Reference sources

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Sociology is covered in general social science encyclopedias such as

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.2001. (Ref.H41.I57 2001)

Also its predecessor, International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, published in 1968, but still widely consulted (Ref. H41.I58 1968).

There are also encyclopedias and dictionaries devoted to sociology as a general discipline, for example:

              21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook.  2007. (HM 585 .A13 2007)

Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological Language. 2nd ed. (Ref. HM425.J64 2000)

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2007. (Ref. HM425 .B53 2007)

A Critical Dictionary of Sociology. 1989. (Ref. HM17.B6813 1989)

A collection of critical essays by two eminent French sociologists.

Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2nd ed. 2000. (HM425.E5 2000)

International Encyclopedia of Sociology. 1995. (HM17I53 1995)

Specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries also exist, e.g.

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. 1995. (Ref.HM251.B476 1995)

Dictionary of Medical Sociology. 1997. (Ref.RA418.C655 1997)

Dictionary of Statistics & Methodology: A NonTechnical Guide for the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. 1999. (Ref.HA17.V64 1999)

Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia. 2002. (Ref.LC189.95.E38 2002)

Encyclopedia of Aging. 4th ed. 2006. (Ref.HQ1061.F53 2006)

Encyclopedia of Criminology. 2005 (Ref.HV6017.E5295 2005)

Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000. 2001 (Ref.HN373.E63 2001)

International Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Education. 1997 (Ref. LC191.I49 1997)

Sociology of Law: A Bibliography of Theoretical Literature. 2nd ed. (Law K366.T74 1998)

Need more help identifying important sources in sociology?  Try

Sociology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources, 3rd ed. 2005. (Ref. Z7164.S68A24 2005) Covers over 600 print and electronic resources including sociology "classics" plus new titles published from 1997 through early 2004.

Reference Universe, a database that provides access to the indexes of thousands of reference books (English language only) that have been reviewed in standard sources in the last 25 years. It will link you to the EUCLID record if print or to the full text if electronic.

Book Reviews

Sociology only:

• Contemporary Sociology (1952-date) HM1.C65

  Formerly the book review section of American Sociological Review, CS publishes reviews and critical discussions of recent works in sociology and in related disciplines which merit the attention of sociologists. Since not all sociological publications can be reviewed, a selection is made to reflect important trends and issues in the field. Back volumes are available electronically through JSTOR. Current print issues are found in the new journals area.

Multidisciplinary sources of book reviews:

• Book Index with Reviews

  Includes information on almost four million book titles with over 800,000 full-text reviews.

• Choice

  Provides reviews for books and electronic resources of academic interest. The electronic version goes back to 1998. A print version (Z1007.C4) goes back to 1964.

TIP: You can also find book reviews by doing subject searches in the databases listed under Finding Magazine & Journal articles below.  Limit your subect or author search to "book review" or "literature review."

Finding Books at Emory

To find books, journal holdings, music, videos or other materials located at any of the Emory libraries, search EUCLID. You can search EUCLID by keywords or phrases, author, title or periodical title. Do not use EUCLID to find individual periodical articles.

You can also search EUCLID by subject. When searching by subject, use the Browse search mode. Browsing will retrieve a list of subject headings established by the Library of Congress. A printed, multi-volume set of Library of Congress (LC) subject headings is also available at the Woodruff Library Reference desk.

A sample list of LC subject headings for sociology is found below:

criminal behavior

educational sociology

ethnic relations

juvenile delinquency

sex differences

social conflict

social psychology

social stratification

social systems

social surveys

sociological jurisprudence (used for the sociology of law)

Subjects can be broken down by various formats or topics:

Sociology-dictionaries

Sociology -methodology

Some subjects have a sub-heading for sociological aspects:

crime-sociological aspects

TIP: Remember you can do a keyword search in EUCLID to locate books on your topic and then search on the subject headings of relevant titles.

Finding Books Beyond Emory

• WorldCat

  A comprehensive catalog of items held by a wide-range of libraries including research and public institutions. Searchable by author, title and subject. Covers other formats beyond books but does not index journal articles.

Contact InterLibrary Loan to borrow books not at Emory.  If books are available at local academic institutions (University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University) you may be able to borrow with your Emory ID card.

