• Reference Resources

• Finding Books
• Finding Articles
• Web Resources
• Tips

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Reference Resources

The library has many reference resources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, etc.) that will help you find background information on topics in Sociology and related fields.  Selected resources are listed below.  Look on the shelves near these books; there may be similar books nearby with helpful information.

• Encyclopedia of Sociology - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HM 425 .E5 2000
• A Dictionary of Sociology - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HM 17 .C66 1998
• International Encyclopedia of Sociology - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HM 17 .I53 1995
• The Handbook of Social Psychology - Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HM 251 .H224 1998
• Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 5804 .E53 2000
• Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior - Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HV 6017 .E53 2001
• Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 6017 .E52 1983
• International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  H 40 .A215
• The Social Science Encyclopedia - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  H 41 .S63 1996
• International Encyclopedia of Statistics - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HA 17 .I63
• Encyclopedia of Social History - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HN 28 .E53 1994
• Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  GN 307 .E52 1996
• Encyclopedia of World Cultures - Middle Level, Reference Table 9A: GN 307 .E53 1991
• Encyclopedia of Human Behavior - Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E5 1994
• Utah Law on Disc - Main Level, Reference Computers:  Ask at Reference Desk

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Finding Books

Online Catalogs: 

Use library online catalogs to find availability and location of books and other media:

• WSU Stewart Library Online Catalog (iPac) - catalog for WSU's library
• Utah Library Catalogs - links to catalogs for other libraries in Utah

Browse the Shelves: 

Books on Sociology and related fields are located on the Top Level of the library in the General Collection under the following call numbers:  HM [Sociology], HN [Social History], HQ [Family. Marriage. Women], HV [Social Work], GN [Anthropology] and BF [Psychology].

Bibliographies: 

When you find a good book or article, check the bibliography to identify other books and articles on your subject.

Interlibrary Loan: 

If we do not own a particular book you need, we will borrow it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

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Finding Articles

Online Article Databases: 

Use Social and Behavioral Sciences article databases to find magazine and journal articles by subject or keyword.

Newspaper Databases:

Use News article databases to find newspaper articles by subject or keyword.

Electronic Journals:

The library also provides access to many electronic journals in Sociology.  All of these allow you to browse the table of contents of journal issues and many allow you to search all available issues by keyword.

Browse Current Periodicals:

 Current issues of magazines and journals in Sociology and related fields are found in the HM section of the Current Periodicals Area on the Middle Level of the library.  Bound volumes of older issues are shelved in the General Collection on the Top Level of the library.

Bibliographies: 

When you find a good book or article, check the bibliography to identify other books and articles on your subject.

Interlibrary Loan: 

If the article you need is not available in our library, we will obtain a copy of it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

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Web Resources

A good place to begin is the Stewart Library's list of web resources in Sociology.  Most of the sites listed will provide links to additional sites, so explore!  Sociological Abstracts will often retrieve links to selected web sites as well as journal articles.  Use Internet search engines to find additional information.

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Research Tips

As you do you research, keep the following tips in mind:

• Clearly identify your information need
• Identify key words and search terms to match your topic
• Develop search statements using advanced search techniques
  • Boolean logic, adjacency searching and truncation
• Use the Online catalog to find books
• Use Social and Behavioral Sciences article databases to find magazine and  journal articles
• Go back to the online catalog to see if the journals are in Stewart Library and where they are located
• Use Interlibrary loan to get materials that are not in Stewart Library
• Use search engines to find Web information
• Carefully evaluate the information you find for usefulness and quality
• Revise your search terms and strategy to expand or narrow your results, be creative, look in other areas
• Once you have found information from an Internet site you can Email the documents to yourself, print or save them to a floppy disk 
• Use appropriate style to document and cite your research
• Ask for HELP at via phone or email