Encyclopedia articles, written by subject authorities, provide information useful for gaining a basic understanding of a topic and getting started with a research project. Typically, a bibliography, or list, of "classic" books and articles for further research follows each article. Students will find also these encyclopedias useful for brushing up on topics related to their central area of investigation. [Note: See the Research Guides for sources that deal with narrower sub-fields within the discipline.]

"Sociology." Encyclopædia Britannica  [Online] [Accessed
7 April 2006 ] Available:<http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=117537>.

General essay includes chapters addressing historical development, early schools of thought, interdisciplinary influences, scientific status, cultural theory, emerging roles for sociologists, and major modern developments.

Encyclopedia of American Social History.  Edited by Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams.  New York : Scribner ; Toronto : Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, c1993.

This three-volume work is comprised of lengthy essays, written by subject specialists.  These essays fall into fourteen parts, each addressing specialized topics in the history of American social activity and interactions.  Part I serves as an overview of social periods in American history.  Other sections include theoretical approaches to sociology, processes of social change, and issues of ethnicity, race, subcultures, everyday life, work and labor, popular culture, social problems, technology and education.   Provides lengthy bibliographies and a network of cross-references.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HN57 .E58 1993 -- v.1-3

Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000. Edited by Peter N. Stearns.  New York : Scribner, c2001.

This reference tool resembles Encyclopedia of American Social History in form and in function.  Essays, contributed by experts in the field of social history, are divided into major categories and encompass topics of theoretical approaches, periods of social history, population, social structure, crime, gender, sexuality, religion, everyday life, and more.  Includes an alphabetical table of contents and a chronology of European social history, by decade.  Illustrated, with maps and lengthy bibliographies.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HN373 .E63 2001 -- v.1-6

Encyclopedia of Sociology. Edited by Edgar J. Borgotta.  New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2000.

Addresses about 400 topics thought to be important concepts in sociology.  Listed alphabetically, the included essays are meant to assist students, sociologists, and other professionals in understanding unfamiliar subjects in the field.  Includes lengthy bibliographies.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HM425 .E5 2000 -- v.1-5

These specialized subject dictionaries define the terminology in the discipline. See the Research Guides for sources that deal with narrower sub-fields within the discipline.

Dictionary of Sociology. By Tony Lawson and Joan Garrod.  London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.

Offers brief definitions, with cross-references, of basic concepts in sociology.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HM17 .L3920 2001 

A Dictionary of Sociology. [ Online ] Oxford University Press, 2005. Available: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t88&subject=s20 (Accessed 7 April 2006).

Edited by Gordon Marshall. Includes 2,500 entries. This dictionary has international coverage of terms, methods, and concepts; related terms from psychology, economics, anthropology, philosophy, and political science; and material on topics such as cultural studies and identity, mass media, and the Internet, nationalism and McDonaldization.

Dictionary of the Social Sciences. [ Online ] Oxford University Press, 2002. Available: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t104&subject=s20 (Accessed 7 April 2006).

Edited by Craig Calhoun. Includes 1800 entries. Ranging from 50 to 500 words, entries draw on classic and contemporary scholarship, and include basic terms, concepts, theories, schools of thought, methodologies, techniques, topics, issues, and controversies. "In addition to terminology, the Dictionary includes nearly 275 biographies of major figures—from Franz Boas to John Maynard Keynes to Max Weber, whose work has had a profound impact on the various fields." Restricted to Union College.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] H41 .D53  2002 

Sociology Dictionary [ Online ]   Iverson Software, Incorporated.  Available: http://www.webref.org/sociology/sociology.htm (Accessed 10 January 2005)

Handbooks collect basic, practical information—formulas, tables of data, classification systems, definitions—for professionals operating within a discipline.

Handbook of Urban Studies. Edited by Ronan Pattison. London ; Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE, 2001

Provides a comprehensive account of the urban condition, relevant to a wide readership from academics to researchers and policy-makers. Leading authors identify key issues and questions and future trends for further research and present their findings.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HT151 .H36 2001

Statistical Handbook on Adolescents in America. Edited by Bruce A. Chadwick and Tim B. Heaton.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1996.

This resource and the five others that follow are examples of Oryx Press handbooks owned by Schaffer Library.  They are comprised of statistical tables and charts provided by the United States government, research organizations, and special interest groups.  Each volume focuses on a specific research area in the field of sociology.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HQ796 .S8237 1996 

Statistical Handbook on Aging Americans. Edited by Frank L. Schick and Renee Schick.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1994.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HQ1064.U5 S695 1994 

Statistical Handbook on the American Family. Edited by Bruce A. Chadwick and Tim B. Heaton.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1999.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HQ536 .S727 1999 

Statistical Handbook on Violence in America.  Edited by Adam Dobrin, Brain Wiersema, Colin Loftin, and David McDowall.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1996.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HN90.V5 S833 1996 

Statistical Handbook on Women in America.  Edited by Cynthia M. Taeuber.  Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1996.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HQ1420 .T34 1996 

The library subscribes to the ASI Microfiche Library. Every document indexed in ASI since 1979 is available in this library. In addition to the ASI Microfiche Library for federal government publications containing statistical data, the library also subscribes to the SRI Microfiche Library, containing most but not every non-federal statistical item indexed in SRI. A third collection, Index to International Statistics, deals with statistical material from international, intergovernmental bodies, completes the package. Online access to the database—and to some of the documents themselves—is available through the Statistical Universe component of LexisNexis Academic Universe.