Resources Outside of Emory

There are several excellent meta-sites for sociology. These sites provide links to institutions and academic departments, sources of biographical and theoretical information, survey and statistical resources and much more.

• The Sociolog (Julian Dierkes' Comprehensive Guide to Sociology On-Line)

• SocioSite

• SocioWeb

• WWW Virtual Library of Sociology

• Social Psychology Network

Important Organizations

• American Sociological Association

• Southern Sociological Society

• International Sociological Association

Resources @Emory

Sociology Department at Emory contains information about sociology at Emory plus links to Emory and non-Emory sites.

Electronic Data Center, Emory University Libraries allows you to browse holdings, download data, and do selected analysis online. Data is from ICPSR and other suppliers. Use the Data Freeway to identify data by subject or provider.

Government Documents Center provides official information from the U.S. federal government, United Nations, Great Britain and other bodies. The collection is extensive and in a wide variety of formats.

Globalization Website

Key Sociology Databases

Sociology is a wide-ranging field. The following is a list of some of the major databases and indexes relevant to sociology as taught at Emory. Many of these databases have direct links to full-text either through hyperlinks or the Find it at Emory button. Always check the eJournals page and EUCLID before assuming that the library does not have an electronic version of the source. Make sure to look at the Research Guides page to find research guides for related disciplines such as education, psychology, women's studies, etc. Connect to the libraries for the School of Law, Health Sciences, Goizueta Business School, and Pitts Theology for more information on specialized resources available in those fields.

The following two databases are the most important for sociology. While there is overlap between the two, each has much unique material:

• Sociological Abstracts (1952-date)
  Indexes and abstracts the international literature in sociology and related fields. Covers almost 2000 journals, plus relevant dissertation listings, abstracts of conference papers, and selected books. This is a smaller, more academic database with more foreign language material than SocINDEX. A print edition of this title is available at Ref. HM 1.S6.

• SocINDEX with Full Text (1895-date)
  Indexes and abstracts over 2500 journals, conference papers, and relevant books and dissertations in sociology and related fields. Includes some popular literature. Includes additional full-text for many (but not all) citations. Provides deep historical coverage for major journals, e.g. American Journal of Sociology is indexed back to 1895.

Related Databases

• AARP Ageline (1978-date)                                                                                                                                     Produced by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), indexes journals, books and book chapters, reports, and government documents on social gerontology with a focus on the social,  psychological, and economic aspects of middle age and aging. EndNote compatible.

• Academic Search Complete (1984-date)
  Indexes scholarly journals in the social sciences, business, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, and education as well as major daily newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Christian Science Monitor. In addition to locating the text of known journals, you can search the database by subject and author.

• Alternative Press Index (1991 -date)
  Indexes alternative, radical, and left publications, which report and analyze the practices and theories of cultural, economic, political, and social change. Topics include African American Studies, American Indians/Native Americans, Gay/Lesbian Studies, socialism, and labor history. Endnote compatible.

• Annual Review of Sociology (full text 1996-date)
  Full text of articles in areas of current interest in sociology. Full text of earlier years available through JSTOR. Print copies are available at HM1.A763.

• Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) (1987-present)                                               Covers journals in health, social services, psychology, sociology, race relations and related social science areas.

• C.R.I.S.: The Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in Sociology, 1895-1974. 6 vols. Ref.Z7164.S68.
  Covers the older literature in the field.

• Contemporary Women's Issues (1992-present)
  Covers full-text information on women from journals, newsletters, research reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies. Covers women in over 190 countires. Information is available in the disciplines of sociology, psychology, law, health, education, and business.

• Current Contents Connect (1997-present)
  A multidisciplinary database providing access to articles in scholarly journals, some meeting abstracts, and some books. Subjects include biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, medicine, earth science, and behavioral science, social sciences, computer science, environmental studies, and the arts and humanities. the social sciences, and the arts and humanities.

