Objective: Using Library Resources in Preparing a Research Proposal

I. Clearly define your research problem

Use Reference Resources to clearly define  your research problem and gather background information. Selected resources in the WSU library 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
• The Handbook of Social Psychology
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HM 251 .H224 1998
• Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  HV 5804 .E53 2000
• Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves: HV 6017 .E53 2001
• The Social Science Encyclopedia
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  H 41 .S63 2004
• 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 Human Behavior
  Middle Level, Reference Shelves:  BF 31 .E5 1994

II. Select your search terms

• State your research topic as a thesis statement or a question:
  the effects of unemployment on domestic violence
• Identify the separate concepts that make up your topic; put phrases in quotation marks:
  unemployment; "domestic violence"
• Make a list of search terms for each concept.  Be sure to include synonyms, related terms, and terms that may be broader or narrower:
  unemployment:  unemployed, jobless, "employment status"
  "domestic violence":  "family violence", "child abuse", "intimate abuse"
  The Contemporary Thesarus of Search Terms and Synonyms - ask at Reference Desk
• Add appropriate official subject headings to your list(s):
  Thesaurus of Sociological Indexing Terms - ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms - ask at Reference Desk
  Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors [Education] - ask at Reference Desk
  Library of Congress Subject Headings - ask at Reference Desk

III. Devise your search strategy

Based on your list(s) of search terms, devise your search strategy:

• use boolean operator OR; this tells the computer to search for all the terms at the same time:
  unemployment or jobless; "domestic violence" or "family violence"
• use boolean operator AND; this tells the computer to restrict retrieval to both concepts:
  unemployment and "domestic violence"
• use truncation (*) to broaden your search to include variants of a term:
  unemploy* will retrieve unemployed, unemployment, unemployable
• use parentheses to group terms combined using OR:
  (unemploy* or jobless*) and ("domestic violence" or "family violence")

IV. Conduct a literature search

Finding books:

To find books, search one or more of the following library catalogs :

• WSU Stewart Library Online Catalog (iPac) - catalog for WSU's library
• Utah Library Catalogs - links to catalogs for other libraries in Utah
• WorldCat - combined catalog of libraries from around the world

Be sure to check the shelves near any books you find; there may be other books with similar information nearby.

You can also find books on Sociology and related fields by browsing the shelves in the Top Level of the library in the General Collection under the following call numbers: HM [Sociology], HN [Social History], HQ [Family. Marriage. Women. Aging], HV [Social Work. Criminal Justice], BF [Psychology], and GN [Anthropology].

If the book you want is not available in our library, use ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system) to request the book from another library. This usually takes 4 to 7 days.

Finding articles:

To find articles, you need to use an article database, which is is a searchable database of references to journal, magazine and newspaper articles. Some article databases also include the full-text of the article or links to full-text found in other databases.

To find scholarly journal articles in Sociology, the best place to start is Sociological Abstracts. Unfortunately, Sociological Abstracts does not include full-text of the articles, although it may provide links to full-text. See Obtaining articles below to learn how to obtain articles found by searching Sociological Abstracts.

Another great source for scholarly journal articles in Sociology is Academic Search Premier. It contains thousands of full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and scholarly journals, including many in Sociology and related disciplines. To limit your search to scholary journal articles in Academic Search Premier, click on the box next to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals. You may also limit your search to articles available in full-text on the computer by clicking on the box next to Full Text.

The library also has access to many other Social and Behavior Sciences article databases that may include relevant articles. You can also use our News article databases to find newspaper articles by subject or keyword.

Obtaining articles: 

If the article is available as PDF full-text in the article database you are using, download, email or print the article.

If the article is not available as PDF Full-text, click on the Linked Full Text or Find Full Text buttons to see if we have it in full-text in another database.

If there are no Linked Full Text or Find Full Text buttons, or if it says that no full-text is available when you follow any of the links, check the library's EJournals list to see if full-text for the journal containing the article is available in another article database. This list will also tell you if we subscribe to the journal in print format.

If the article is only available in print, do a Journal Alphabetical search in our Online Catalog to identify the call number for the print journal. Recent issues of print journals are shelved by call number in the Current Periodicals area on the Middle Level of the library at the south end. Earlier issues are shelved by call number in bound volumes on the Top Level of the library.

If the article is not available either online or in print, use ILLiad (our online Interlibrary Loan system) to request a copy of the article from another library. This usually takes 2 to 4 days.

Check the bibliography:

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

Finding Internet Resources:

To find Internet resources , an excellent place to begin is the Stewart Library's list of web resources in Sociology. Sociological Abstracts will also retrieve useful websites. Most of the sites listed will provide links to additional sites, so explore! Use Internet search engines to find additional information.

V. Carefully evaluate the information you find

Use the following criteria to determine if the article represents scholarly research:

• Does it include a Literature Review that discusses previous research on the topic?
• Does it include a Methods section that describes such things as the independent and dependent variables; the population studied; and the methods used?
• Does it include a Results section that provides detailed information on the results of the research, including tables, charts, etc.?
• Does it include a Discussion section that discusses the results of the research?
• Does it include an extensive Bibliography or list of References Cited?

You can also use the general criteria found on the library's Scholarly vs. Popular Articles guide to determine if the article is indeed scholarly. You should also verify this with your instructor.

Need Help?

• Visit the Reference Desk or call  626-6415 and speak to a reference librarian
• Online reference help via email:  Ask-A-Librarian Service

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