Sociology 424
Sociological Theory

Professor Smith
Spring 2008

 

Finding Books
Finding Articles

Internet Sociology Resources

Empirical Research
Evaluating Resources
Writing and Citing

 

Finding books in the Library

You may want to start your research with some Reference sources:

I-Share (the library catalog) can also be used to find books on your theory. Try using Subject searching for more efficient results.

Examples of Subject searches:

  • Divorce
  • Feminist theory
  • Acquaintance rape
  • Hate crimes
  • Women--Crimes against
  • Deviant behavior
  • Corporations--Corrupt practices
  • Family--United States
  • Boys--sexual behavior
  • Child abuse--History--Cross-cultural studies
  • Sociology -- methodology
  • Cocaine industry--Latin America
  • Inner cities--United States--Case studies
  • Sex discrimination in employment--United States
  • Sociology, urban -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Culture
  • Education, Urban--Social aspects--United States
  • Children of minorities--Education--United States
  • Mental illness--Etiology--Social aspects
  • Rational choice theory
  • Industrial sociology
  • Durkheim, Emile, 1858-1917
  • Men--Health and hygiene--Sociological aspects

Books at Other Libraries

 

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Finding Articles in Library Databases

Some of the databases below contain both popular and research information. For your assignment, you are being asked to primarily look at articles from scholarly or professional journals, as well as articles from popular press sources. How can you tell the difference? Here are some links to websites with information on how to tell.

These are the primary databases you will use:

    • A general database that contains both scholarly and popular journal sources.
    • Many articles are available in full text.
    • Full text current articles from such sociological journals as Annual Review of Sociology and Social Forces are available.
    • An electronic archives of titles, often going back to the first issue of a journal's existence.
    • JSTOR does not include current issues of journals.
    • Journal issues are all available in full text.
    • Articles are available from American Journal of Sociology (to 2000), Annual Review of Sociology (to 1999), American Sociological Review (to 2002), Administrative Science Quarterly (to 12/01/2001) and Journal of Human Resources (to Fall 2002).
      • Current articles from these jounals can be found in other databases.

  • Sage journals: A collection of approximately 450 peer-reviewed journals in full text, covering such subject areas as business, the humanities, social sciences, and science, technology and medicine

  • Sociological Abstracts (1962-present) 
    • The key print index for sociology.
    • Contains citations from journals in sociology and related disciplines.
    • Shelved alphabetically behind the Bound Periodicals section of the library (downstairs)

Newspapers

.

Does Elmhurst Own This Article?

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Sociology Information on the Internet

 

Recognizing Empirical Research

You are being asked to locate and use articles that are "empirical research". Empirical research uses data derived from actual observation or experimentation.

To determine if an article is an empirical research article, use these guidelines:

  • What is the name of the journal? Popular magazines like Newsweek or Time don’t publish empirical research articles; publications like the Journal of Educational Research or the Journal of Educational Psychology do.
  • How long is the article? An empirical research article is usually substantial, not 1 or 2 pages.
  • Does the article contain references to other works? Serious researchers always cite their sources.
  • Does the abstract of the article contain variations of the words study, measure, subjects, data, survey, or statistical to describe the empirical research?
    (Finding Empirical Research Articles. University of San Francisco Gleeson Library 11/03 http://www.usfca.edu/library/handouts/researcharticles.pdf Retrieved 8/28/06)

Here are some resources that explain what empirical research is.

Reading Reports of Empirical Studies This site contains a step-by-step look at the parts of an emiprical research article.

Finding Empirical Research Articles This is a handout geared towards USF's resources but has a good definition/checklist of guidelines.

Research Methods: Understanding: Empirical Research This is a tutorial aimed at linguistics majors, but has some useful information on the process of empirical research.

Conquering Empirical Research This is a research guide developed by the University Library at Mississippi State UNiversity.

 

Evaluating Resources

No matter what sources you are using, you need to evaluate them. Here are some links to websites with advice on how to do that:

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Writing and Citing Information

For help with writing your outlines and bibliographies, try the Elmhurst College Writing Center online help page.

You can also try these online resources:

A Quick Style Guide for Students Writing Sociology Papers
Formatting in Sociology--ASA Style--OWL at Purdue
ASA Citation Style (UW Parkside)

More links here: Writing and Citing: Sociology ~ sites showing the use of American Sociological Review format

 

If you need any help finding articles or writing, you can also contact the Reference Desk any time the library is open:

Reference: 630-617-3173
Email: ref[at[elmhurst[dot]edu
AIM: elmhrstcollibref   |   Yahoo!Messenger: eclibraryreference   |   MSN Messenger: ref[at]elmhurst.edu

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Web Pages for Courses: Sociology
 Elmhurst College Library Blackboard Login Page
This page was created by Peg Cook, Assistant Reference Librarian,
On March 1st, 2007 and last updated on March 14, 2008