SOC 400
RESEARCH PRACTICUM

FALL 2005

http://library.syr.edu/research/internet/sociology/soc400fall2005.html

Bonnie Ryan
Rm. 210 Bird Library
bcryan@syr.edu
315-443-4674

List of Library Subject Specialists

---

Catalog – This is what you use to find out if the Library owns a particular book, journal, video or other type of media.  You can search by keyword, author (last name first), title, or subject heading.  Remember to use your subject headings to find more relevant resources on a topic.
The following list provides some relevant subject headings for sociology related topics:
                            Sociology                                                    Community   
                            Degeneration                                              Educational sociology
                            Community                                                 Equality
                            Exchange theory                                        Historical sociology
                            Marginality, Social                                     Social conflict
                            Social contract                                            Social institutions
                            Social systems                                           Social structure
                            Organizational sociology                          Mass society
                            Population                                                  Ethnic relations
                            Race relations                                            Socialization
                            Social capital (sociology)                         Sociology - Statistical Methods
                            Methodology                                               Experimental design
                            Research                                                     Experiential research
                            Quanitative research
                           
Core Print Resources
Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology   HM425.J64 2000  Reference
Encyclopedia of Sociology    HM425.E5 2000 v. 1-5  Reference
Survey of Social Science   HM17.S86 1994  v. 1-5   Reference
Developing Effective Research Proposals   H62. P92 2000   Reference
Sociology: A Guide to Reference and Information Resources   HM51. A25 1997   Reference
Handbook of Research Methods   H62.S67 1995   Reference
International Encyclopedia of Sociology  HM17.I53  Reference
Dictionary of the Social Sciences  H42.D53 2002   Reference

Databases – These are electronic indexes that you can search to locate journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and conference or proceeding papers.  Some databases provide full text access; others only provide you with the citation.  The Library owns over 300 databases.  Some are very subject specific (e.g. Sociological Abstracts, America: History and Life); others are interdisciplinary (e.g. Expanded Academic, Wilson Select).  To access any of the databases from off campus, you will be prompted for a user name and password.  Your user nameis your ten digit ID # (make sure that you use all ten digits) and your password is your last name in lower-case letters.  For additional assistance with this, please go to the instructions for remote access.

Recommended Databases

Sociological Abstracts - This is the premier sociology databases with records covering sociology, social work, and other social sciences from 3,000 journals. Covers 1963 to the present; updated six times per year.

                 Search tips:
                 Boolean search operators - AND, OR, NOT
                 AND retrieves only records that contain all search terms.  Use this to narrow or limit a search.
                        e.g.  gender AND technology
                 OR retrieves all records that contain one or both of the search terms.  Use this operator to
                     expand a search.
                         e.g.  population OR globalization
                 NOT eliminates records that include a search term or group of search terms.  Use this operator
                         carefully to limit a search, as you may unintentionally eliminate relevant records.                   
                         e.g. women NOT gender

                 Plurals - use + to search for a word and its plural form
                         e.g.  experiment+    searches for experiment and/or experiments

                 Truncation - use * (asterisk) to search for a term and its variations
                         e.g.  comput*   searches for computer, computers, computing

                  Wildcards -  use ? alone or with a number to represent additional characters.  Helpful when
                       unsure of spelling or different spelling variations
                         e.g.  colo?1r   searches for color, colour

Web of Science - Citation index to 8700 authoritative, high impact journals, including 200 open access journals, covered by Science Citation Index ExpandedTM, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Backfile data to 1995.

Associations Unlimited - Contains information for approximately 439,000 U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields, including IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations.

GenderWatch - Full text publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas.

CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher - An encyclopedia addressing public policy issues. Over 44 reports are released each year, covering legislative action in areas ranging from social and teen issues to environment, health and nutrition, education, international affairs, economics and science and technology. Each report focuses on a single topic and features concise background discussion and chronologies, overviews of the current situation, pro and con commentary, as well as online links to relevant organizations, and a lengthy bibliography of related books and articles. Covers 1991-present.

JSTOR - Full text archive of scholarly publications in mathematics, science, and the social sciences.

Medline Plus - From the National Library of Medicine, this freely available resource provides authoritative health information geared to both health professionals and consumers.

PAIS International - Provides indexing and abstracting of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs.

Expanded Academic - Full text articles and images from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. Spans all academic disciplines from arts and humanities to social sciences, science, and technology.