• Dissertation Abstracts/Digital Dissertations
  Covers dissertations accepted at accredited U.S. institutions since 1861. Selectively covers masters theses, Canadian dissertations, British, and other international dissertations. Abstracts are included for dissertations beginning July 1980 and for masters theses beginning spring 1988. For dissertations done in 1997 and later, PDFs of Emory titles are available. For dissertations and theses completed prior to those dates, references are given to the print edition of Dissertation Abstracts ( Z5055.U6A1) and other print sources.  To locate the library's holdings of theses and dissertations from the Emory Sociology  Department use EUCLID and enter "Emory University Dept. of Sociology" as an Author search.                                                                                                                                                                                 
• Electronic Journals in Sociology
  A list of free, scholarly journals in sociology. Most are peer reviewed. Includes Electronic Journal of Sociology and Journal of World-Systems Research.

• ERIC from CSA (1966-date)
  Indexes published and unpublished sources on all aspects of education and educational research. ERIC also indexes library and information science. Incorporates ERIC Digests, full-text short reports on topics of current interest in education. CSA, OVID, EBSCOhost, and FirstSearch versions of this database are available. Endnote compatible. ED numbers are available in microfiche 411.

• Ethnic NewsWatch (1960-date)
  A full-text collection of U. S. newspapers, magazines, and journals of ethnic, minority, and native presses, searchable in English and Spanish. Now includes Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, 1960-1989 which can also be searched separately..

• FRANCIS (1984-date)
  Indexes journals, books, dissertations, and other American and European sources covering the humanities, social sciences, and economics, and is strong in religion, the history of art, and literature, with particular emphasis on current trends in European and world literature. FRANCIS is produced by the Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique (INIST) and is searchable in English and French. EndNote compatible.

• GLBT Life with FULL TEXT (dates vary)                                                                                                 Provides indexing and abstracts for more than 400 magazines, journals, books, news sources and gray literature such as case studies and speeches.Also included full text for the most important GBLT journals.

• GPO Access (July 1976-date)
  The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) provides access to legislative, executive, judicial, and regulatory documents produced by the Federal Government. More information on government information is found on the General Libraries' Government Documents web page.

• Health and PsychoSocial Instruments(1985-present)
  A database of measurement instruments which includes questionnaires, checklists, index measures, rating scales, project techniques, tests, interview schedules, and a variety of other means of evaluation. Endnote compatible.

• International Index to Black Periodicals (dates vary)   

Provides indexing, abstracts and full text of scholarly journals and newsletters from the United States, Africa and the Caribbean important to African American Studies. Covers cultural, historical, religious, social and political issues.

• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
  Indexes an international selection of journals, books, book reviews, and edited book chapters in the fields of economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. Compiled by the British Library of Political & Economic Science of the London School of Economics & Political Science. EndNote compatible.

• Journal Citation Reports/JCR (2001-present)
  JCR is a resource for journal evaluation, using citation data drawn from scholarly and technical journals worldwide. Coverage is both multidisciplinary and international. A list of the most cited sociology journals is found in the Social Sciences Edition. In 2005 the most cited sociology journals were American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology and the Journal of Marriage and Family. Microfiche 1223 is the earlier years of JCR.

• JSTOR
  Provides searchable full-text access to backfiles of key scholarly journals in many fields including sociology and related disciplines. There are no current issues in JSTOR. Includes the major scholarly journals in the field e.g., American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review and Social Forces. In addition to locating the text of known journals, you can search the database by subject and author.

• Left Index (1990-present)
  Provides access to literature on the left, with a primary emphasis on politically and culturally engaged scholarship inside and outside the academy and a secondary emphasis on significant but little known sources of news and ideas. Topics covered include politics, economics, the labor movement, ecology and environment, women's studies, race and ethnicity, social and cultural theory, sociology, art and aesthetics, philosophy, history, education, law, and globalization.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic
  Full-text access to news, business, medical, educational and legal sources. The sources include international, national, and regional newspapers; magazines; trade journals; newsletters; wire service reports; and transcripts of television and radio news programs.

• National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts
  Contains summaries of more than 170,000 criminal justice publications, including federal, state, and local government reorts, books, journal articles and unpublished research.

• PAIS International/Public Affairs Information Service (1915-present)
  Indexes books, periodicals and selected local, state, national, and international government documents in the areas of public policy, social policy and the social sciences. PAIS Archive can also be searched separately. Both files can be searched simultaneously. Endnote compatible.

