SOCI 310:
Tips for library research
This page is designed to help you with the finding articles, literature review and citation/referece formatting components of your SOCI 310 research assignments. It covers what we discussed during our workshop and more. Please feel free to use one of the Ask a Librarian services for additional quick questions, or to drop in on me during my Zoom office hours for additional assistance.
- SocINDEX -- should be your first choice
- Academic Search Complete
- Anthropology Plus
- Sociological Abstracts
- Google Scholar
(see: How to set up Google Scholar to find Concordia Resources) - Gender Studies Database
- LGBT Life Fulltext
USEFUL TIPS:
- *Not all articles in databases are peer-reviewed. You can click on the Scholarly/Peer-reviewed journals checkbox in most of the databases above to ensure that the citations you choose are acceptable peer-reviewed articles. See also Evaluating Sources.
- For Quick Tips on how to enter search terms in most of these databases, see this one-page CHEAT SHEET.
- See also this quick video: Developing your Search Strategy (the search examples in this video are in the Sofia Discovery Tool, but you can apply the same tips to most databases above)
**FUN TIP:
If you have found an interesting citation that is not very recent, use the "Cited by" link available in many databases (especially in Google Scholar) to find similar and more recent articles**
- How to write a literature review
for general guidelines on how to write a literature review, including an example of one published in a sociology journal.
- sample literature review student paper (ASA style)
- 3 examples(via shared Zotero library) of articles with LITERATURE REVIEW SECTIONS - sometimes labeled as BACKGROUND - Click on the title to connect to the article
**NOTE: YOUR PROFESSOR'S INSTRUCTIONS TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER ANY GENERAL INFO GUIDES OR LIT REVIEW EXAMPLES AS ABOVE.
The main task of articles in these kinds of journals is to review the literature related to a research topic. They include extensive bibliographies which can lead you to many other sources on your research question. Try these:
- Sociology Compass.
- BROWSE Sociology
- SEARCH Compass Journals (and limit to Sociology)
- Annual Review of Sociology:
- BROWSE Sociology
- SEARCH Annual Reviews (and limit to Sociology)
*WARNING: Articles in these journals do NOT present empirical qualitative or quantitave research, instead they review other authors' research.
The following tools may help:
APA - 7th Edition
- APA citation guide (Concordia Library)
- More APA citation style guides
ASA - 2022 7th Edition
- ASA Style Guide [in-text and reference page] (University of Toronto Mississauga)
- ASA style [in-text and reference page] (University of Nebraska)
ZOTERO is a free and popular citation tool
To begin:
- Register for a free account
- DOWNLOAD the appropriate Zotero program for your computer and Connector for your browser
- Learn more via our Zotero help page or workshops
**Ask your professor about their guidelines and policies around using AI tools **
First getsome context & learn the basics:
- ChatGPT & Generative AI
a Concordia Library Quick Things for Digital Knowledge guide
Learn more and try out some tools:
- AI-based research tools (Oxy Library)
- AI-Based Literature Review Tools (TAMU Libraries)
**NOTE: while some book chapters can be considered peer-reviewed research, it is harder to identify these than it is with peer-reviewed articles. See the Help Evaluating section of this guide for guidance. **
books at Concordia:
- Use our Sofia Discovery tool
books BEYOND Concordia:
- The Sofia Discovery tool can simultaneously search the catalogues of all Quebec university libraries, and of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide. Under the Library facet on the left, simply select: Bibliothèques universitaires du Québec or Libraries worldwide.
- Google Books. This tool searches inside the pages of books. Once you have identified a useful book here, you can search for the print or ebook at Concodia using our Sofia Discovery tool.
IS IT SCHOLARLY/ACADEMIC/PEER-REVIEWED?
Your professor's instructions should always be the first criteria in determining what qualifies as an appropriate academic source. If you feel you need additional guidance in this area, however, you might find some relevant tips in the guides below.
- Our library tutorial on: How do I know if an article is scholarly or peer reviewed?
- A quick tip or quick video from our library guide about peer-reviewed articles
- Scholarly vs. Popular Sources guide from Berkeley (for book chapters as well as journal articles)
- Peer-review in 3 minutes (NCSU Libraries)
When evaluating the quality of a variety of material, the following library guide might provide some help:
- How to evaluate research materials and resources
- ACT UP Evaluation Method (an alternative approach that tries to "push against dominant narratives")
There is no definitive or magical way of determining whether any one journal, article, or other resource is sociological in its approach. Checking out our BrowZine list of Sociology-Related Journals might help.
And here is a very selective list of some typical top-ranked journals, as well as some Canadian selections:
**TIP: To simply get a feel for what is sociological, It might be just as useful to browse the sociology REVIEW journals listed above.
Virtually all of the tools listed on this page can help you find material about the research method(s) uch as observation, interviewing and more.
But you should also try out our new specialized tool:
- Sage Research Methods Online
- This tool contains encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, journal articles and videos dealing with research methods in both theoretical and practical terms. It also includes Methods Map, a visualization tool that tries to map relationships between methods.
see our Library Tutorial: