO)
WDIO contains country-by-country time series data on over 600 development indicators, including variables related to health, education, trade, the economy, and the environment. The step-by-step data selection procedure enables easy creation and download of data tables for analysis.
Access restricted to the Saint Anselm College community.
Think Tanks/Research Foundations/Advocacy Groups
Research Report Aggregators
Use the following websites to locate electronically published research written by various think tanks, policy institutions, non-governmental organizations, non-for-profits, and research foundations. All of the websites are searchable by keyword or browsable by subject area or research institution.
IssueLab
Policy Archive
Center for Governmental Studies and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Library
Policy Library
Directories
Use the following resources to locate research organizations that may be producing research on your topic or in your subject area.
GuideStar
Directory of non-for-profit organizations
Internet Crossroads in the Social Sciences
Data and Program Library Service (DPLS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
World Directory of Think Tanks
National Institute for Research Advancement
PolicyExperts
Heritage Foundation
Think Tank Directory
Project VoteSmart
Think Tanks Directory
Harvard University-John F. Kennedy School of Government
Washington Information Directory
Congressional Quarterly
F192.3 .W33 Ready Reference (ask at the reference desk)
Public Opinion & Survey Resources
Gallup Brain
Use Gallup Brain to access "125,000 questions and responses from more than 3.5 million people interview by The Gallup Poll since 1935." Gallup Brain supplements other Gallup publications owned or made accessible by Geisel Library.
Access restricted to Saint Anselm College community.
General Social Survey (GSS)
Developed by the National Opinion Research Center in 1972 to monitor social change in America, the GSS allows researchers to analyze change in U.S. societal opinions over time. Variables are searchable by keyword or by browsing through its alphabetic list of subjects.
International Social Survey (ISS)
The ISS bridges the U.S. focused GSS with similar surveys conducted by governments and research firms in the international community. Click on the archive and data link to access the ISS.
LexisNexis
Use LexisNexis to locate surveys and polls published in newspapers and magazines. To do so: Click on the "+" next to "Hide options..."; Select "Subject" from "Section" drop-down; Type "polls" into "terms" box; Click "Add to Search."
Access restricted to Saint Anselm College community.
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center conducts and publishes surveys and social science research in a number of areas including: media, politics, demographics, culture, and societal attitudes. To view their research, search the site by topic or publication name.
Professional Associations
The following list of associations is only a sampling of the international, national, and regional professional associations that exist to support sociologists. Only those associations that have a wealth of information on their websites have been included in this list. Other sociology related professional associations exist; contact the Sociology Liaison Librarian if you are having trouble locating a professional association in your subject or geographic area.
American Sociological Association
International Sociological Association
National Association of Social Workers
New England Sociological Association
Society for the Study of Social Problems
Return to top
Sociology researchers tend to use the ASA (American Sociology Association) citation format. Always check with your professor for the required citation style.
If you need to consult the ASA Style Guide while in the library stop at the reference desk and ask for call number: Ready Ref HM569 .A54.
Return to top
|
|
