Sociology


Databases - scholarly material, citation only indexes and full text
E Books - use free electronic texts when you can't find the printed book 
Gateway sites - subject search engines, Web portals
Government Resources - reliable government agencies and their reports
Web Directories - subject guides to selective and carefully chosen sites on the Web 
Web Resources - selective list of free sites in sociology

Web Search in a Nutshell - getting started in library research

Subscription Databases Available Only to the WSC Community

Sociological Abstracts.  via CSA Illumina (1952 -current) which indexes over 1,900 journals, books, dissertations, and reviews in the social sciences on sociological topics as well as selected anthropology, criminology, demography, law, social psychology, and urban development. Also includes Social Services Abstracts (1980-present) &  ERIC (1966-present).  Easy to use, and search all social sciences databases at once. 

Public Affairs International.  Public affairs and worlds issues with coverage from 1972 to the present. An index to over 1/2 million articles, books, government documents, Internet sites and documents from more than 120 countries. Obviously useful for global issues such as affirmative action, AIDS, ethnicity, climate change, political persecution, women's rights, war and conflict, etc.

ProQuest Social Science Journals -  a definitive resource for those who need access to a variety of specialized journals. The database includes over 510 titles, with more than 280 available in full text. Information on hundreds of topics including addiction studies, family studies, urban studies and international relations.

PsycINFO. Over 1.5 million records from 1887 to the present in what is considered to be the most comprehensive international database of psychology. Includes academic research and practice literature in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, social science and organizational behavior. Find more full text in PsycArticles.

Gale Virtual Reference Library. Available through InfoTrac. Contains full text of these standard reference works in sociology:

• St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (2000) 5 volumes. [History section] more than 2,700 signed essays, extensive bibliographies.
• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America 2nd ed. (2000) 3 volumes. [Multicultural Studies section] essays on specific culture groups in the U.S. emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, and languages; also provides information on historical background and settlement patterns.
• Encyclopedia of Population (2003) 2 volumes. Research directions in population studies during the last 20 years  

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Other Web Resources - selective list of free sites

• Annual Review of Sociology Online - full text from 1996-present. Can be cumbersome to use online; WSC Library has the print version from 1984 to the present, volumes can be checked out from the general collection (H9/A342).
• Child Abuse, Child Welfare & Adoption - foremost  bibliographic resource on the maltreatment, safety, permanency and well-being of children.  FREE registration required
• Electronic Journal of Sociology - online since 1994. Articles are in PDF format. Archives contain articles such as "Children and Young People’s Status in Iran" and "Disembodiment and Cyberspace."
• Inequality - created by a network of journalists and writers; explores the gaps between the rich and poor
• Tolerance - the mission is to create a national community committed to human rights 
• Tour of Sociology in Cyberspace - sociological perspective on human dying, marriage and family life, social gerontology, social inequality, gender and society, and more.
• Violence Against Women - from the National Women's Health Information Center, provides information on a variety of violence issues facing society

Government Resources 

• Census Atlas of the United States - with more than 700 full-color maps, this is the first general population and housing statistical atlas published by the Census Bureau since 1925!
• USA Gov. The first government site to provide searching by topic rather than the more cumbersome agency search. Government sites are a great source of free, factual information. This source also provides links to government sites that provide a vast array of statistical information such as the Bureau of the Census.
• Global Health.Gov - Links to international organizations and travel Web pages from the CDC along with travel advisory information. Under the "Data Resources" heading are health profiles of various countries, links to foreign government Websites; world health statistics; Web pages and documents relating to hot topics such as bioterrorism, HIV/AIDS, bird flu and more.
• For more government resources, visit our Government Resources Page for links to thousands of full text government publications available online.

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Gateway Sites - subject search engines, Web portals

These sites don't have sociology information, but link you to other sites that do. They are guides prepared by individuals and have only filtered, evaluated links. Less exciting than TV's Oprah or Dr. Phil, but more practical.

• SocioWeb - independent guide to sociological resources available on the Internet. Wide range of material from sites on specific thinkers, to e-journals, university departments, and statistical sources. 
• Social Science Information Gateway - SOSIG aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high quality Internet information for students, academics, researchers and practitioners. Sub-directory of sociology resources listed under 27 categories. All types of materials linked.
• Feminist Internet Gateway - 
• BULB Link Catalogue of Internet Resources - Links to research institutes, sociology departments, electronic journals, professional associations, newsgroups, essays, data archives, sociologists' addresses
• SocioSite - started in 1996 this extensive site serves as a clearinghouse of important and relevant links to various disciplines within the social sciences.
• Sociolog - Julian Dierkes' comprehensive guide to sociology online. This guide has been online since 1994; updated frequently.
• Research Resources in the Social Sciences - "Your Starting Point for Research on the Internet"

Web Directories

There are excellent subject directories on the web. that can point you to the best online resources in specific areas of sociology. These human guides to the Internet are a great way to find the best of the Web, and often find sites that can't be accessed by search engines. The best ones to use for scholarly material are:

• Librarians Internet Index - Provides a well-organized point of access for reliable, trustworthy, librarian-selected Internet resources. Covers a broad range of subjects, has both a topical directory arrangement and search capabilities.
• InfoMine - Virtual library of scholarly Internet resources. Features well organized access; notable for its collection of annotated and indexed links.
• Academic Info - gateway to freely available academic resources on the web, with annotated entries. General links, related topics, in the news sections.

More subject directories on the web