SOC 2100: Modern Social Problems
Tips for Narrowing or Expanding Your Search
(sxc.hu alicja_sto 1199922 alicja_sto)
Ways to narrow your results:
- limit to certain years only at beginning of search (e.g. last 10 years)
- add another concept to your search using "and" (e.g. elderly and housing and well-being)
- limit your results to scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles only
- mark (tag) the most relevant articles in your search results and create a smaller list of titles
Ways to expand your results:
- add synonyms using "or" (e.g. elderly or older adults)
Subject Specific Journal Article Databases and Newspaper Databases
Try the following databases for articles in sociology and related areas:
(There are many more article databases for specific disciplines, such as communication, education, psychology, etc. Choose one of our Library's Subject Guides for the recommended article databases in that field.)
- CQ Electronic Library This link opens in a new windowCQ Electronic Library is a reference resource for research in American government, politics, history, public policy, and current affairs. The suite includes CQ Almanac, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Magazine, and Politics in America.
- Criminal Justice Database This link opens in a new windowSearchable and browsable database of U.S.and international criminal justice journals. The database includes abstract and indexing for over 400 titles, with more than 170 available in full text from 1981-present.
- ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new windowIndexes popular magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers and trade publications in a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Full-text available for over 2,500 journals. Coverage from 1857.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowCovers world-wide literature in psychology and related disciplines. Journal articles, technical reports, books, book chapters, and dissertations are included. Coverage: 1806-present. Updated weekly.
- SPORTDiscus This link opens in a new windowAn international index to more than 700,000 articles, thesis and other records in athletic training, fitness, recreation, sport and sport management. Miscellaneous record/monograph coverage: 1800-present. Updated monthly.
LIBRARY SEARCH for Articles Across Many Disciplines At Once
LIBRARY SEARCH Advanced Search Option
LIBRARY SEARCH (ADVANCED MODE)
Allows you to use multiple search boxes and filters for precise searching.
Primary VS Secondary Sources
For some research projects you may be required to use primary sources. How can you identify these?
Primary Sources
A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches, and art objects. Interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and Internet communications via email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups are also primary sources. In the natural and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies—research where an experiment was performed or a direct observation was made. The results of empirical studies are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences.
Secondary Sources
Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original research.
(source: Ithaca College Library https://library.ithaca.edu/sp/subjects/primary)