Clark Family Library: Sociology: Finding Articles and Online Resources

EBSCO Discovery Service

Use EBSCO Discovery Service to search all of the Library's databases at once.

Enter keywords in the search box
After you press 'search', use filters to refine results to include journal articles, full-text, and, if desired, scholarly/peer-reviewed
Click on the title to access the full text, if available.

Ethical Approach to Research

Practicing ethical research is essential regardless of the type of research you are doing. However, it is particularly critical when consider human subjects and data about them, which you will do frequently in your work in Sociology. The elements of ethical research listed below can also be used as you evaluate resources that you find.

Consider the subjectivity of the author.
Consider the time in which the resource was created.
Consider the mission and goals of the organization with which the author is affiliated (especially when thinking about research funding), and the scope and biases of the organization or journal in which the resource was published.
Address your own biases and subjectivity and the ethos, or the mission and goals, of the organization with which you are affiliated.
Respect the autonomy of the individuals in your study when using data and other primary sources.
Uphold the right of privacy of the individuals in your study when conducting original research.
Cite all sources.
Follow all copyright conditions.

What Is Ethics in Research & Why Is It Important?" by David B. Resnik
This 2020 article published by Dr. David B. Resnik outlines what research ethics are and why they are important. The article also includes links to discipline-specific ethical standards for research as well as visual representation of the core elements of ethical research, paraphrased above.

Resources

See Databases A-Z to search for databases. Most databases are paid for by the library, but some are freely available to all.

Specific databases to try include:

Project Muse: Basic Undergraduate Collection This link opens in a new window
Collection of heavily indexed and peer-reviewed journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Database includes 340 full-text journals from 80 scholarly publishers from 1995 to present. MUSE.
Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Offers full-text access to over 12,000 journals, including more than 10,000 peer-reviewed titles. A great database to start your research
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full- text of back issues of peer-reviewed journals as far back as the 1800s in the arts, sciences, ecology, botany, language, literature, and music. Multidisciplinary.
ICPSR This link opens in a new window
ICPSR, the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, offers a large social science data archive. It acts as a global leader in data stewardship and providing rich data resources in sociology. ICPSR.

Does your research intersect with another area of study, such as education, history, psychology, or another science? Check out some of these databases below!

ERIC This link opens in a new window
Abstracts and some full-text of journal articles and reports on education topics. Database covers 100,000 sources with 1.1 million records.
Indigenous Peoples of North America This link opens in a new window
Primary sources to enhance research and understanding of the historical experiences, cultural traditions and innovations, and political status of indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada.
PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
PsycInfo is a resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, and is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. It contains records and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s. A good database to start psychology research.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
PubMed offers access to the NLM MEDLINE database. Has citations and abstracts from biomedical literature. Some articles are full-text. NLM.
Punch Historical Archive: 1841-1992 This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text archive of Punch issues published 1841-1992, including Almanacks and other special issues,
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Covers about 2,600 peer-reviewed journals in medicine, health, life sciences, psychology, arts, humanities, education, business, economics, and social sciences. Most articles are full-text. Use Advanced Search mode. Elsevier.
Click here for more information on the Internet Browser Requirements for ScienceDirect

See Find Periodicals to search for journals.

Examples of e-journals in this discipline include:

American Sociological Review
This peer-reviewed, scholarly journal contains articles related to all aspects of social processes.
Annual Review of Sociology
This is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal covers the "significant developments" in the field of sociology ("Annual Review of Sociology"). The library has access to all issues except those from the past 6 years through JSTOR. You can request more recent articles through Interlibrary Loan.
American Journal of Sociology
This peer-reviewed, scholarly journal is one of the oldest American journal on sociology. It contains articles about a range of sociological topics with an emphasis towards new theory and methods. The library has complete access to this journal through the publisher (linked here) for more recent articles and JSTOR for more historical ones.
Contemporary Sociology
This peer-reviewed, scholarly journal consists mostly of book reviews, which can be helpful for understanding the current state of research and for finding books that you may want to request through Interlibrary Loan. The library has more recent access to this journal through the link above and historic access through JSTOR.
Social Forces
This peer-reviewed, scholarly journal publishes articles on a range of sociological topics, including the intersection of sociology with social psychology, anthropology, political science, history, and economics.
Social Psychology Quarterly
This peer-reviewed, scholarly journal publishes articles related to the relationship between individuals and society. The library has more recent access to this journal through the link above and historic access through JSTOR.
Top Sociology Journals - University of Washington
This resource from the University of Washington Libraries contains lists of the top sociology journals. We highly recommend the "Open Access Sociology Journals" list at the bottom of the page, as those are available to everyone.
The "Top 20" List on the top of the page is for University of Washington community members, but we recommend you search for the journals using the "Find Publications" search to see if we have them as well.
Library Find Publications Search
Looking for a more specific journal or a different journal you found somewhere else? See if the library has access using this search (which can also be found using the "Find Publications" link on the menu bar under Resources By Type on the home page)!

Looking for data resources? Check out the Finding Data page!

American Sociological Association
ASA is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good. You can find examples of ASA citation, as well as breakdowns of the sub-disciplines within sociology here.
BBC World News
International news organization operated by the BBC and commercially funded.
Contexts Blog
While Contexts is also a general interest sociological magazine affiliated with the American Sociological Association, their blog publishes much of their content for all to read.
UN Economic and Social Council
This UN Council handles issues such as living conditions, employment and work, development, and health around the world. Many of their reports and research /related materials are available in full-text on their website.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.
World Bank - Countries and Regions
This site provides reports, documents, and World Bank projects going on in various countries and regions around the world.

Sociology

What is Peer Review?

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

EBSCO Discovery Service

Ethical Approach to Research

Resources