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Sociology: Guide to Sources
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Scope
Indexes and Abstracts
Guides
Dictionaries and Thesauri
Encyclopedias
 Biographical Sources
Handbooks
General Internet Resources
Research Methods
Evaluating and Citing Sources

 

Scope Note

The focus of Sociology is the scientific study of social processes.
This area of study may include :

social stratification victims of crime aging pornography
family issues sexual choice deviant behavior racism
ethnic groups urban poor social conflict gangs
homelessness suicide-sociological aspects drug abuse environmental psychology

This guide is an introduction to general and comprehensive sources on sociology which are in  the Howard University Libraries. Check the Library's catalog STERLING under specific topics for additional resources.

Indexes and Abstracts (Online)

Indexes/Abstracts, Articles--Social Work

R = Restricted to connections within HU campus network, or via ISAS-provided dial-up Internet accounts. Authentication is required for bona fide HU users connecting via commercial ISPs > MORE...

Other Indexes and Abstracts (Print and CD-ROM)

NOTE: Titles for which call numbers are not listed are shelved in the Index/Abstract Area in the Periodicals Unit of the  Undergraduate Library. For Internet and CD-Rom files, ask the Reference Librarian.

Abstracts in Anthropology. 1977-1992, 1994
"Man's speech, physiology, artifacts, history, environment, and social relations are described, analyzed, interpreted, and compared within human and animal realms." Subject and author index and table of contents appear in each volume.

Combined Retrospective Index to Journals in Sociology, 1985-1974. Washington, DC: Carrollton Press, 1978.
 Volumes 1-5 are arranged by subject categories. Under each category, citations are listed in chronological order by title keyword. Personal names can be located under the subject category with which he name is associated, under the "Theorist" subject category in volume 5, or in the author index in volume 6. All journals are English language.

Cumulative Index of Sociology Journals, 1971-1985. Washington D.C.: The American Sociological Association, 1987.
An author and subject index to the 8 journals published by the ASA: American Sociological Review,
The American Sociologist, Contemporary Sociology, Journal of Health & Social Behavior, Social Psychology Quarterly (formerly Sociometry), Sociological Methodology, Sociological Theory, and Sociology of Education. Social Forces and American Journal of Sociology are also indexed.

Sage Family Studies Abstracts.   1980-1994 in Social Work
Also available Online 1996- present. Library's homepage
Quarterly with annual author and subject index. Includes citations to books, articles, pamphlets, government publication, significant speeches, and legislative research studies.

Social Sciences Citation Index. 1974-81, 1983-1995. CD-ROM 1997 -present
Provides author and keyword access to 4,700 journals and several monographic series. Use "Citation Index" volumes to identify researchers who have referenced a given article since its publication.

Social Sciences Index. vol. 1, 1974-present. Formerly Social Science and Humanities Index
1965-1973 and International Index 1920-1965.
 Quarterly with annual cumulations. An author and subject index to English language periodicals. At the end of the volume is an index to book reviews.

Social Work Research & Abstracts. vol. 17, 1981-present. in Social Work
 Quarterly. Includes original research papers and abstracts of articles in social work and related fields. Indexed by author and subject. The research papers are indexed in Criminal Justice Abstracts, Hospital Literature Index, Psychological Abstracts, Sage Family Studies Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts.

Guides

Aby, Stephen H. Sociology; a Guide to Reference and Information Sources. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2005. REF HM51 .A29 2005  in Founders.
The guide is divided into three major sections: 1) titles useful to the social sciences in general; 2) related disciplines such as anthropology and social work; 3) sociology and its subdivisions: criminology and deviance, gerontology, and marriage and family. Annotations are descriptive and/or critical. The 600 resources listed were published from 1970-1986. Sources are almost exclusively in English and focus on the United States and Great Britain. Resources listed included reference books, journals, databases, research centers, organizations and directories.

Hawes, Joseph M. and Nybakken, Elizabeth I. American Families; a Research Guide and Historical Handbook. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. REF GQ535.A585 1991 in Founders and Social Work.
Intended as an introductory guide. Organization is topical and chronological. Includes a selected bibliography, an index, and biographical sketches of the contributors. Chapters review the literature in a topic are, assess relative merits of recent works, identify classics and comment on emerging patterns.

Sources of Information in the Social Sciences, 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986. REF H61.S666 1986. in Founders.
Core literature in the fields of history, geography, economics and business administration, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education and political science. Indexed by title and keyword.