• Popline   

              Includes articles, reports and books about population studies.

• Population Index (1986-2000)
  Indexed books, journals, working papers, and other materials on population topics.

• PsycINFO (1807-present)
  Covers the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines. Coverage is worldwide and includes references and abstracts to over 1300 journals in over 20 languages, and to English language books and book chapters.A print version, Psychological Abstracts, is available at Ref. BF1.C531.

• Research Library (1986-date)
  Formerly known as Periodical Abstracts. Covers publications from academic journals and popular magazines in the humanities, social sciences, general sciences, and business.

• Sage Publications SRM Databases of Social Research Methodology (1970-present) CD-ROM
  Indexes journals on social research methodology, statistical analysis, and computer applications used in the social and behavioral sciences. Abstracts only. Available in the Beck Center.

• ScienceDirect
  Provides access to full-text of Elsevier journals in science, technology and medicine, as well as selected social sciences and humanities titles. Includes Journal of Aging Studies, Journal of Criminal Studies, Race and Society.

• Social Service Abstracts (1979-present)                                                                                                  Indexes journal articles, dissertations and book reviews in the fields of social workand community services.

• Social Sciences Citation Index (1956-present)
  Part of the Web of Knowledge, the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is a multidisciplinary database. SSCI allows you to search not only by key words from an article's title but also by authors who have been cited in an article's bibliography. This is called citation searching. If you know a key article on your topic, this is often a very effective way to search. When you first connect to the Web of Knowledge, you can search the entire database or restrict your search to SSCI. Endnote compatible. A print version covering 1969-1993 is available at Ref. Z7161.S65.

• Social Sciences Abstracts (1994-present)
  Indexes and abstracts core periodicals in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, law and criminology, political science, social work, sociology, and international relations. For retrospective searching (1890-1982) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective by clicking on the Open Database Section area on the search page.

• Sociological Collection(1984-date; full text 1990-present)
  Contains over 475 full-text titles of interest to sociologists. Covers areas such as social behavior, human tendencies, interaction, relationships, culture and social structure. Includes some journals that are difficult to find in other electronic collections including Sex Differences, Law and Society Review, and Media Culture & Society.

• Women's Studies International (1972-present)
  An index of the feminist press and an excellent resource for finding information from a feminist perspective. Includes citations drawn from an number of databases including: Women Studies Abstracts(1984 - present); Women's Studies Database(1972 - present); New Books on Women & Feminism(UWisc, 1987 - present); POPLINE Subset on Women (1964 and earlier - present); Women of Color and Southern Women: A Bibliography of Social Science Research(1975 - 95); Updated quarterly. Source documents range from web sites, journal articles, book chapters and conference papers.

General:

Electronic Data Center

The Electronic Data Center (Room 217 Woodruff Library) will assist patrons in identifying and accessing quantitative data sources that are appropriate for their work. In addition, the Center will assist patrons in getting their data into their desired formats and will provide basic assistance in using statistical packages. Please note, however, that the Center does not actually perform analyses for students or help them interpret what their results mean.

For assistance with identifying, accessing, and formatting numeric data, contact Dr. Rob O'Reilly, Coordinator, Electronic Data Center (roreill@emory.edu or 404-727-6129).

The Data Center Home Page

The Data Freeway - a thematically-organized collection of links to on-line data sources

EDC maintains the following specialized list:   Selected Resources for Sociologists

Sociology Citation Guides

American Sociological Association Style Guide. 3rd ed. 2007. (Ref. HM569 .A54 2007)

Quick Style Guide for Students Writing Sociology Papers

Based on the American Sociological Association Style Guide to serve as a quick reference for students preparing papers.

Other Useful Citation Guides:

Citing Your Sources Research Guide

Documenting Electronic Resources

Writer's Center: Documenting Styles .  Covers other popular citiation styles and has useful section on citing sources and avoiding plagiarism.

Endnote

EndNote is a personal citation/bibliography manager program. It helps researchers organize their references in a database which can be used to format citations and create bibliographies automatically in a word processor.

• EndNote at Emory (Help, filters, etc.)
• EndNote workshops
• Send questions about EndNote to the ENDNOTE-L listserv