Introduction to Sociology Research Guide

Scholarly journal articles

What is a scholarly journal article?

A scholarly journal article is a lengthy journal article based on primary research or original theoretical speculation and published in what is often referred to as a peer-reviewed journal. Most scholarly journal articles in the social sciences include the following elements:

Author name and affiliation
Abstract
Introduction & literature review
Data & measurement
Analysis & results
Conclusion
Bibliography

For a more detailed description of the differences between scholarly journals and popular magazines click here.
Below is an image of part of the first page of a scholarly article:
[Renzulli, L. A., & Evans, L. (2005). School choice, charter schools, and white flight. Social Problems, 52(3), 398-418. ]

You can find a detailed description of the peer-review process on Wikipedia.

Library resources that index and link to scholarly journal articles

Here is a selection of databases that will help you find peer-reviewed articles. Contact me for further suggestions.

• Sociological Abstracts
  Covers scholarly journals in the field of sociology.
• Social Services Abstracts
  Covers current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas.
• ERIC
  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.
• Academic OneFile
  Covers journals and magazines in the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.
• Criminal Justice Abstracts
  Covers crime trends, crime prevention and deterrence, juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, police, courts and sentencing.

Why not Google?

Why not? Here are some arguments in favor of scholarly journal indexes:

Timeliness: Google favors older publications, which is a problem in the social sciences.
Full text availability: Links to the full text will not work when you are off campus and Google will not link you to interlibrary loan forms or print holdings.
Quality: Google does not limit to peer-reviewed journals
Quantity: Too much to sort through!

Helpful tips and suggestions

Tip #1:  Your gateway to the full text of journal articles.

Full text online:  Links to the full text online are listed first, if the Library has access.
Holdings information:  Click on the link to the Library's catalog to find out whether the Library has a print subscription.
ILL:  Submit an interlibrary loan request and you will get a digital version of the article via e-mail. This can take 1-2 weeks.

Tip #2:  Search multiple databases simultaneously.

This works for all the databases listed above with the exception of Academic OneFile.  Click on the Specific Databases link below the search box after you logged into Sociological Abstracts or any of the other databases. You will be prompted to select from a list of databases. Select the databases that you would like to include into your search and click on Continue to Search. The search screen will identify your selections under Now selected.

Tip #3:  Export references in APA style for your cited reference list.

Check off all articles in which you are interested and click on Save, Print, Email. The QuickBib feature has a selection of styles available from which you can choose. APA is the most widely used style in the social sciences.

Basic research: quick overview and important background information

The Library has a large number of subject specific online encyclopedias with up-to-date articles on your paper topic. They will lead you to exhaustive and well-researched articles that are written and signed by scholars.

• Sage Reference Online
  Search or browse specific encyclopedias such as the Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology or the Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice or the whole collection of online encyclopedias by Sage.
• Encyclopedia of Sociology
• Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice

Here is a link to a 2008 article on school choice from 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook. Notice the long and detailed bibliography that could jump start your research.

Books

• The Library's online catalog

keyword search:  "charter schools" AND statistics
subject search:  "charter schools" AND "case studies"

• WorldCat
  A catalog of library holdings worldwide. WorldCat will indicate any local library holdings and also offers an inter-library loan request option.
• E-Z Borrow and Interlibrary Loan
  Interlibrary loan is available for books and journals that are not owned by Falvey. EZ-Borrow is usually faster than interlibrary loan, since the books come from a local library network. EZ-Borrow can be used for books that the Library owns, but that are currently checked out by somebody else.

Citing your sources

• Documenting Source in APA Style:
  Research and Documentation Online by Diana Hacker.
• Refworks
  Never type a bibliography again! RefWorks will help you easily gather, manage, and store bibliographic citations for all types of information, as well as generate footnotes and bibliographies.

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