A Guide to writing sociology papers. (2001). The Sociology Writing Group. New York: Worth Publishers. HM585 .G78 2001 in Divinity.

International Bibliography of Sociology. Annual .1961-1963,1966, 1968, 1977-1955
Produced by UNESCO as one part of the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences.
Each issue is arranged in topical order, and covers books, journal articles, government publications and pamphlets.

  • O'Brien, Nancy P. (2000). Education : a guide to reference and information sources. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. REF Z5811 .B89 2000 LB15  in Founders

    • Dictionaries and Thesauri

    Brown, Samuel R. Finding the Source in Sociology and Anthropology; A Thesaurus-Index to the Reference Collection. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. REF HM51.B75 1987 in Founders.
    The title accurately reflects the organization of the book; the major .portion is a thesaurus-index that directs the user to the appropriate citation. Focuses on the United States. Publication dates range from 1965 to 1986. Indexing is by title/subtitle and by author.

    Boudon, Raymond and Bourricaud, Francois. A Critical Dictionary of Sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.   REF HM17.B6813 1988 in Founders and Social Work.
    The English edition is a translation and abridgment of French editions.   A Thematic Index gives access by key word or phrase and name. This is more a collection of essays than a traditional dictionary.

    Cockerham, W. C., &  Ritchey, F. J. (1997). Dictionary of medical sociology. Westport, CO: Greenwood Press. WA 13 C666d 1997

    Dictionary of crime : criminal justice, criminology & law enforcement. (1992). Edited by J. R. Nash. REF HV6017 .E5425 1992  in Social Work

    Hirsch, E. D., Kett, J. F., & Trefil, J. (2003). The new dictionary of cultural literacy [eBook : Bartleby] New York: Bartleby.com, Online.

    Johnson, Allan G. The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology : a user's guide to sociological language. Cambridge, MA : Blackwell, c1995.REF HM17 .J64 1995 in Founders.
     
    Encyclopedias

    The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995. REF HM251.B476 1995 in Founders.
    This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive collection of signed entries on "all key topics in social psychology."

    Crime and the justice system in America : an encyclopedia. (1997).  Edited by F. Schmalleger, & G. M. Armstrong. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press., REF HV6789 .C6884 1997 in social work

    Education and sociology: an encyclopedia. (2002). Eds. D. L. Levinson, P. W. Cookson, Jr.,  & A.R. Sadovnik. New York: RoutledgeFalmer. LC189.95 .E38 2002 

    The encyclopedia of African and African-American religions. (2001). S.D. Glazier, editor. New York: Routledge. REF BL2462.5 .E53 2001 in Divinity

    Encyclopedia of American cultural & intellectual history. (2001). M. K. Cayton,  & P. W. Williams, Editors. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. REF E169.1 .E624 2001 in Founders

    Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols.  New York: Scribner, 1993. REF HN57.E58 1993. in Founders.
    This title contains some 180 signed multi-page articles, each of which includes a non-annotated bibliography, on various aspects of American social history. Articles are devoted to such topics as family structures, gender roles and relations, women and work, and the culture of consumption.

    Encyclopedia of American social movements.(2004). Edited by I. Ness. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference. REF HN57 .E594 2004 in Founders

    Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. 4. vols. New York: Free Press, c1983.REF HV6017 E52 1983 in Social Work.

    Encyclopedia of Cuba : people, history, culture. (2003). Edited by L. Martínez-Fernández . Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. REF F1754 .E53 2003 in Founders

    Encyclopedia of millennialism and millennial movements. (2000). R. A. Landes, editor. New York: Routledge. REF BT891 .E53 2000  in Founders

    Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 1998. REF BL60.E53 1998 in Founders and Divinity.
         This one-volume encyclopedia is an attempt to compile state-of-the-art summaries of "the insights gained by the principal social sciences of religion: anthropology, psychology, and sociology."

    Encyclopedia of religious freedom. (2003). Catharine Cookson, editor. New York: Routledge. REF BV741 .E47 2003 in Divinity

    Encyclopedia of Sociology. (2000). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. REF HM425 .E5 2000 in Founders.