Locating Journal Articles
1.    Go to the Database Main Menu to locate a relevant database.  You can choose a database by using the general subject categories of Social Sciences, Humanities, Science & Technology, Newspapers, etc. or you can choose an interdisciplinary database.  Remember, some of the databases offer full text of the articles online, but others you will need to locate the journal article either through one of the e-journal packages or in print. 

2.     If the database is not full text, write down the full citation of the article that you want.  Full citations include:  author’s name, journal name, title of article, dates, volume & issue # (if available) and page numbers.

        Example:  Morris-Roberts, Kathryn. 2001. “Intervening in Friendship Exclusion? The Politics of Doing                 Feminist  Research with Teenage Girls.”  Ethics, Place and Environment 4.2 :147-153.

3.    With this information go to the Full Text Journal Locator (you can access this through the E-Journals link on the  Library webpage) to see if we have the article available full text through another database.  If we do, use an advanced search in the database to locate the article.

4.     If the article is not available full text online, go to the Summit online catalog, to find a call # for the journal that you are looking for.  Using the call # and the article citation, go to the relevant floor and locate it. However, current issues (from the last year) are kept on the 2nd floor in the Current Periodicals area.

5.  If the Library does not own the journal that you need, you can request it through interlibrary loan (ILLiad). This is a free service that you can use as often as you like.  Generally, you can borrow a book for 4-6 weeks and a journal article is photocopied and yours to keep.  Please note:  It can take 7-14 days to receive materials through Interlibrary Loan.

---

Map & Statistical Sources

Library Sources

Statistical Information from the Library's Web site
Library's Databases on Statistics
Statistical Resources in Education
Library's Numeric Data Resources
SU Library's Maps and Government Information - Maps Resources
Global Development Finance Online - World Bank -- Statistical data for the 135 countries that report public and publicly-guaranteed debt to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System.

Individual Websites with Statistical Information

National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics - The Nation's Report Card
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Individual Websites with Map Information

NOAA's National Weather Service
MapStats
Maps in U.S. Census Bureau's American Factfinder site

For further help with these data sources contact:

Paul Bern Numeric Data Services Librarian 555 Bird Library 443-1352 phbern@syr.edu

John Olson Maps/GIS Librarian 358 Bird Library 443-4818 jaolson@syr.edu

---

Searching the Web

Evaluating Internet Sources
Here are some criteria you should consider when reviewing any website:

Authority * Is the article signed? * Who is the author? * What are the author's credentials? * With which institution(s) are they affiliated? * Is the publication scholarly or popular? Are there footnotes?A bibliography?	Objectivity * Who is the audience? * What is the purpose of this site? * Does the author state the goals for this web page? * Does the site inform, educate, persuade or act as a soapbox? * If the author is affiliated with an institution, does this affiliation bias the information presented?
Accuracy * Is the web site well organized? * Has the author used good grammar? Are there spelling errors? * Are the graphics appropriate for the content? * Is the information complete and accurate?	Currency *When was the web site created? If it has been updated, is there a revision date? * Do the links work? * Is the page maintained regularly?

Examples of Websites

News Sources

NPR
CNN
Fox News
Black Press News U.S.A.

Other Web Sources

Brookings Institute
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
Red Cross
NCCP - National Center for Children in Poverty

---

For Your Information
To make Copies - 1st Floor, where you can purchase a VendaCard.  You will need one of these to print out or photocopy materials in the library.  There are copiers usable with a vendacard, on floors 2-4 of Bird Library. There are two copiers in the extended use area outside of the Library on the first floor that are coin-operated, but the copies are .15 with coins, rather than .08 with the card. You cannot take periodicals outside to the extended use area to copy.

Reserves –1st floor at Circulation desk; be sure to have your call number first before going to get the material at the Reserves desk.

Media Services – Lower level – access to Microsoft Word and other graphics-type of software (Adobe products, etc.).  Also, video collection and microforms.

Current Periodicals - 2nd floor - Journals, magazines and newspapers from the last 6-12 months are shelved here in alphabetical order.

Style Guides
Citation Style Guides - This page links to various style manuals available online: A.P.A. (American Psychological Association), M.L.A. (Modern Language Association), Turabian, and general guides.
Dr. Abel Scribe's Ph.D
American Sociological Association style guide