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SOCI 151: Introductory Sociology

Prof. Light Carruyo, Spring 2024

Which database is right for me?

inverted triangle that visualizes databases and search tools from very broad to more specific Google - good for taking a very wide view of a topic, using a variety of materials not found in library databases (blogs, some news sources, reports, etc.) Domain searching can target your search results example, "climate change" + :.edu | :.org | :.gov.

Google Scholar - still a huge swath of information, but more focused on scholarly publications (including journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, etc.)

Web of Science, Scopus, and JSTOR - academic databases with an explicit focus on scholarly publications, with many options for complex, targeted searching

Specialized databases - some are focused on a subject area (EconLit, America: History and Life, etc.), while others are focused on a type of source (news, primary sources, images, videos, etc.)

Databases for Starting Your Search: Peer-Reviewed Articles & More

Best Bets for Starting Your Research
Multidisciplinary Databases

Sociological Abstracts
Covers international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.

SAGE Discipline Hub - Sociology, Gender Studies, and Cultural Studies
SAGE collection of core disciplinary journals and books in sociology, gender studies, and cultural studies.

ProQuest Social Science Collection
Combined search of 15 ProQuest products: Alt-PressWatch, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Black Study Center, Coronavirus Research Database, Econlit, ERIC, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, Healthcare Administration Database, LGBT Magazine Archive, PAIS, PTSDpubs, Sociological Abstracts, and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
GreenFILE
Index of articles from journals, government publications, and general interest titles relevant to human impact on the environment including global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and recycling.
Environment Complete
Index of journal articles relevant to agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, and more.
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Indexing and abstracts for key journals in communications, mass media, and related fields of study. Level of access and searchability for titles vary. Information about journals will include indexing and abstracts, and may include full text, PDFs, or searchable cited references. Also provides a thesaurus and author profiles. Date range: 1915 - present
Includes the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State)

Web of Science
Index of articles from scholarly journals spanning the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Provides cited reference searching capability.
The Web of Science “Core Collection” includes the following:
Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI)
Book Citation Index - Science (BCKI-S)
Book Citation Index - Social Sciences & Humanities (BCKI-SSH)
Current Chemical Reactions (CCR-EXPANDED)
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
Index Chemicus (IC)
Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
Scopus
Index of articles from scholarly journals spanning the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Provides cited reference searching capability.
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JSTOR
Provides full text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in history, economics, political science, architecture and art history and other fields. Consult the online tables of contents for holdings, as coverage varies for each title, but usually ends several years before the current year.
Project MUSE
Covers literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, etc. Contains current full text scholarly journals which cover these fields and a significant collection of recent scholarly books.
ProQuest Research Library
Multidisciplinary index to articles in scholarly and popular periodicals. Coverage 1850 - present
Google Scholar
Links to peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations

Library Search
Use the Library Search to find print and electronic books and periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers) owned by the Library, as well as other media. Use the drop-down menus to specify the type of search you want to conduct. When Vassar does not have the book you need or our copy is not available, search Connect NY.