Applied Research in Sociology

Finding Articles

The databases below are the top resources for finding scholarly, peer-reviewed literature in sociology.

 Key Sociology Databases

  Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest)

Covers sociological topics in fields such as anthropology, economics, education, medicine, community development, philosophy, demography, political science, and social psychology. Journals published by sociological associations, groups, faculties and institutes, and periodicals containing the term "sociology" in their titles are abstracted fully.

  Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)

Index to international, English language journals in psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, economics, political science and law.

  ERIC (ProQuest)

The ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related literature. It indexes both journal articles and reports from government and private agencies.

  Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)

ProQuest Social Services Abstracts provides bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,600 serials publications and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews.

  PsycINFO 1872-current (ProQuest)

Indexes journals, dissertations and some books in the fields of personality psychology, social psychology, educational psychology and more.

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Writing a Literature Review

• Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  3rd floor, Falvey Library: H61.8 .G3 1999
• The Sociology Student Writer's Manual
  3rd edition, 2002
  1st floor, Falvey Library, Reference Stacks: REF HM585 .S638 2002
  See pp. 188-193 on literature reviews.
• Preparing Literature Reviews: Qualitative and Quanitative Approaches
  4th floor, Falvey Library
  3rd edition, 2008: Q180.55.E9 P36 2008
  2nd edition, 2004: Q180.55.E9 P36 2004
• The Academic Writer's Toolkit: A User's Manual
  3rd floor, Falvey Library: PE1408 .B477 2008

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Citing Your Sources in APA Style

Even though you have been using APA style for the past 4 years, you may be full of dread at the thought of writing your reference list.  The library is here to help!

Whether writing your reference list by hand or proofreading a Refworks bibliography, you will definitely need to have the APA rules on hand.  Check out the resources below:

• If you need to see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association-the official authority on all things APA-stop by the Information Desk to browse a copy.

• If you find the Publication Manual confusing or scary (or both), try the APA Online Tutorial.  This video guide is clear and easy to watch.  It gives a thorough overview of how to format your paper and cite your sources.

• For those trickier scenarios (how do I cite my class notes?  how do I cite a blog post?), try searching the APA Style Blog.  This is another official APA site, so it is an authoritative source.

• The Purdue OWL and Research & Documentation Online are clear and easy to understand sources of information for how to use APA style.  Since they are not official publications of the APA, check the Publication Manual when in doubt.