Library Guides: Sociology: Starting Points

Start your search

"The function of sociology, as of every science, is to reveal that which is hidden." - Pierre Bourdieu, from On Television

This introduction offers sources and tips for navigating our wealth of available research in sociology. The next tabs focus on areas of interest. Sociology is interdisciplinary, so if you're struggling to find something, check out the guides for anthropology, psychology, or economics--or contact your librarian!

At the library homepage the default search box will search hundreds of databases (see what's included). The online library catalog is called Oskicat and provides specifics about items in the physical collections and access points for digital resources. Melvyl searches libraries in the entire UC system, and also returns citations from a range of databases.

Journal Article Indexes and Collections

Sociological Abstracts
Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Knowledge)
Indexes over 1,700 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals, and provides searching of footnoted citations. For more guidance on using this database see the following tutorials: Saving your search & setting alerts
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
More than 70 languages are represented, with 30% percent of records published in languages other than English.
Social Theory
Full text books and articles on the nature of social behavior and organization, by theorists such as Jean Baudrillard, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Talcott Parsons, Mary Wollstonecraft and many others.

Features 48,300 pages of content by such major theorists as Jean Baudrillard, Ulrich Beck, Howard Becker, Nancy Chodorow, Emile Durkheim, Norbert Elias, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Erving Goffman, Karl Marx, Robert Merton, and Talcott Parsons, Mary Wollstonecraft and others. An advanced search interface allows sophisticated textual analyses of the included text.

Definitions, Reference and the Annual Review

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Call Number: See Doe Reference Desk

Annual Review of Sociology
Compiles essays on significant developments in the field.

Doe, Main Stacks, and Moffitt Library floorplans

Looking for a book or location in Doe, Main Stacks or Moffitt?
Try the library floorplans for:

Or ask for assistance!

Statistics

Ready to use statistical sources, some with simple table and map creation functions.

American Factfinder (U.S. Census Bureau)
Data from the US Decennial Census, the American Community Survey, the Economic Census, and more. (American Fact Finder)

"Searchable database used to find online source for accessing population, housing, economic and geographic data from the from the U.S. Census, including the Census of Population and Housing and the American Community Survey. After the 2000 census, the detailed census ""long form"" was replaced by the American Community Survey, a sample distributed to about 3% of households annually, as compared to the decennial census long form which went to 1 in 6 households every 10 years. The current version of American Factfinder contains 2010 and 2000 census data only. Historical versions of the census in PDF may be found on the Historical Census of Population and Housing site

. Selected historical tables and maps are also available from the Historical Census Browser at the University of Virginia. Current and historical census and mapping data is also available in an easy-to-use format via the commercial database Social Explorer
Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest)
A comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States, 1878 to present.

The United States Statistical Abstract (aka Stat Ab) is useful both as a convenient source for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information, in print and on the Web (when available). Sources include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. Prior to 2012, the Stat Ab was provided free of charge. In 2012, Congress cancelled funding and ProQuest has continued producing the Stat Ab.
Data Planet
Provides easy access to a wide variety of economic, social, political, and marketing indicators. (DataPlanet - Data-Planet - Statistical Datasets)

Offers easy access to over 5,550 data sets from over 65 source providers and 16 subject categories, including banking, criminal justice, education,energy, food and agriculture, government, health, housing and construction,industry and commerce, labor and employment, natural resources and environment, income, cost of living, stocks, transportation, and more. Sources of data include federal, local, state and international governments and organizations. Allows for customization of the data by selecting subjects, and the ability to view your data in side-by-side tables, charts and maps. Also available to search using a ready reference interface.

Contact Your Librarian

Ann Glusker

Subjects:Demography, Sociology

Secondary menu

Sociology: Starting Points