Directories identify the professionals, institutions, organizations, and associations within a discipline.

Women in Sociology : a Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook.  Edited by Mary Jo Deegan.  New York : Greenwood Press, 1991.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HM22.U6 W66 1991 

Women's Information Directory. Detroit : Gale Research, 1993.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] HV1445 .W67 1993

Style manuals and citations guides illustrate how to cite book, journal, and other research sources, including materials found in online databases and on the Web according to the conventional format of a particular discipline. Subject specific citation guides are listed below, and a complete listing appears at Reference Sites: Citation Guides and Style Manuals.

Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. [ Online ] Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger. Available: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/ (Accessed 7 April 2006).

Chapter 6: Using Principles of APA Style to Cite and Document Sources illustrates how to cite Internet resources in a social sciences research paper.

ASA Format.  [ Online ] Romelia Salinas, California State University, Los Angeles.  Available: http://www.calstatela.edu/library/bi/rsalina/asa.styleguide.html (Accessed 7 April 2006)

A quick, online introduction to American Sociological Association publication style.  Based on ASA Style Guide.

ASA Style Guide.  American Sociological Association. Washington, D.C. : American Sociological Association, c1997.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref Desk] HM586 .A540 1997 

Books in Schaffer Library are arranged by Library of Congress Class number. Class numbers are searchable in the Web Catalog and browsable in the Stacks and Reference Collection.

H 1 - 99	Social Sciences (General)
HM 1 - 299	Sociology  (General and theoretical)
HM 251 - 291	Social psychology
HN 1 - 981	Social history.  Social problems. Social reform
HN 30 - 39	The church and social problems
HN 50 - 981	By region or country
HQ 1 - 2039	The family. Marriage. Woman
HQ 12 - 449	Sexual life
HQ 450 - 471	Erotica
HQ 503 - 1064	The family. Marriage. Home Including child study, eugenics, desertion, adultery, divorce, polygamy, the aged
HQ 1101 - 2030.7	Women. Feminism. Women's clubs
HQ 2035 - 2039	Life skills. Coping skills. Everyday living skills
HS 1 - 3369	Societies: Secret, benevolent, etc. Clubs Including Freemasons, religious societies, ethnic societies, political societies, Boy Scouts
HT 51 - 1595	Communities. Classes. Races
HT 51 - 65	Human settlements
HT 101 - 395	Urban sociology. The city
HT 390 - 395	Regional planning
	Rural sociology
HT 601 - 1445	Social classes Including middle class, serfdom, slavery
HT 1501 - 1595	Races Here are classed works on the race as a social group and race relations in general
HV 1 - 9960	Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
HV 40 - 696	Social service. Charities
HV 697 - 4959	Protection, assistance, and relief Arranged by special classes of persons, as determined by age, defects, occupation, race, economic status, etc. Including protection of animals
HV 4961 - 4995	Degeneration
HV 4997 - 5000	Substance abuse
HV 5001 - 5720.5	Alcoholism. Intemperance. Temperance reform
HV 5725 - 5770	Tobacco habit
HV 5800 - 5840	Drug habits. Drug abuse
HV 6001 - 7220.5	Criminology
HV 6251 - 6773.3	Crimes and offenses
HV 7231 - 9960	Criminal justice and administration
HV 8301 - 9920.5	Penology Including police, prisons, punishment and reform, juvenile delinquency
HX 1 - 970.7	Socialism. Communism. Anarchism
HX 806 - 811	Utopias
HX 821 - 970.7	Anarchism

Book locations: Click on the hyperlinked word in the box below "Location", and a map showing the book's location by floor and specific area will pop up.

Please note: For books that Schaffer Library does not own, or are checked out, please try ConnectNY, a service offered jointly by 12 libraries including, Vassar, St. Lawrence, Siena, RIT, and RPI to provide their borrowers with 48-hour delivery of any books available in their collections.

Journal holdings: Use the Title of Journal link, to find if particular journals are present in any format -- the link leads you to two lists.  You must check both to determine whether through Union you have access to any given journal title and issue.

Other Libraries' Catalogs (two choices):

Other individual libraries' catalogs -- Follow this link (through the Schaffer Library home page) into the catalogs of some Capital District libraries as well as into those of major research universities further afield. 

