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SOCIOLOGY

"Sociology is the study of social interaction, social groups, institutions, and social structure. Sociologists examine the contexts of human action, including systems of beliefs and values, patterns of social relations, and the processes whereby social institutions are created, maintained, and transformed." (UCSC General Catalog, 2006/08).

This guide is designed to help you begin the library research process in sociology. If you need additional assistance, please stop by the Reference Desk in McHenry Library.

Selecting a Topic || Methodology || Writing a Reseach Paper || Finding Articles || Finding Books || Sociology Internet Resources

SELECTING A TOPIC

Taking a few minutes to read about your topic in a specialized encyclopedia, dictionary or handbook may be one of the most effective and time saving research tips in this guide. These tools can help you define unfamiliar terms, understand the parameters of current debate in a particular area and provide you with preliminary bibliography on the subject.

The following are located on the Reference shelves behind the McHenry Reference Desk area. If you would like learn more about research and online resources stop by the Reference Desk, or see How to ... do Research in the Library.

Int'l Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences REF H41.I58 2001
Encyclopedia of Sociology. REF HM17.E5 2000 vols 1-5

International Encyclopedia of Sociology.

REF HM17.I54 1995
Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology. REF JA76.B58 2001
Blackwell Companion to Social Theory. REF H61.B4773 2000
Blackwell Companion to Sociology. REF HM 585.B53 2001

Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion.

REF BL60.B53 2001
Blackwell Companion to Social Inequalities. REF HM821.B55 2005
Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. REF HM881.B53 2004

Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought.

REF H41.B53 2003
A Dictionary of Sociology. REF HM17.C66 2005

The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology.

 REF HM17.A23 2006
Collins Web-linked Dictionary of Sociology. REF HM425.C66 2006

Dictionary of Sociology.

 REF HM425.L39 2001
Handbook of Sociological Theory. REF HM585.H36 2001
Sociology Basics. REF HM425.S63 2000

METHODOLOGY

You will probably be asked to select an appropriate method for designing and conducting research in sociology. The following is a sample of books related to issues and methods of social inquiry.

Basics of Social Research. (Babbie) REF H62 B18 2005
How It's Done: An Invitation to Social Research. REF HM48.A38 2003

The Student's Companion to Sociology.

REF HM 51.S925 1997

WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER IN SOCIOLOGY

The Sociology Student Writer's Manual.

 REF HM73.S637 2006
A guide to writing sociology papers. REF HM73.G78 2001

Proper citation for footnotes, reference lists and bibliographies.

Check the following "How to ..." guides:

FINDING ARTICLES
(Use the Library's Off-Campus Access service to access our databases and journals from home.)

A key part of your research is finding current articles in scholarly journals that are related to your topic. This research helps you to locate the current debate in an area and also to refine your research question by understanding what research has been done and what questions are open for new research. Take a look at the Library's How to find ... Journal Articles page for an overview. The following databases are particularly useful in locating research relevant to Sociology:

FINDING BOOKS

CRUZCAT is UCSC's local online library catalog. It includes materials at the McHenry and the Science and Engineering Libraries and allows you to locate books, periodicals, government publications, maps, music scores, films and more. CRUZCAT also provides status information, e.g. if the material is checked out. It does not, however, index journal contents or include the full text of articles.

Melvyl® is the catalog for all nine campus libraries of the University of California. Check here for title of books and journals that UCSC does not own. The "Request" feature allows you to borrow materials.

Subject Headings

The subject headings on each CRUZCAT and Melvyl record are linked to other titles in the catalog with the same subject headings.

Where is it in the Library?

See the How to ... Use Call Numbers guide.

SOCIOLOGY RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET

It would be impossible to list all of the internet resources related to sociology which fall into a number of different categories, e.g. gateways to resources, websites devoted to particular topics, theorists, associations, listservs and chatrooms. Other sites provide access to a number of data archive sets and statistical or polling information. Below is a very short listing of gateways as well as a link to the American Sociological Association.

WARNING:

Be critical when searching the web for valid research links. While there is valuable information to be gleaned from the Web; there are also many pitfalls such as dead links, unsubstantiated research, outdated statistical information, etc. See How to ... Evaluate Information on the Web.

Gateways

Socioweb: Your independent guide to sociological sources on the internet (http://www.socioweb.com/~markbl/socioweb/)

WWW Virtual Library: Sociology (http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/w3virtsoclib/)

Julian Dierkes' Sociology Links at Princeton (http://www.sociolog.com)

Professional Association.

American Sociological Association (http://www.asanet.org)

For assistance in evaluating your research needs check with Reference Desk in McHenry Library which is open Monday-Thursday 9am-9pm; Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday and Sundays 1-5pm. Schedules vary during intercession.


Page Created by: Cheryl Gomez, Selector in Sociology, cherylg@ucsc.edu

Contact Annette Marines (amarines[@]ucsc.edu). Last updated October 2006.

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