|  |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
 |
|
| Sociology |
Defined as "the study of human social behavior," sociology centers on the study of origins, development, organization, and institutions of human society. While a great deal of material about sociology is kept in the sociology area of Auraria Library (Library of Congress Classification System call letters HM-HX), students of sociology may also need to consult books, journals, and other media in other fields of study as well. These fields might include, but may not be limited to, anthropology and history (for origins and development of institutions), medicine, business, political science and government (for patterns of group organization or studies of institutions). TYPES OF LIBRARY MATERIALS Information in libraries, including Auraria Library, is divided
in two ways, by type and by discipline. Reference books, circulating
books, journals and magazines, media, and government documents are
types of material; each type has a separate department in the library.
The second kind of division, by discipline or subject, is indicated
by call number. The main call numbers for sociology and social work
follow:
To find library material on any topic, you need to know the type of material and the call number. For example, to locate the book The Group as Agent of Change, you need to know that it is a book you can check out and is shelved on the second floor, and that the Library of Congress call number is HM 134 J33, which tells you its position on the shelf. For a more specific approach, use the Library of Congress Subject Headings which offer very specific terms or phrases used by libraries to describe what a given book or article is about. Reference books usually cover material briefly and broadly or present statistics or facts about a particular subject. They can be useful in helping you pick a subject for research since many of them cover a number of related concepts. Some especially useful reference books are listed below. Other reference sources may be found by using Skyline, Auraria Library's catalog. Do a word search using sociology or social work followed by one of the following: encyclopedia, dictionary, handbook, statistics or by browsing the shelves near the books listed. The Reference section of the Library is located on the first floor. The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological
Language. Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. This concise desk reference is arranged like a dictionary but has a wider scope. A good place to start when researching terms in sociology. REF HM17.C66 1994 Dictionary of Quotations in Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. This unusual and useful dictionary presents the nature, origin, development, and current status of general sociological concepts through direct quotations. About 75 percent come from modern sociology, the remaining 25 percent from other social sciences, philosophy, religion, and other related fields. REF HM17.B37 1985 Dictionary of Social Behavior and Social Research Methods. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1981.Emphasis is on social psychology. It includes the definition of approximately 1,000 terms, such as Johari Window and Zeigarnik effect, that are considered important in the social psychology field. 2nd Floor HM17.S72 Encyclopedia of Sociology. 4 vols. New York: MacMillan, 1992.A current work including 370 articles which provide summaries of sociological concepts, theory, and other areas of scholarly investigation. REF HM17.E5 1991 The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Sociology. 3rd ed. Guilford, CT: Dushkin, 1986. Designed to provide the information and background necessary to understand the concepts in sociology. The "Topic Guides" point out the specific relationship between individual articles in the book. REF HM17.C52 1986 International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences -- This online version of the 24-volume printed encyclopedia contains nearly 4,000 signed articles by social science scholars from many disciplines. Fully searchable, with integrated internal linking. Printed encyclopedia was originally published in 2001; online version to be updated annually. Also in paper: REF H40.A2 I5 Social Issues. New York : Macmillan Library Reference,1998. 2nd FL HM17 .E5152 1998 The Social Science Encyclopedia. Boston: London: Routledge, 1985. A one volume encyclopedia which contains over 700 social science terms, theories and theorists. The signed entries, written by experts in the field, cover not only topics in social sciences, but also related topics in biology, business, and medicine. Most entries include bibliographical references. REF H41.S63 Sources of Information in the Social Sciences: A Guide to the Literature. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986.Provides a systematic guide of the literature in the fields of history, geography, economics and business administration, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, and political science. It is especially useful for upper-division and graduate students. REF H 51.Z9 W4 1985 Circulating books, or books that can be checked out, contain far more detail than reference books. To find in-depth information on your subject use Skyline, Auraria Library's catalog and do a word search using keywords related to your topic. Examples of keywords: gangs, alcoholism, single parent families, homelessness, marriage, socialization, social customs. To get more information, think of synonyms for the term you try first. You might begin with siblings or brothers and sisters and then try family relationships to find more information. Once you have found one or two titles that look useful, the easiest way to find useful synonyms is to look at the full record screen for those books and check the "Subject" section for other useful key words. Some may be more on target than the term you have been using. Skyline automatically does Boolean searching every time you put two words together. A word search on family relationships searches for any records for items with the words family and relationships. You can do another type of Boolean searching using synonyms. family and (relationships or structure) This search finds records for items with the word family and relationships or family and structure This type of searching is also useful for finding singular and plural forms of words. For example: (family or families). Specific Databases to Locate Books and Other Materials Keep in mind there are different library systems that offer different services and features. For example: Skyline (Auraria Library Online Catalog) -- Use the Library online catalog to find books that Auraria owns on the shelf, or electronically. You may also use Skyline to find out if the Library subscribes subscribes to specific periodicals. Prospector: the Colorado Unified Catalog -- Use Prospector to determine which major Colorado library may own a particular book. WorldCat -- This database contains the book records of nearly every library in the United States, and many foreign libraries. Use to request items not found through Skyline or Prospector, including books, dissertations, videorecordings and other materials.
Indexes provide citations. If you need relatively recent material select one of the electronic indexes available from the Library's homepage. For older or more in-depth lists of articles you may have to consult one of the print-only indexes. To Find a Journal, Magazine or Newspaper Article Consult the Find Articles guide to find information about locating journals and magazines. Recommended Starting Points Databases -- Go to this page for databases related to sociology and sociological theory. Many databases on this page contain full text, scholarly, peer reviewed and refereed articles that appear in leading journals. When the Materials You Need Aren't Owned by Auraria Library Prospector: the Colorado Unified Catalog -- Use Prospector to determine which major Colorado library may own a particular book. You may use Prospector through Skyline or directly through the Web. WorldCat -- This database contains the book records of nearly every library in the United States, as well as many foreign libraries. Use to request items not found through Skyline or Prospector, including books, dissertations, videorecordings and other materials. ILLiad -- Use to order books, or journal and magazine articles, that Auraria Library doesn't own, and you cannot locate in Skyline or Prospector. Allyn & Bacon Sociology Links Pages American Sociological Association -- Provides news, career resources and information from sections of this major organization. Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) -- CESSDA promotes the acquisition, archiving and distribution of electronic data for social science teaching and research in Europe. Data on the Net -- Browse over 862 Internet sites for numeric social science statistical data, data catalogs, data libraries, social science gateways, addresses and more. Updated frequently. Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging Everything Postmodern -- Great, extensive site for postmodern theory. Famous Sociologists -- Leading figures in sociology dead and very much alive. A detailed site with links to sociologists' works. Research Resources for the Social Sciences -- Sponsored by McGraw-Hill this site provides links to numerous information resources related to sociology. Social Research and Statistics Links -- Based on the book "Using the Web for Social Research." Social Science Information Gateway -- Detailed site broken down by sociological topic. Society for the Study of Social Problems Sociological Tour through Cyberspace -- Background, data resources and theories related to sociology, death and dying, mass communications, gender theory and sociology of knowledge. Sociological Research Online -- One of the leading journals in sociology. SocioSite -- A very detailed site with links to aspects of sociology. SocioWeb -- Explore the Web by sociological category. Explanation of Location Codes |
Created by Thomas Beck & Nikki McCaslin
1100 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80204
Phone 303.556.2740 | Fax 303.556.3528
© 2008 Auraria Library
