Library Research Guide

A. Introduction

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Purpose

This guide is intended for graduate students in disciplines that fall within the social sciences at San Jose State University. This includes students pursuing their Master’s degrees in Anthropology, Child and Adolescent Development, Communication Studies, Economics, Library and Information Science, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The purpose of this library guide is to provide a starting point for graduate students to find the information they need to support their research and teaching.

Your Librarians

We’re Richard Le and Kelly Gordon, the King Library liaisons for the social science. Our job is to help you, so please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or feedback you may have.

Richard Le
(408) 924-1111
rlstate2003@yahoo.com

Kelly Gordon
(408) 924-2222
kgordon566@yahoo.com

AskNow -
Is it 3am? Do you have a question that just can’t wait till we get back to our offices? You can get live help any time, 24/7 from King Library’s AskNow chat reference service. Follow this link to chat with a librarian!

B. General reference sources

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Sometimes you just need an overview of a topic to get you started. These encyclopedias and general resources can help. Many of the articles in these resources include references, which can give you a starting point for digging more deeply into the literature as well. All are available either in print or electronically via King Library.

Electronic sources

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://www.blackwellreference.com
This encyclopedia of sociological terms and topics contains brief articles, with references, aimed at students and researchers in the field.

CQ Encyclopedia of American Government
http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://library.cqpress.com/eag/
This encyclopedia contains biographies and encyclopedia entries, with references and images, about important people, events, and concepts in American government.

CQ Researcher
http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/toc.php
The CQ researcher is a unique resource for analysis and synopses of issues in the news. Topics are wide-ranging, including education, health, government, religion, and the environment.

Daily Life Online
http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://dailylife.greenwood.com/home.jsp
This compendium of articles about daily life, past and present, contains articles (with references) about topics such as diet, housing, art, religion, political life, and recreation in cultures from all over the world.

The Encyclopedia Britannica
http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.eb.com/
The classic compendium of general knowledge, online. This resource, along with thousands of articles with references for further reading, also features a world atlas, timeline, and country comparison feature that allows you to compare various statistics between two countries.

Social Science Data Archives
http://www.sociosite.net/databases.php
This is a comprehensive listing of social science databases in the world. You can access statistics from more than 100 countries.

The 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
This is a government site for statistics on population, health, economics, education, manufacturing, natural resources, transportation, trade, and more.

National Center for Education Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/
This is a government clearinghouse for education statistics and reports. It includes national data on schools, enrollment, and outcomes for all levels of education.

Sociometrics
http://www.socio.com/
This site provides 350 data sets and archives on sociology, psychology, health, education, disability, family, and the elderly persons in the U.S.

Print resources

Outhwaite, W. & Touraine, A. (Eds.). (2003). The Blackwell dictionary of modern social thought. (2nd ed.). Malden, MA : Blackwell. [Call No. : H41.B53].
This dictionary contains lengthier articles for central concepts in the social sciences, and briefer definitions for more specialized terms. Articles include references for further reading.

Gould, J. & Kolb, W.L. (Eds.). (1964). A dictionary of the social sciences. New York: Free Press. [Call No. : H41.G6]
This classic resource, more than just a dictionary, contains articles (with references) that define central concepts in the social sciences, provide historical context, and discuss the significance of the term in the social sciences.

Smelser, N. J. & Baltes, P.B. (Eds.). (2001). International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. New York : Elsevier. [Call No. : H41.I58]
This 26-volume encyclopedia is the largest of the social science encyclopedias in print, containing 3800 articles along with references for further reading.

C. Finding Books

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Researchers in the social sciences rely on books to provide broader syntheses and more in-depth analyses of ideas in their disciplines than can be found in journal articles alone. It’s important to remember that drawing solely from the literature found in journals can limit your view of the topic you are researching.

King Library’s online catalog is a good starting point for locating books. Remember that you can search the catalog by subject heading or by keyword in order to find books about your specific topic.

