Sociology

The literature of sociology is dispersed and there are only a few core sociology reference sources. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive. If you need assistance in locating these or any other sources, please ask at the Mugar Memorial Library Reference Desk.

Guides.

Guide to Graduate Departments of Sociology. 2007.
Listings for 237 graduate departments of sociology, 204 in the U.S., and 33 international departments. Mugar Ref. X LB2372 S6 G94
A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers. 3rd ed. 1994.
Discusses library research, citation styles, types of sociology research papers, and how to get started. Includes sample student papers. Mugar HM73 G78 1994.
The Social Sciences: A Cross-Disciplinary Guide to Selected Sources. 3rd. ed. 2002.
Consult the "Sociology" chapter for an annotated list of recent reference sources in sociology. Mugar Ref. X Z7161 S648 2002.
Sociology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources. 3rd ed. 2005.
Guide to reference works in sociology and related fields. Includes sociology Web sites. Mugar Ref. X Z7164 S68 A24 2005.
The Sociology Student Writer's Manual. 5th ed. 2006.
Introduction to researching and writing sociology research papers, including book reviews, social analysis papers, case studies, and sociological survey papers. Brief guide to the research process, library research, sociology on the World Wide Web, and conducting quantitative research. Mugar HM585 S638 2006.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias.