  • Encyclopedia of the American Civil War : a political, social, and military history. (2002). D. S. Heidler & J. T. Heidler, Editors. New York: W.W. Norton. REF E468 .E53 2002 in Founders
  • Encyclopedia of urban America : the cities and suburbs. (1998). N. L. Shumsky, Editor. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.  REF HT123 .E5 1998  in Founders

    • Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict. (1999). Editor-in-chief, L. Kurtz. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. HM291 E625 1999 in Founders

    Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991- REF GN307.E53 1991 in Founders.
    Prepared under the auspices of The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at 307 Yale University. This comprehensive 10 volume set is the work of nearly 1000 contributors who are either experts on the culture or researchers at HRAF. Thus far 3 of the 9 geographic area volumes have been published. Vol. 10 will be an accumulated list of cultures and a bibliography. A standard outline including such topics as demography, kinship, religion, etc. is followed for each culture. Summaries of cultures include maps, glossaries, ethnonyms (alternative names for the culture), and a filmography. Note: the emphasis is on culture, not nationality. For example, for Italy, Tuscans, Sicilians, etc. are profiled, not "Italians."

    Guns in American society : an encyclopedia of history, politics, culture, and the law. (2002).  Edited by G. L. Carter. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. HV7436 .G8783 2002 in Founders

    Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge, MA : Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1980.  REF E184 A1 H35 in Founders.

    International Encyclopedia of Sociology. New York: Continum, 1984. REF HM17.I53 1984 in Founders.
    In one volume, brief discussions of approximately 750 terms, theories, and theorists. Contributors are from the London School of Economics; the volume has a British emphasis.

    International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. D. e. sills, editor.  New York: Macmillan, 1979.  REF H40.A2 15 1979 in Founders.
     Currently, the most comprehensive and modern general encyclopedia in the social sciences. This title was meant to complement rather than supersede the earlier Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences and it stresses concepts, principles, theories and methods in contrast to the more historical focus of the earlier title. Articles are signed and include non-annotated bibliographies. As noted above, Volume 18 is a biographical supplement. Volume 19 is devoted to quotations.

    Sociology basics. (2000). Consulting Ed. C. L. Bankston, III. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press.  HM425 .S63 2000

    Handbooks

    Fritz, Jan M. The Clinical Sociology Handbook. N.Y.: Garland Publishing Inc., 1985. REF HM73.F75 1985 in Founders and Social Work.
    The first chapter is a chronological history with a bibliography.  Chapters 2-13 are annotations of publications, book reviews, and unpublished manuscripts alphabetically arranged under subject disciplines. Chapter 14 lists material that do not fall clearly under a specific subject area. Other chapters provide information on the Clinical Sociology Association, the professional affiliations of clinical sociologists, and information on education and training for the field. There is an author index to the bibliographic chapters.

    Handbook of environmental sociology. (2002). Edited by R. E. Dunlap, & W. Michelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. REF GE195 .H35 2002 in Founders

    Handbook of Marriage and the Family.(1999).  Edited by M. B. Sussman, S. K. Steinmetz, & G. W. Peterson. New York: Plenum Press. REF HQ518 H154 1999in Founders and Social Work.

    Handbook of Social Psychology. 4th ed. Boston : McGraw-Hill ; New York : Oxford University Press, c1998. REF HM251 .H224 1998 in Founders.

    Handbook of Sociology. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1988. REF HM51.H249 1988 in Founders.
     A one-volume encyclopedia of sociology organized in topical order. Articles are signed and include extensive non-annotated bibliographies. At the back of the volume there are separate name and subject indexes.

  • The international handbook on the sociology of education : an international assessment of new research and theory. (2003).  Edited by C. A. Torres and Ari Antikainen. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. LC189 .I53 2003

    • Johnson, Jr., W. A. (2000).  The sociology student writer's manual.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. HM73 .S637 2000

    Biographical Sources

    Coser, Lewis A. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context. 2nd edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977. HM19.C67 1977 in Founders.
     This title offers chapter-length profiles of the lives and ideas of some of the most prominent figures in the history of sociology. Biographies are in rough chronological order. A final chapter in this edition gives brief profiles of modern sociologists.

    Deegan, Mary Jo, ed. Women in Sociology: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. HM19.W59 1991 in Founders. 
    This title contains multi-page, signed profiles of fifty-one women prominent in the history of sociology. Each essay includes a biography of the individual profiled, a discussion of the major themes of her work, and a non-annotated bibliography of works by and about her.