This guide to King Library’s collections can help you locate books within King Library once you’ve found their call numbers in the online catalog. Or, perhaps you’d like to scan the shelves instead: this PDF of Library of Congress Call Numbers can help you to identify areas of the library that might make for fruitful browsing.

WorldCat is a searchable database of the holdings of many academic and public libraries in North America and Europe. Since research at the graduate level usually entails digging deeply into the literature, it’s very likely that you’ll require books that aren’t held by King Library. You can use WorldCat to identify books at other libraries, then request these books via Interlibrary Loan. See the Requesting Materials section of this guide for more information on obtaining materials from other libraries.

D. Finding Articles

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Journal articles represent the original work of your fellow researchers, reviewed by peers (in most cases) before publication. Reading the classic journal articles in your field of study can give you an idea of the foundations upon which the discipline rests, while perusing more recent journals can keep you in touch with new developments.

Accessing article databases

As an SJSU student, you have access to the numerous online article databases to which King Library subscribes. Article databases sometimes contain the full-text of articles, but sometimes just contain the article citation and abstract, which means that you’ll need to locate those articles either in another database or in print.

King Library’s article databases are listed, along with other electronic resources, alphabetically and by subject. An exhaustive list of resources relevant to the social sciences can be found here. However, you may want to begin with one of the article databases described in the list below.

Obtaining articles

You can use the Electronic Journals Index to find out if the journal that contains the article you’re interested in is available electronically. If you have a full citation for the article, you can use the Citation Linker feature to retrieve it directly.

As you dig deeper in your research, you’ll find that many of the articles you’re interested in are only available in print. This should not discourage you from obtaining copies of the articles- it’s not that hard! Use King Library’s online catalog to determine whether the print journal is held by SJSU. If it is, as a graduate student you can check the journal out for one week or make a copy of your article in the library. If the journal is not held by King Library, see the Requesting Materials section of this guide for more information on obtaining the article you need.

Article databases for the social sciences

These article databases are a good place to start your research. Click here for a more complete list of databases in the social sciences.

Academic Search Premier, published by Ebsco, is one of the biggies. It contains citations and abstracts for approximately 8,000 journals and full text for around 4,500 journals in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. This database contains records extending as far back as 1975, but many journals are only indexed from the late 90s or so onward, making this an excellent choice for searching for recent or current journal articles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a website that indexes peer-reviewed journals that are freely available online. DOAJ allows you to identify journals by subject, so that you can browse the full text of open access journals within your discipline. More of a browsing tool than a traditional article database, this directory is probably best used as a supplement to searches in subscription databases that index the more traditionally published (and, likely, better known) journals in your field.

ERIC A well-known database in the field of education, ERIC also contains information of interest to those in psychology and sociology. ERIC contains around 2,200 full-text documents and indexes around 1000 journals in fields related to education.

JSTOR is an online archive of the full text of journals in the social sciences, sciences, and humanities. JSTOR indexes the entire backrun of a journal, from its first issue (in some cases from the 1800s!) up to 3-5 years ago. Because JSTOR in most cases doesn’t index recent journal issues, it’s not the best place to look for up-to-the-minute research. However, it’s a fantastic tool for locating classic papers as well as relatively recent articles.

PsycInfo contains citations, abstract, and some full text for nearly 2.3 million journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, and more, all in fields related to psychology and psychiatry. Some of the material dates back to the 1800s, all the way up to the present day.

Social Sciences Citation Index (part of ISI’s Web of Knowledge) is a good tool for finding out who else is working in your field of interest. The focus of the Web of Knowledge is on citations rather than search terms Thus, you can identify authors who have cited a paper of interest to see who has done more recent work in that area, or you can follow citations back in time by tracing the paper’s references. Although not a full-text database, articles are linked to SJSU’s Citation Linker so that you can access full-text for a particular article from other SJSU databases if it is available.

E. Finding Theses and Dissertations

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The work of your graduate student predecessors can be an important resource when conducting research. Theses and dissertations may contain research that has never been published and which can’t be found from any other source. Theses and dissertations can also be notoriously difficult to track down.

To locate theses of other SJSU students, you can use the online catalog. Choosing the advanced keyword search, then selecting “Thesis/Project” from the Material Type menu to the right will allow you to limit your search only to theses.

The ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database indexes theses and dissertations from colleges across North America. Many of these are available full text.

If you’ve identified a dissertation or thesis that isn’t available full text and that isn’t held by SJSU, you can request it via LINK+ or Interlibrary Loan. See the Requesting Materials section of this guide for more information.

F. Web Resources

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There are many free web resources for social sciences. These websites provide important information and resources for education and research. However, it is crucial that you evaluate them critically for authority and reliability.

Intute: Social Science
http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences
This is an authoritative site which provides the very best web resources for education and research. You can search by disciplines (e.g., psychology, education, sociology) and resource types (e.g., bibliographic databases, articles, news, and directory).

Librarians' Internet Index (LII)
http://search.lii.org/index.jsp?more=SubTopic14
This is a trusted site which indexes the best resources on the web. It is searchable by subject and the disciplinary areas in the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, psychology, political science, and sociology).

Social Sciences Virtual Library (World-Wide Web Virtual Library)
http://www.dialogical.net/socialsciences/index.html
This is a reliable site which offers a good overview of the different disciplines in social sciences and provides links to journals, data archives, scholarly societies, resources by disciplinary fields.

Yahoo! Social Science
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science
This directory provides helpful links to the online resources, statistics, and research studies in social sciences.

Social Work Search
http://www.socialworksearch.com
This is a clearinghouse site for all things related to the field of social work. It provides information on child welfare, mental health, domestic violence, education, research, and statistics.

USASearch
http://www.usasearch.gov
The USAsearch is the official portal to federal and state government information. It allows you to locate information in the field of psychology, history, economics, sociology, religious studies, and political science.

Evaluating Web Resources

It is important to evaluate the information you find on the Internet because not all information is authoritative, reliable, objective, or current. The websites below will show you how to evaluate information on the web.

Evaluating Information (San Jose State University)
http://www.sjlibrary.org/services/literacy/info_comp/evaluating.htm
It provides an overview of the evaluative criteria and links to other evaluative sites.

Evaluating Web Resources (University of Maryland University College)
http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/web.shtml#Evaluate
It provides a checklist of the criteria used for evaluating web resources.

Five criteria for evaluating Web pages (Cornell University Library)
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webcrit.html
It identifies the evaluative criteria and teaches you how to interpret the basics.

G. Requesting Materials

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If the materials you need are not found in the Library, below are some of the ways to request them.

Request for Books:

LINK+
Link+ is a joint borrowing program among the public and academic libraries in California. It enables you to borrow books, music scores, and government documents from other libraries, except media. Anyone with a library card may use Link+. To learn more about Link+ and how to request the materials, click here.

To search and use Link+ now, click here.

Interlibrary Services (ILLiad)
The Interlibrary Services allows you to request materials that are not currently owned by the SJSU Library. The ILLiad service excludes textbooks and materials that are on course reserves.

Before using the services, please check the Library catalog to see if the material you need is in the Library. If not, click here to place an Interlibrary Services request.

Request for Articles:

There are FOUR ways to obtain the journal articles you need.

1. SJSU Online Databases
The SJSU Library subscribes to many online databases that contain full-text articles. SJSU students may access these databases at anytime. You may want to look at a list of electronic journals that library owns by clicking here.

2. Interlibrary Services (ILLiad)
The ILLiad is web-based service for requesting interlibrary materials. It allows you to request copies of the article you need from other libraries. You may only use this service when an article is not found in the SJSU Library or its online databases. Your request may take up to 2 weeks to be filled.

To learn more about how this service works and to check out the frequently asked questions page, click here.

Before placing a request, check to see if the item you want is in the Library catalog or Link+. To place a request, click here,

3. Other local libraries
The other local libraries may have the article you need. Click here to check their online catalogs and websites. Find one that has a copy and then visit that library to obtain the article.

