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Subject Research Guides

Sociology Research Guide

An Introduction to Library Research Strategy

LOCATING BACKGROUND INFORMATION

When beginning your research, it is often helpful to consult Reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories and handbooks. These may provide background information on your topic, ideas on how to narrow down or focus your topic, books and articles to consult for further information, and for current issues of debate or controversy. Below is a list of just a few books in the area of sociology owned by Ryan Library. They are located in the Reference Room on the first floor unless otherwise noted. A few are kept on Reserve and must be requested at the Circulation Desk in the Lobby.

We also have books on different demographic groups (e.g. Blacks, Women, Children), on topics of social significance (e.g. Abortion, Poverty) and in fields closely related to sociology such as psychology, social work, economics, political science, statistics and public opinion polls. For more information, see the rest of this research guide.

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EXAMPLES OF REFERENCE ROOM AND OTHER MATERIALS:
 (Books with call numbers beginning with "R" are kept in the Reference Room unless otherwise noted)

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Encyclopedia of sociology. Toronto; New York: Collier Macmillan Canada; Maxwell Macmillan International, 1991.
4 v. (xlvii, 2359 p.). Editors: Marie L. Borgatta and Edgar F. Borgatta.
CALL NO.: R 301.03 E 561

Encyclopedia of sociology. Guilford, Conn: Dushkin Pub. Group, <1973, c1974>. vi, 330 p.
CALL NO.: R 301.03 E 56

International encyclopedia of the social sciences. <New York>: Macmillan, <1968>-c1979.
Library has: volumes 1-19.
Edited by: David L. Sills.
CALL NO.: R 303 I 61

The Social science encyclopedia. 2nd ed. London ; New York : Routledge, 1996.
CALL No.: R 300.3 S 678

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STYLE MANUALS

(These books help you format the bibliography or list of "Works Cited" at the end of your term paper, as well as references within the paper)

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association.
Washington, DC: The Association.
This book contains the APA format for bibliographies and notes for a term paper or other publication.
CALL NO. R 150.03 A 51 (RYAN RESERVE - ASK AT MAIN DESK. ALSO
ARRIGONI LIBRARY RESERVE)

Amato, Carol J. (1995). The world's easiest guide to using the APA. Westminster Calif. : Stargazer Publishing.
CALL NO. R 150.03 A 51w (RYAN RESERVE - ASK AT MAIN DESK.)

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DICTIONARIES

Boudon, Raymond, and Francois Bourricaud. A critical dictionary of sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1989. xiii, 438 p. Translation of: Dictionnaire critique de la sociologie.
CALL NO.: R 301.03 B 756

A new dictionary of the social sciences. New York : Aldine Pub. Co., 1979.
CALL NO.: R 300.3 N 532

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BIOGRAPHY

Deegan, Mary Jo. Women in sociology : a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
xv, 468 p. Includes indexes.
CALL NO.: 016.301 D 311 (Third Floor, South Wing)

The Founding fathers of social science : a series from New society. Rev. ed. / by Paul Barker. London : Scolar Press,
1979.
CALL NO.: 301.092 F 771 (Third Floor, West Wing)

International encyclopedia of the social sciences. Vol. 18 Biographical Supplement. New York: Macmillan, c1979.
CALL NO.: R 303 I 61

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HANDBOOKS

Fritz, Jan M. The clinical sociology handbook. New York: Garland, 1985. xix, 292 p. Includes index.
CALL NO.: 016.301 F 919 (Third Floor, West Wing)

Smelser, Neil J. Handbook of sociology. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications, c1988. 824 p.
CALL NO.: R 301 H 2361

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LIBRARY RESEARCH

Aby, Stephen H. Sociology : a guide to reference and information sources. Reference sources in the social sciences series . Littleton, Colo: Libraries Unlimited, 1987. xv, 231 p. Includes indexes.
CALL NO.: 016.301 A 167 (Third Floor, West Wing)

McMillan, Patricia, and James R. Kennedy. Library research guide to sociology : illustrated search strategy and sources. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pierian Press, 1981. x, 70 p. "Illustrated search strategy & sources"
Includes "Basic reference sources for courses in sociology" as Appendix 2.
CALL NO.: R 301.072 M 167

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BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Aby, Stephen H. Sociology : a guide to reference and information sources. Reference sources in the social sciences series . Littleton, Colo: Libraries Unlimited, 1987. xv, 231 p. Includes indexes.
CALL NO.: 016.301 A 167 (Third Floor, West Wing)

Deegan, Mary Jo. Women in sociology : a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
xv, 468 p. Includes indexes.
CALL NO.: 016.301 D 311 (Third Floor, South Wing)

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PUBLIC OPINION POLLS

Gallup, George Horace. The Gallup poll : public opinion, 1978- Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 1979-.
Library has: 1978 to date. Includes index.
CALL NO.: R 301.154 G 17g-2 (1989-1996 in Reference Room)
CALL NO. 301.154 G 17g-2 (1978-1988 in Third Floor, West Wing)

