Sociology Resources

 

INDEXES AND DATABASES

One method for beginning research is to obtain journal articles on your topic. This should be considered a two-step process. The first step consists of finding article citations using indexes such as those listed below. (These are the most useful indexes for Sociology, but remember there may be other good sources, depending on your topic.) Also remember that electronic databases have limitations on their period of coverage. You may need to refer to print indexes as well.

Once you have your article citations, the second step is to find the actual article. Through OhioLink, we may have access to the full-text of the article directly from the electronic index. If this is not the case, you need to search CONSORT for the JOURNAL title and determine if Kenyon owns it and, if so, where it is located. Some journals may be available in both print and electronic format.

SocINDEX
SocINDEX, a comprehensive sociology database, contains abstracts for more than 590 'core' coverage journals dating back to 1895. In addition, this file provides data mined from more than 500 'priority' coverage journals as well as 1,040 'selective' coverage journals.

Social Science Citation Index (1980 - )
[Part of the ISI Citation Indexes]
The Social Sciences Citation Index indexes 1,700 journals spanning 50 disciplines. Perform a general search using subject terms, author, journal title, or author affiliation; or find out who has cited a particular work by doing a Cited Reference Search. Reference lists for each work are included. Updated weekly.

Academic Search Complete (1965- )
Academic Search Complete is a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database designed specifically for academic institutions. This resource contains more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition, Academic Search Complete offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.

Social Sciences Abstracts (1994- )
Indexes and abstracts articles from English-language periodicals published in the United States and elsewhere. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary fields covered in a broad array of social sciences journals.

Sociological Abstracts (1963-2005)
[Also in print at Ref. HM1 .S67 (1952-1963)]
Provides access to journal articles, conference papers, books, & dissertations in sociology and related disciplines in the social & behavioral sciences. Articles are drawn from an international selection of over 2600 journals.

ELECTRONIC JOURNALS

JSTOR
Provides access to the full content of a variety of scholarly journals. Coverage generally begins with volume one of a journal, and ends 2-5 years from the present. Journals may be browsed or searched. Includes the sociology journals listed below, and a wide variety of interdisciplinary journals.

OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (EJC): Social Sciences Journals
The EJC emphasizes current coverage of journals in a variety of subjects. Journals related to Sociology include:

 

REFERENCE SOURCES

These types of resources can be used for a quick overview of a topic. They can also be useful for finding citations to works which can help you further your research.

Encyclopedia of Sociology
[Ref. HM425 .E5 2000]
This five volume encyclopedia covers the major topics in the field of sociology. Each essay also includes a bibliography for further research.

Survey of Social Science. Sociology series
[Ref. HM17 .S86 1994]
This five volume set provides introductory articles on numerous topics in the field of sociology. Articles contain bibliographies to help further your research.


STATISTICS

The U.S. Census Bureau [http://www.census.gov]
Includes data from the 1990 Census, and will be the first source as data from the 2000 Census is analyzed and released. The 1990 Census is available in print in the basement of Chalmers Library, behind the Bound Periodicals. Older editions of the Census are available in the Government Documents collection.

Historical United States Census Data Browser [http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/]
This project of the University of Virginia andthe Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides data from the 1790 Census up to the 1960 Census.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States [Ref HA202. A1]
Issued yearly, the Statistical Abstract concentrates on recent national data, but some tables are broken down by state and over recent historical periods (5-20 years). The current volume is at the Information Desk; volumes from 1878 on are in the Reference collection.

County and City Extra [HA203. C68]
Places, Towns and Townships [Ref HT123. P53 1998]
These two volumes provide data for smaller geographical areas. County and City Extra provides data about all the counties in every state, and metropolitan areas with over 25,000 people. The current edition is at the Information Desk, with older volumes in the main collection. Places, Towns and Townships looks at incorporated places and Census-designated places of all sizes.

Ohio County Profiles [http://www.osuedc.org/profiles/index.php]
From the Ohio State University Extension Data Center, this site features a variety of statistics regarding life in Ohio's different counties. Categories include basic demographics, income, education, unemployment, business, and agriculture.

Ohio State Data Center [http://www.odod.state.oh.us/osr/data.htm]
From the Ohio Department of Development, this site publishes official Ohio economic policy documents and research articles, as well as maps and raw statistics about the Ohio economy and population.

IMAGES AND ARTIFACTS

Sometimes it may be appropriate to consider sociological topics through the "graphic record" of a society. Consider these sources of photographic and artistic evidence:

OhioLINK Digital Media Center
Includes more than 65,000 images, covering art and architecture, historical and archival images, maps of Ohio towns and cities, and more.

AP Photo Archive
The AP Photo Archive contains some 700,000 images featuring state, regional and national photos from North America, as well as the best of the international photo report.

American Memory
The American Memory Historical Collections, sponsored by the Library of Congress' National Digital Library Program, are collections of digitized documents, photographs, audio, and video from the Library of Congress and other research collections nationwide.

National Archives Online Exhibits
Digitized images of documents from the National Archives, from the voting record of the Constitutional Convention through items of folk art sent as gifts to President Clinton.

SELECTED INTERNET SITES

The Social Sciences WWW Virtual Library
This web site serves as a centralized access points for Internet resources in all areas of the social sciences, including sociology. The guide provides access by topic and by discipline.

Sociology
This index from Yahoo is another useful guide to Internet resources on such topics as criminology, demography, urban studies, and many other areas relevant to sociology.

The American Sociological Association
This web site includes links to publicly available data resources on the Internet, along with other materials of interest to sociologists.

 

COURSE RESEARCH GUIDES

 

NEED HELP?

Julia Glynn
Librarian and Technology Consultant
740.427.5834