4. Commercial Document Delivery (Fee-based)
Document delivery services are available. The fees varied from supplier to supplier. Click here for a list of the services available. To learn more details about articles request, click here.

H. Writing and Citing

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It is important to cite your information sources. Citing your sources not only prevents you from being accused of plagiarism, but also authenticates your work and enables others to find the same information if they want it.

There are different styles of citing an information source. Three frequently used styles are: American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and University of Chicago Press (Chicago). Often, many study disciplines may require students to use their own styles for citing.

Whenever you use the information you find in a book, article, interview, email, correspondence, government document, non-print media and software, you must properly cite it. The selected resources will show you how to cite your information sources.

Web Resources for APA, MLA and Chicago Styles

Citing print sources (University of Texas Libraries, UTL):
APA style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/apaprint.html
MLA style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/mlaprint.html
Chicago style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/chicagoprint.html

Citing online contents (UTL):
APA style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/apaonline.html
MLA style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/mlaonline.html
Chicago style: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/citations/chicagoonline.html

Additional Resources
Research and Documentation Online
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c09_s1.html
Dianna Hacker provides some good instructions on how to cite in-text citations, references, and manuscripts for the APA style.

SJSU Library
http://www.sjlibrary.org/services/literacy/info_comp/citing.htm
SJSU Library provides a list of web resources on how to cite your information sources in different styles.

Print Manuals for APA, MLA and Chicago Styles
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Publication Information Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Call No. BF76.7 .P83 2001 ]

Gibaldi, J. (2003). MLA handbook for writers of research papers (6th ed.). New York: Modern Language Association of America. [ Call No. 808.027 Gibaldi ]

University of Chicago Press (2003). The Chicago manual of style (15th ed). Publication Information Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [ Call No. Z253 .U69 2003 ]

Writing

Quality thesis or dissertation writing is essential in graduate level study. Students must be able to write and demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and expertise in their field. The selected resources below will help assist you in writing a thesis or dissertation.

Books on Writing Thesis and Dissertation
Bolker, J. (1998). Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day: A guide to starting, revising, and finishing your doctoral thesis. New York: H. Holt. [ Call No. 808.0663 Bolker ]

Dunleavy, P. (2003). Authoring a PhD: How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation. Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [ Call No. LB2369 .D85 2003 ]

Harman, E. (2003). The thesis and the book: A guide for first-time academic authors. Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press. [ Call No. Z286.S37 T53 2003 ]

Heppner, P. P. (2004). Writing and publishing your thesis, dissertation, and research: A guide for students in the helping professions. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole. [ Call No. LB2369 .H46 2004 ]

Locke, L. F. (1993). Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. [ Call No. Q180.55.P7 L63 1993 ]

Mauch, J. E. (2003). Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: A handbook for students and faculty. New York: M. Dekker. [ Call No. LB2369 .M377 2003 ]

Thomas, R. M. (2001). Avoiding thesis and dissertation pitfalls: 61 cases of problems and solutions. Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey. [ Call No. LB2369 .T457 2001 ]

Additional Writing Help
Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
This is an extensive site for writing, grammar usage, and punctuations. It was developed by Dr. Darling of Capital Community Technical College (Hartford, CT).

The Purdue Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
This site is among the best web resources for writing. It offers more than 200 free resources for research writing, grammar and mechanics, style guides, ESL, and professional writing.

Thesis Writing (Monash University)
http://www.education.monash.edu.au/students/current/resources/thesiswriting.html
This site provides a concise description on how to write a quality thesis from start to finish.

Writing Tips (Writer’s Block)
http://www.writersblock.ca/tips/index.htm
This site provides a wide range of issues, from abbreviations, punctuation, to writing styles.

Citation Management Software

There are citation management software packages that will help you to manage your bibliographies and references for your essays. The software automatically formats the citation into whatever format or style you desire. Here are some of the more popular ones.