CaDiLaC Online -- This link leads to the online union catalog of many of the libraries of the Capital District.  Because it is "live", some listings display whether books are currently on the shelf or charged out.  Periodical title holdings information is also available.  Log-in as "guest".

The New Acquisitions List—residing on the Library Catalogs page—is generated on the 10th of each month and includes items added to the library's collections for the previous calendar month.

Microfiche copies of Senior honors theses are maintained in the Library. For details on the Library's theses holdings, formats, access, photocopying restrictions, and searching for a thesis in the online catalog, see the Thesis Search page.

Research Guides supplement the broader Research by Subject pages by focusing on the print and electronic resources that are most useful for a course-specific research assignment. For faculty, the Research Guides provide structured access to the Library and Internet resources relevant to their own work or in advising students on their research projects. For students working independently, it serves as a reminder of services and materials offered within the library while at the same time providing a gateway for information available from remote sites.

Soc 346:	African American Women: Unheard Voices and Contemporary Lifestyles
Soc 069	Sociology of the Family
Soc 080	African Americans in Contemporary Society

Faculty using Blackboard are encouraged to incorporate links to Library resources—and specifically the Research by Subject pages and the appropriate course-related Research Guides—into the Blackboard course pages. Your Departmental Liaison or Bibliographic Instruction Contacts can assist you.

Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Follow this link to place an Interlibrary Loan request. There is also a fuller description of the Interlibrary Loan service available.

PLEASE NOTE: You are reminded that it is required to check the Online Catalog (for books) or the two lists of Periodicals Titles  (for journals with articles you need) before ordering on Interlibrary Loan. It will save you considerable time for every reference that you find available here on the shelves or in electronic format.

Direct Access (CDLC) Card
Follow this link (through the Schaffer Library home page) to get further details. The card is obtained at the Circulation Desk.
 

Hours, Directions, and Maps to Local Libraries 
From the above site through the Library's home page, one can conveniently learn the way to travel to nearby libraries, if necessary.

Schaffer Library's hours, procedures, and services 
(and anything else about the Library you need to know...)

Off-campus access
Access to the paid-subscription sources listed is limited to workstations with Union College IP addresses. Therefore, a student wishing to use all the links on this page from off-campus will need to apply at Information Technology Services for an account on the Virtual Private Network.  Such an account enables off-campus users to have full access, even to the paid subscriptions.

Schaffer Library provides a range of general and subject specific electronic databases for access to secondary material. These databases offer full-text access to articles or library holdings information.  The following databases sometimes lead to full-text articles and sometimes are designed to tell you which journals are held here in Schaffer Library. But, some do neither. Therefore, to check whether (and where) a title is to be found in the Library's collections, it is necessary to check both of the Periodical Titles lists on our Web Catalog page. Important: If you are searching from off-campus, see the Note on Off Campus Access about Virtual Private Network accounts.

Databases & Indexes > Sociology

In addition to the links above to subject related databases that will lead to article citations and full-text article access, you can also browse the library's comprehensive listing of Journals and Serial Titles and/or Periodical Titles available through Aggregated Databases. Both offer basic search options including and, or, not and Title begins with, Title contains, etc. Try entering single terms such as sociology, sociological, or social issues.  You can also select a subject category to browse such as Social Sciences. Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance with local holdings.

Two services included in the Databases & Indexes section, JSTOR and Project Muse, offer full-text access to journals by discipline. Users can search or browse by category/subject. JSTOR - Sociology. Project Muse includes Gay & Lesbian Studies, Sexuality, Sociology and Women's Studies.

Sociology

American Sociological Association
http://www.asanet.org/
Offers news, publications, membership information and more from the world of sociology research and the ASA.

Data on the Net
http://odwin.ucsd.edu/idata
A searchable database of statistics for the social sciences, maintained by the University of California, San Diego.  Users may also browse listings of data archives and libraries web sites.

Federal Bureau of Investigation: Uniform Crime Reports
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
Offers full-text access to FBI documents from the mid-nineties to the present, including "Crime in the United States," and "Hate Crime Statistics."

FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/
"The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies."  Search by agency, or by statistical topic.

Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG)
http://sosig.ac.uk/
SOSIG is an online catalogue of thousands of high quality Internet resources relevant to social science education and research. Every resource has been selected and described by a librarian or subject specialist.

A Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace
http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/index.html
Courtesy of Trinity University.

SocioSite 
http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/topics
From the University of Amsterdam comes the best index of sociological sites, organized by subject matter.

Tools for tracking recently published articles.

The New York Times: Sociology. [ Online ] The New York Times. Available: http://college.nytimes.com/guests/directory/Social_Sciences/Sociology/ (Accessed 7 April 2006)
Provides full text access to Sociology articles from The New York Times "Social Sciences" section.

Departmental Liaison - Cara Molyneaux
For information on resources, services, collections, and book ordering for your department

Bibliographic Instruction Contact
For information on scheduling course-related instruction session or faculty training session

Department Home Page

Blackboard