• Academic Search Complete (also large & multidisciplinary)
• SocINDEX 
  
• Anthropology Plus
• Gender Studies Database
• LGBT Life Fulltext
• Race Relations Abstracts

Any or all of these 6 EBSCO  databases above can be searched TOGETHER
*just select Choose Databases

 You may also like:

• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

**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**

MORE USEFUL TIPS:

• For Quick Tips on how to enter search terms in most of these databases, see this one-page SEARCH STRATEGIES CHEAT SHEET.
• You can click on the Scholarly/Peer-reviewed journals/Academic Articles checkbox in most of the databases above to ensure that the citations you choose are acceptable peer-reviewed articles. See also Evaluating Sources.
• Use the Findit@Concordia button within the databases to try and access the text of the articles. See also ACCESSING the texts.

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For general guidelines on how to write a literature review, including an example of one published in a sociology journal. 

• How to write a literature review

Most articles in scholarly journals include a literature review as part of their text, either labeled as such or integrated within the text. For example:

• an article about disability with a very short literature review. 
• 3 examples of articles with clear LITERATURE REVIEW SECTIONS  (via shared Zotero library).
  Click on the title to find the URL of the article, including the lit review

Some articles articles are entirely devoted to providing a review of the literature. For example:

• an extensive literature review in the journal Intersectionalities.

**NOTE:  YOUR PROFESSOR'S INSTRUCTIONS TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER ANY GENERAL INFO GUIDES OR LIT REVIEW EXAMPLES AS ABOVE. 
 

A small set of specialized scholarly journals contain ONLY articles which have as their main task to review or survey the literature related to a research topic. While none of these are specfically feminist journals you can still take a look at these:

• Compass Journals. Though there is no Feminist Compass, Compass titles that could be relevant include:
  • Sociology
  • Geography
  • Social & Personality Psychology
  • Philosophy
  • History
  • Religion
    
    
• Annual Reviews 
  (There is no Feminist Annual Review, but Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology Annual Reviews might be useful)
  
  *WARNING: Depending on your topic, you may not find any relevant articles from survey or review journals. You will in any case need to search the databases below to identify more of your required scholarly/academic sources.

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• Use our Library Catalogue to find books at Concordia Library.
  
  

• Explore our ebooks by publisher. Try especially Oxford, Palgrave and Project MUSE for instance. 
  
  
• See also Simone's Library & Book List to find books at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute.
  
  
• Try Worldcat to search libraries worldwide, and Other Library Catalogues to locate books at McGill or other Montreal libraries.
  
  
• Use Google Books to search inside the pages of books, then use a Title Search in our catalogue to find out if we own the book you want. If we don't own the book use Interlibrary Loans or other library services
  
  
• See Related Library Services to find out how to obtain material from other libraries.
  
  

**TIP/WARNING:
Though books (or book chapters/essays) can prove to be useful sources for your research paper, it will take more judgment and evaluation on your part to determine if they qualify as appropriate academic sources. See Help EVALUATING sources for some general guidelines.

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The following tools may help:

• Chicago citation quick guide - author-date style
• More Chiago citation style guides 
  (including Concordia Library's guide, Purdue OWL, and the entire Chicago Manual of Style online)

ZOTERO is a free and popular citation tool
(and our new alternative to RefWorks, which will be phased out by April 2020)
To begin:

1. DOWNLOAD the appropriate Zotero program for your computer and Connector for your browser
2. Register for a free account
3. Learn more via our Zotero help page or workshops
   
    

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A wide variety of potential primary sources are available online as well as at Concordia Library and other local research centres. To get an idea of what kind of material might be useful to you, take a look at our  Library Research Tutorial section:

• Which sources will answer my question?

• Some of my favourite current Canadian news databases include:
  • Canadian Newsstream Major Dailies -- easy access and searching of cross-canada daily newspapers
  • Eureka -- excellent for Quebec sources, but also includes thousands of national and international news sources
  • Factiva -- Canadian sources + international newspapers, sophisticated search options.
  
  
• To look up a SPECIFIC archival or current newspaper, you can use the Journal Title Search Option  in our catalogue or the E-journals search box. 
  
  
• See also our extensive lists: News & Current Events -- explore the specialized databases listed under each of the subcategories, such as:
  • Historical Newspapers and Magazines

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• Start with our library guide: How to find Primary Sources, with sections such as: Diaries & Letters, Canadian History and much more.
  
  
• ** Explore our recent acquistions: 
  • Women and Social Movements, International (1840 to present)
  • Women and Social Movements, Modern Empires since 1820
  • see also  Women and social movements in the United States 1600-2000

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• Our Subject Guides in appropriate disciplines can also lead to useful archival and primary sources. See for instance:
  
  • the GOVERNMENT INFORMATION page offering acccess to a great wealth of resources and search tools. 
  • the History Research Guide  page for Canadian History Resources
    

• There is more to explore in our various  library guides. Try for instance:  
  • Public Opinion Polls
  • Law & Justice (including CanLII for court transcripts)
  • Country Reports

• BAnQ Library offers a variety of digital archives (see for instance Patrimoine Québécois) which Quebec residents can access online from home.  
  
  
• Library and Archives Canada

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• See our comprehensive library guide: Statistics & Data.
   
• To find local statistics in all subject areas, start with the Statistics Canada site
  
  
• The latest edition of Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report (2017) provides summaries and tables on a good range of social stats (select categories from the left).
  
  
• Use Browse by Subject to see what kind of stats are available.
  
  
• You can also use the CANSIM database to access historical time series.
  
  
• for QUEBEC ONLY see also Institut de la statistique du Québec, and watch for the Gender-based Analysis (GBA) logo on certain statistical tables. 

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Archival and primary sources can be found in many different places and in many different libraries depending on the context. For instance:

• Concordia Library Special Collections on the Vanier campus 
• Concordia University Archives. 
• BANQ Archives -- both digital and print can be searched via the Pistard catalogue

If you are not certain that you are looking in the right places, use one of our our ASK A LIBRARIAN services or contact me.

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Encyclopedias can sometimes help you explore or define the broader issues and themes related to your research paper topic, and get ideas or references for your searches below.

• Wiley Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender (2017)
  
  
• Search multiple encyclopedias simultaneously in Gale Virtual Reference Library
  • **Relevant encyclopedias within this tool include Encyclopedia of Gender and Society and more.
     
• Search the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology for possible background on theoretical issues and research concepts. 
  
  
• Select from a list of Sexuality Studies Encyclopedias, or find an encyclopedia related to your topic by using our Online Encyclopedias page.
  
  

**WARNING: 
Though encyclopedia articles often include bibliographies listing important books and articles, the encyclopedia articles themselves should NOT be considered as one of the required scholarly sources for your term paper.

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