Production Information:
EndNote: http://www.endnote.com/eninfo.asp
ProCite: http://www.procite.com/pcinfo.asp
RefWorks: http://www.refworks.com/

Online Tutorials on How to Use the Software:
EndNote Product Training (Thompson ResearchSoft)
http://www.endnote.com/training/
The Thompson ResearchSoft provides a good tutorial on how to use the software.

ProCite
http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/procite/procite3.htm
Charles Sturt University Library has a 2-part instruction on how to use ProCite. Click on the "Tutorials" links to view them.

RefWorks
http://refworks.scholarsportal.info/tutorial/
Refworks teaches you how to use their citation software.

I. Statistical Resources

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Quality research is required in any academic study. Particularly in the social sciences, a well-thought out experimental design, coupled with valid analysis of data, is crucial to making worthwhile contributions in your field. Below are some statistical resources for social sciences.

Books on statistics for Social Sciences

Frankfort-Nachmi, C. (2006). Social statistics for a diverse society. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press. [ Call No. HA29 .N25 2006 ]

Healey, J. F. (2007). The essentials of statistics: A tool for social research. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. [ Call No. HA29 .H39 2007 ]

Hurlburt, R. T. (2006). Comprehending behavioral statistics. Australia ; Belmont, CA:
Thomson/Wadsworth. [ Call No. BF39 .H87 2006 ]

Lee, E. S. (2006). Analyzing complex survey data. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. [ Call No. QA276 .L3394 2006 ]

Lind, D. A. (2006). Basic statistics for business & economics. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. [ Call No. HA29 .L75 2006 ]

Nardi, P. M. (2006). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon. [ Call No.HN29 .N25 2006 ]

Wagner, W. E. (2007). Using SPSS for social statistics and research methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press. [ Call No.HA32 .W34 2007 ]

J.Teaching Resources

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Your ability to teach, lecture, or present your work to others is essential in both academic and professional settings. Your success, as an information presenter, is dependent on how much you know about the basics of teaching and the available presentation tools (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint). Hence, below are resources that will help you to improve teaching skills.

Books on Teaching

Eble, K. E. (1988). The craft of teaching: A guide to mastering the professor's art. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass. [ Call No. LB2331 .E328 1988 ]

Forsyth, I. (1999). Delivering a course: Practical strategies for teachers, lecturers and trainers (2nd ed.). London: Kogan Page. [ Call No. LB1028.38 .F66x 1999 ]

Kreber, C. (2006). Exploring research-based teaching. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass. [ Call No. LB2331 .E95x 2006 ]

Lowman, J. (1984). Mastering the techniques of teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[ Call No. LB2331 .L68 1984 ]

Ragains, P. (2006). Information literacy instruction that works : A guide to teaching by discipline and student population. New York: Neal-Schuman Publisher. [ Call No. ZA3075 .I537 2006 ]

Web Resources for Teaching

Teaching Guide (UC Berkeley, Graduate Division)
http://gsi.berkeley.edu/resources/contents.html
This guide shows you how to improve your teaching skills, evaluate students learning, and use technology in the classroom.

Teaching Materials (Office of Educational Development, OED)
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/teaching.html
This site offers tips on delivering a lecture, giving assignments, getting students involved, and making your teaching effective.

Teaching Tips (Teaching Resource Center)
http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/TC_Topic.htm
This site shows you different ways to improve your teaching. The tips are grouped by different teaching categories.

Resources on How to use PowerPoint

Lowe, L. (2004) Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 [electronic resource]: Fast & easy. Publication Information Boston, MA: Premier Press.
http://mill1.sjlibrary.org/search/tpowerpoint/tpowerpoint/1,20,42,B/frameset&FF=tpowerpoint+2003&1,,4/indexsort=

Matthews, C. B. (2004). Microsoft Office Powerpoint 2003 quicksteps. New York: McGraw-Hill/Osborne. [ Call No. 006.686 Matthews ]

Muir, N. (2006). Teach yourself visually PowerPoint 2003. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. [ Call No. 006.686 POWERPOI Muir ]