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Sociology

Recommended resources for getting started with sociology research

ASA Formatting Guides & Examples

ASA style is the citation style used by the American Sociological Association and frequently used within sociology publications. Your professor may permit use of additional styles, such as Chicago Style or APA (American Psychological Association).

ASA Style: Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This resource covers ASA style and includes information about manuscript formatting, in-text citations, formatting the references page, and accepted manuscript writing style. The bibliographical format described is taken from the American Sociological Association (ASA) Style Guide, 5th edition
ASA Style Reference
from Willamette University, a brief reference on ASA Style
Preparation Checklist for ASA Manuscripts
Manuscript checklist with formating examples from the American Sociological Association
Style Guide 5th ed. (American Sociological Association)
Print guide; Main Library Reference ; HM569 .A54 2014

QUICK CITATION TOOLS

Google Scholar
Use the cite feature in Google Scholar to generate a citation. Search using the title of your source and click "cite under the item summary. Always double check database generated citations for accuracy.
ZoteroBib
Quickly generate a citation or reference list in any citation style by entering a URL, ISBN, DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, or title into the search box, or entering your citation elements.

CITATION MANAGEMENT

Zotero
A free easy-to-use citation management tool to help you collect, store, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Zotero can format in-text citations and generate references lists using your preferred citation style. Visit Intro to Zotero for account creation and user guides.

Zotero Resources

Overview

Quick Start Guide: https://www.zotero.org/support/quick_start_guide
Using Zotero in Google Docs: https://www.zotero.org/support/google_docs

Two short video tutorials from GSU (may want to adjust the playback speed)

Adding references to Zotero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9fkwoITfbM
Creating a quick bibliography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q8x8S1YASI

Yellow Zotero banner when searching databases? Here is how you can get rid of that: https://library.vassar.edu/zotero_howto/proxy. This banner (or rather its functionality) can interfere with your Vassar access, especially in Ebsco databases.

Last Updated: May 20, 2025 3:25 PM
URL: https://library.vassar.edu/soci
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Subjects: Sociology