Gallup, George Horace, and American Institute of Public Opinion. The Gallup poll : public opinion, 1972-1977.
Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, <1978>- 2 v. A complete compilation of all the public opinion polls conducted by the American Institute of Public Opinion, 1972-1977. Includes index.
CALL NO.: 301.154 G 17g-1 (Third Floor, West Wing)

Gallup, George Horace. The Gallup Poll; public opinion, 1935-1971. <1st ed.>. New York: Random House, 1972.
3 v. (xliv, 2388 p.).
CALL NO.: 301.154 G 17g (Third Floor, West Wing)

The Gallup Organization
GSSDIRS Home Page (General Social Survey Data and Information Retrieval Page)
IRSS Public Opinion Poll Question Database (Institute for Research in Social Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)

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STATISTICS

Statistical abstract of the United States Issued by: United States Bureau of the Census.
Library has: 1960-to date. LATEST YEAR KEPT ON RESERVE. ASK FOR IT AT CIRCULATION DESK IN
LOBBY.
CALL NO.: R 317.3 U 58 (1994-1995 in Reference Room)
CALL NO.: 317.3 U 58 (older editions in Third Floor, West Wing)

Current Population Reports. Washington: Bureau of the Census.
Most of the reports in each series listed below have individual titles as well.
Series P-20 : Population Characteristics CALL NO.: R 312 U58c P-20/ ....
Series P-23 : Special Studies CALL NO.: R 312 U58c P-23/ ....
Series P-25: Population Estimates and Projections CALL NO.: R 312 U58c P-25/ ....
Series P-60: Consumer Income CALL NO.: R 312 U58c P-60/ ....
Series P-70: Household Economic Studies CALL NO.: R 312 U58c P-70/ ....

Fedstats: One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau Home Page

RELATED FIELDS

Encyclopedia of psychology. 2nd ed. New York : J. Wiley & Sons, c1994. 4 v. : ill. ; 29 cm.
CALL NO.: R 150.3 E 56

Companion encyclopedia of psychology. London ; New York : Routledge, 1994. 2 v. (xxvii, 1356 p.) : ill. ; 24 cm.
CALL NO.: R 150 C 737

Encyclopedia of social work. New York: National Association of Social Workers.
Continues: Social work year book.
Library has: 1965, 1971, 1977, 1987 (18th ed.), 1990 supp. to 8th ed., 1995 (19th ed.)
CALL NO.: R 360 E 56 (19th ed.) KEPT ON RESERVE. ASK FOR IT AT CIRCULATION DESK
IN LOBBY.
CALL NO.: R 360 E 56 (18th ed.) Reference Room
CALL NO.: 360 E 56 (older editions) Third Floor, South Wing

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CALL NUMBER AREAS TO BROWSE

Because sociology cover so many topics, books of interest may be found in many areas of the library. It is best to check our online catalog to locate materials of interest. Below are just a few call number areas you may wish to browse. Call numbers listed below may be found in a) Reference Room, 1st floor; b) 3rd floor West Wing.

301 [for books on sociology in general]

301.45345 [Italian-Americans]

301.412 [women]

317.3 [statistics]

305.42 [women]

301.154 [public opinion]

301.451 [blacks]

303.38 [public opinion]


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LOCATING BOOKS IN ORION

To access ORION from the Iona College Libraries web site, click on "Books & Multimedia" and then either "Basic Search" or "Guided Search."

1) ORION contains records for:

  • Books
  • Print/hardcopy periodical titles (but not articles)
  • Audiovisual materials.

ORION does NOT include journal, magazine or newspaper articles.

2) There are many types of searches available in ORION, including "Keyword Anywhere" (this is the default search), "Title, Exact", "Author Browse", "Subject Browse" and more. If you know the item you are looking for, you may search for it by using "Author Browse" or "Title, Exact" commands,

-e.g. Webb, Nancy Boyd (Author Browse)
-e.g. Social work practice with children (Title, Exact)

Ignore initial articles "a" "an" and "the" (and foreign language equivalents) when searching by title. For example, if the title of a book is "A History of health care administration", you would type "history of health care administration" in the search box.

3) If you wish to search by topic, it is helpful to begin with a "Keyword Anywhere" search. As you view records (look at detailed view) you will see subject headings. If any of the subject headings you see is of interest, you may click on it to find more publications on the topic.

LOCATING ARTICLES

Electronic databases are accessible on or off-campus.

View a list of Iona's electronic databases related to Sociology.

Once you have found citations to articles you want to read, search the list of Journal Titles to determine if Iona's libraries own a particular periodical in electronic or print format. Print periodicals and newspapers published in the current year are kept in the Reference Room. Older issues are kept in the Periodicals Room.

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PRINTED PERIODICAL INDEXES

You may also use print periodical indexes which are listed below and kept in the Ryan Library Periodicals Room. These indexes are particularly useful when searching for older articles published before the early 1980s which which are not always available in electronic databases.

You will probably find the SOCIAL SCIENCES INDEX and SOCIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS most valuable. Using these printed indexes, you may search under topics, personal names, corporate names, geographical names, etc.

SOCIOLOGY RESOURCE GUIDES ON THE WEB

(examples of "Megasites" each of which includes links to numerous specific sites)

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