    International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Volume 18, Biographical Supplement. New York: The Free Press, 1979.   REF H40.A2I5 1972 in Founders.
     This volume supplements the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences which itself contains some 600 biographical entries. The 215 individuals selected for inclusion here either died since the preparation of volumes one through seventeen of the International Encyclopedia, or were born before January 1, 1909. Articles in this volume average several pages in length, are signed, and include non-annotated bibliographies of works by and about the individual profiled. A further 4,000 biographies appeared in the 1930's vintage Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

    Statistical Sources

    Crime in the United States. Uniform Crime Reports for the United States . Washington : Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Dept. of Justice : U.S. G.P.O., 1930- HV6787 A3. 1971-1995 in  Founders and Social Work.

    Statistical Abstract of the United States http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html

    Statistical Resources on the Web: Sociology. University of Michigan Library Documents Center. http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stsoc.html

    U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/
     The U.S. Census Bureau maintains a web site which contains a broad selection of materials
    including, to name a few, population estimates and projections, Census Briefs (formerly
    Statistical Briefs), and figures on income and poverty. There are also population clocks which
    give the user up-to-date estimates of the population of the United States and of the world, and
    the most recent edition of the     Statistical Abstract of the United States.

    U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/
     The National Center for Health Statistics is part of the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control. Materials availabe via NCHS include published statistics on such subjects as births, deaths, life expectancy, tobacco use and unpublished statistics on mortality.

    General Internet Resources.

    American Sociological Association.     http://www.asanet.org/
     The American Sociological Association's web site includes information on the association itself, on ASA publications, and meetings, and on professional ethics. It also includes such useful resources as an online version of ASA's Employment Bulletin and a section devoted to Funding Opportunities at ASA.

    International Sociological Association. http://www.ucm.es/OTROS/isa/
     The International Sociological Association's web site contains information, about the association itself, its various sub-groups, its publications and its meetings. It also includes some association materials of interest to sociologists and links to non-association resources in the field of sociology.

    Social Psychology Network.  http://www.socialpsychology.org/ 
     This site includes information of social psychology and psychology, with links to relevant Web sites and guides to social psychology Ph.D. programs, research groups and journals.

    Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG): Sociology  http://www.sosig.ac.uk/sociology/

    The Socio Web: A Sociological Resource Center.
     http://www.sonic.net/~markbl/socioweb/
     According to its own description of itself, "The SocioWeb is designed to be an Internet resource center. It is our goal to provide sociologists with point-and-click access to the smorgasbord of sociological information available accross the World Wide Web."

    http://www.sociologyonline.co.uk/

    Sociosite.  Social Science Information System based at the University of Amsterdam http://www.sociosite.net/index.php

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.os.dhhs.gov/
     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains a web site. In most cases the most useful sections of this site to the researcher are likely to be the HHS Policy Information and the HHS Research and Data sections. Another useful resource HHS maintains for the researcher is a web site called GrantsNet, which describes itself as a free public-access computer network for finding information about HHS and other Federal grant programs.

    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. http://www.hud.gov/
     The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development web site contains information on HUD programs as well as information on housing and community related issues.

    WCSU List: Sociology Internet Resources Western Connecticut State University. Department of Social Sciences http://www.wcsu.edu/socialsci/socres.html

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

    Yahoo!-Social Science: Sociology. http://www.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Sociology
     Provides links to courses, organizations, journals, institutes and papers as well as to sites specific to areas such as criminal justice, social psychology and urban studies.

    Research Methods

    Bausell, R. Barker.     Advanced Research Methodology: An Annotated Guide to Sources.
    Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1991.     REF H62.B38 1991 in Founders.
    An annotated bibliography covering research methods in the social sciences. Organized topically with an author index at the back of the volume.

    Miller, Delbert C.     Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement. 5th ed.
    Newbury Park, Calif. : Sage Publications, 1991.      REF H62.M44 1991 in Founders and Social Work.
     A guide to research methods in the social sciences, including sociology. Divided into seven sections which include, (1) General Description of the Guides to Research Design and Sampling, (2) Basic Research Design, (3) Applied and Evaluation Research, (4) Guides to Methods and Techniques of Collecting Data in Library, Field, and Laboratory, (5) Guides to Statistical Analysis and Computer Resources, (6) Selected Sociometric Scales and Indexes, and (7) Research Proposal, Funding, Costing, Reporting, and Career Utilization.

    Resources for Methods in Evaluation and Social Research
     http://gsociology.icaap.org/methods/
    This page lists free resources for methods in evaluation and social research. The focus is on "how-to" do evaluation research and the methods used: surveys, focus groups, sampling, interviews, and other methods.

    Evaluating and Citing Sources

    This research guide was compiled by
         Audrey Thompson, Librarian, Social Work Library

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