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)

Indexes the literature of sociology and related fields. Includes citations to journal articles, dissertations, books, conference papers, and magazines. Offers abstracts and selected full text.

  Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)

Indexes and abstracts journals in many social science fields. Provides full-text access to selected titles from 1972 to the present.

  ERIC (ProQuest)

Indexes and abstracts education journals, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations and theses, books, and Department of Education research reports. Many ED research reports have full-text links. Coverage goes back to 1966. The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

  Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)

Indexes the literature of social work, human services, and related fields. Includes citations to journal articles and dissertations. Covers 1979-present.

  PsycINFO (ProQuest)

Provides abstracts and indexing to journals, books, book chapters, technical reports and dissertations in all areas of psychology. International in scope; coverage is from 1887 to present.
Practice advanced search features with the interactive PsycINFO Tutorial.

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
  2nd 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

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 is a clear and easy to understand source of information for how to use APA style.  Since it is not an official publication of the APA, check the Publication Manual when in doubt.

Types of Articles Slideshow

Slideshow by Robin Bowles, Nursing & Life Sciences Librarian, Falvey Memorial Library