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       Sociology

                         McFarlin Library

This is a selected guide to resources on Sociology in the McFarlin Library collection. It is not a comprehensive list. It is intended to serve as a starting point for your research.

Approaches to Research

For information on how to do research in general, check Constructing a Research Paper.

Bibliographies

A well-organized, carefully selected and annotated bibliography can lead you to the best and most relevant sources on your topic.  The following are available at  McFarlin Library:

Dictionaries/Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias and dictionaries are a good place to start when you need an overview of a subject or when you want a quick summary of basic ideas. They can also be used to  familiarize yourself with the vocabulary of the discipline. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by selected bibliographies or lists of references to other works. The following are available in McFarlin Library:

Dictionaries can help you to define unfamiliar terms as well as specialized usage within the professional literature.

 Finding Articles

Journal articles are important in your research. You should use periodical indexes to identify current journal and newspaper articles published in the professional and scholarly literature on topics relevant to your research project.  Indexes can be subject-specific for in-depth research or can be more general in nature.

Some indexes are in electronic format and others are in print format. All indexes provide a citation, many provide an abstract, and a few provide the full text of the article.  If the article is not available in full text, you must use the Library Catalog to find out if McFarlin Library subscribes to the journal that publishes the article you need.

To find out if McFarlin Library has a specific journal click on the Journals and Online Sources  link on the Libraries' Home Page and choose Journal Portal. Type the journal title in the Search box. If McFarlin subscribes to the journal, note the location and format of the periodical.  Back issues of periodicals might be found as a hard copy, on microfilm, or through an electronic format.   If McFarlin Library does not subscribe to the journal you need, you may request it through interlibrary loan.  

To find articles in sociology, search the following electronic indexes:

Sociological Abstracts  

 Sociological Abstracts contains citations to and abstracts of the world's literature in sociology and related disciplines from over 2,000 journals. Coverage also includes books, dissertations, conference proceedings, and reviews. It includes such fields as communications, counseling, crime, economics, education, philosophy, public policy, political science, religion, social psychology, and welfare.

 

SocINDEX with Full Text  via EBSCOhost

 

SocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. The database features more than 1,660,000 records with subject headings from a 19,300 term sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers. SocINDEX with Full Text contains full text for 344 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895, and 129 "priority" coverage journals. This database also includes full text for more than 700 books and monographs, and full text for 6,800 conference papers.

 

 

Academic Search Elite  via EBSCOhost

Academic Search Elite provides full text for nearly 1,490 academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for over 2,670 journals. Over 1,700 journals are peer reviewed.

To find articles in sociology, search the following print indexes:

 Finding Books

To find books located in McFarlin Library, use the library's online catalog.   In addition to books, the Library Catalog allows you to search for periodicals, government documents, audiovisual material, and Special Collections.

Call number classifications for Sociology are:

Library materials for Sociology are listed on the Library Catalog  under these suggested subject headings:

Broad Terms:

• Sociology
• Social history
• Social sciences
• Social groups
• Sociology, Periodicals

Use the subheadings "Sociological aspects" and "Social conditions" under major subject headings:

Narrow terms:

• Ethnic relations
• Social conflict
• Social indicators
• Dual-career families
• Race relations
• Socialization
• Work groups

Check the Library of Congress Subject Headings for other more specific terms to search on the Library Catalog.

Statistics

For a complete description of resources for Statistics found in McFarlin Library, check out  Statistics.

 Internet Resources

The Internet provides a great amount of information in the sociology field.  Listed below are some of the most well-established collections:

Social Psychology Network

 

Social Psychology Network is the largest social psychology database on the Internet. In these pages, you'll find more than 5,000 links to psychology-related resources.

 

Sociology Links from Yahoo!

 

Perhaps the most comprehensive collection of pointers to sociology resources available. Organized by subject.

Social Science Information Gateway

 

"The Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG) provides easy access to quality information sources over the networks. All of the resources that appear on the Gateway have been described, classified and entered into a searchable database."

American Sociological Association

 

"The American Sociological Association (ASA), founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good. With over 13,200 members, ASA encompasses sociologists who are faculty members at colleges and universities, researchers, practitioners, and students. About 20 percent of the members work in government, business, or non-profit organizations."

Related Sites

For related information in other disciplines, see these McFarlin Library Reference Guides:

Education

Psychology

Tests and Measurements

Citing Sources

For information on style manuals and guides found in McFarlin Library, check out  How to Cite Sources.