Battleground: Women, Gender, and Sexuality. 2 vols. 2008.
From "abortion" to "work: paid versus unpaid," this work contains essays on "the ways in which gender and sexuality intersect in societal understandings of women's (and men's) lives." Mugar Ref. X HQ1115 B38 2008.
Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological Language. 1995.
A-Z dictionary of sociological terms from aberrant deviance to z-score. Separate section has biographical sketches of "major figures (living and dead) who have shaped sociological concepts and thinking over the past two centuries." Mugar HM17 J64 1995.
Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Social Thought. 1993.
Surveys major concepts of social thought, philosophical schools and movements, political doctrines, styles of literature and art, and institutions and organizations important to the study of social analysis. Mugar H41 B53 1993.
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. 1995.
Standard reference on the subject of social psychology, containing well-written analytic articles on the various subfields of social psychology, and shorter, glossary entries for terms. Mugar HM251 B476 1995.
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. 11 vols. 2007.
Comprehensive A-Z encyclopedia containing 1786 entries in 11 volumes, an introductory essay, a timeline,  and a 22-category lexicon (including "key concepts" and "key figures"). Volume10 includes a selected bibliography and list of websites; volume 11 is the index.  Mugar Ref X HM425 B53 2007.
The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. 2004.
Contains comprehensive information about sexual beliefs, norms, and activities in 60 countries. Mugar Ref. X HQ21 I68 2004.
A Critical Dictionary of Sociology. 1989.
Essay-length entries with bibliographies and a thematic index. Mugar HM17 B6813 1989.
Dictionary of Quotations in Sociology. 1985.
Presents the nature, origin, development and current status of general sociological concepts through quotations. Mugar HM17 B37 1985.
A Dictionary of Sociology. 2009. (BU-px).
"This dictionary spans an international range of terms, methods, and concepts; ....includes biographies of key figures, such as Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, and entries on topics ranging from environmental determinism to orientalism." Mugar Ref. X HM425 D5735 2009.
A Dictionary of the Social Sciences. 2002. (BU-px).
"Collecting anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, human geography, cultural studies, and Marxism in one volume, the Dictionary presents concise, clearly written definitions of more than 1,500 important terms. " Mugar Ref. X H41 D53 2002.
Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. 1993.
Arranged into 14 thematic areas, the 180 lengthy essays cover a wide range of topics, including the homeless, lifestyles, nativism and 19th century sports. Mugar HN 57 E58 1993.
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements. 4 vols. 2004.
From antislavery movements to the fair trade coffee movement, this encyclopedia contains articles on American social movements from the 1700s to the present, biographical portraits of key figures, and excerpts from primary source documents. Topics include the labor movement, civil rights, global justice, anti-war protests, and more. Mugar Ref. X HN57 E594 2004.
The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. 2005.
From "abandonment of the dying" to "wrongful death," the 560 entries cover terms and concepts on issues of life and death relating to culture, economics, history,  law, medicine, religion, and sociology. Useful appendixes include an advance care plan document, statistical data, a checklist for end-of-life planning, a list of organizations, a bibliography, and more. Mugar Ref.  X HQ1073 C374 2005.
Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior. 4 vols. 2001.
Contains overview essays and briefer entries on topics such as gangs and drugs and legal regulation of drugs and alcohol, as well as articles about individual drugs. Includes extensive directory of drug abuse and alcoholism treatment and prevention programs, research centers, and organizations. Mugar Ref. X HV5804 E53 2001.
The Encyclopedia of Human Ecology.   2 vols. 2003.
Multi-disciplinary encyclopedia with 250+ entries examining human environments and human interactions and their impact on our health, quality of life, and natural and human-made environments. Covers such varied topics as adolescents, young adults, elderly and family issues, gays and lesbians, ethnic groups, juvenile justice, violence in teen dating, death, drugs, smoking, suicide, housing, and the men's movement. Mugar Ref. X GF4 E53 2003.
Encyclopedia of Religion and Society. 1998.
From "abortion" to "Zoroastrianism," the entries in this volume represent "a state-of-the-art summary of the insights gained by the principal social sciences of religion: anthropology, psychology, and sociology." Theo Ref. BL60 E53 1998. Web version made available at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Encyclopedia of Social Measurement. 3 vols. 2005.
"Covering all core social science disciplines, the 300+ articles of the Encyclopedia of Social Measurement not only present a comprehensive summary of observational frameworks and mathematical models, but also offer tools, background information, qualitative methods, and guidelines for structuring the research process." Mugar Ref. X H62 E585 2005.
Encyclopedia of Social Theory. 2 vols. 2004.
Entries cover the "developments, achievements, and prospects of social theory from its inception in the 18th century to the present." Mugar Ref. X HM 425 E47 2004.
Encyclopedia of Social Work. 20th ed. 2008.
Presents an overview of social work in the U.S., including its history, current concerns, and future. Mugar Ref. X HV35 F30.
Encyclopedia of Sociology. 5 vols. 2000.
Contains 397 entries for concepts in sociology. Essays are lengthy and include bibliographies. Mugar HM425 E5 2000.
Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. 2 vols. 2001.
Comprehensive coverage of topics covering current scholarship on the psychology of women and gender. Mugar Ref. X HQ1115 E52 2001.
Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia. 1994.
Contains more than 200 signed articles on the topic of sexuality, written by experts from anthropology, biology, history, literature, nursing, political science and psychology. Articles discuss terms, ideas and individuals, and provide references for further reading. Mugar Ref. X HQ9 H846 1994.
International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family. 2nd ed. 4 vols. 2003.
From abortion to Zambia, the lengthy articles in this work cover such topics as cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, aand widowhood, as well as marriage and family life issues in some fifty countries. Mugar Ref. XHQ9 E52 2003.
International Encyclopedia of Population. 2 vols. 1982.
Contains articles on migration, marriage, fertility, contraception, mortality, data collection, population policies, as well as articles on particular regions and countries. Mugar HB849.2 I55 1982.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 26 vols. 2001.
Contains authoritative articles on sociology and related fields. Includes biographical essays on prominent sociologists no longer living. Mugar Ref. X H41 I58 2001. Available (abstracts only) on the BU Web through ScienceDirect (BU-px).
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. 9 vols. 2008.
Includes comprehensive, authoritative articles on many aspects of sociology. Use the thematic outline in volume 1 to locate  articles and biographical essays classified under "social issues and policy," "social psychology," "social sciences," "societies," and "sociology." Bibliographies accompany articles. Mugar Ref. X H40 A2 I5 2008.
Men and Masculinities: A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia. 2 vols. 2004.
Summarizes historical, biological, cross-cultural, psychological, and sociological research on men and masculinity. It also examines literature, art, and music from a gender point of view. From Charles Atlas to wimps, GI Joe to Promise Keepers, castration anxiety to Viagra, the 400+ entries investigate the complexities of men's lives and manhood. Mugar Ref. X HQ1090.3 M436 2004.
Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. 3 vols. 2004.
Alphabetically arranged essays on qualitative and quantitative social science research methods. Mugar Ref X H62 L456 2004.
Women in Sociology: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. 1991.
Biographical profiles of 51 women sociologists active between 1840 and 1990. Profiles contain biographical information, major themes, critiques of works, and a bibliography of works by or about each individual. Mugar HM19 W59 1991.
Women's Studies Encyclopedia. 3 vols. Revised and expanded ed. 1999.
Arranged alphabetically from "Abolitionism" to "Zhenotdel" (the women's section of the Soviet Communist Party), entries contain information about women from all disciplines of study. While many entries discuss women elsewhere in the world, the primary focus is on women in the U.S. Mugar HQ1115 W645 1999.

Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources.

AgeLine. 1966 - .
Includes citations and abstracts for books, journals and magazines, and research reports on older adults and aging. Indexes English language literature from many countries. Coverage is from 1978 to present with some selected coverage for 1966-1977.
ATLA Religion Database. 1949 - .  (BU-px).
Indexes religion periodicals, essays in books and dissertations in religion and related fields, including the sociology of religion.
The Cambridge Companion to Durkheim. 2005. (BU-px).
Authoritative and comprehensive collection of essays re-examining the impact of Durkheim's thought. Mugar HM465 C36 2005.
Child Development & Adolescent Studies. 1927 - . (BU-px).
Database of current and historical literature related to the growth and development of children through the age of 21. Included are book reviews and abstracts from hundreds of journals, and a bibliography of thousands of technical reports, books, book chapters, theses and dissertations that cover the biomedical and social sciences worldwide.
Contemporary Women's Issues. 1992 - . (ChRiv-px).
Full-text database, international in scope, covering such topics as health and reproductive issues, development, human rights, arts and media, customs, family life, violence, and legal issues. Includes journal articles, newsletters, fact sheets, proceedings, and the alternative press. An Instruction Guide is available.
Criminal Justice Abstracts. 1977 - . (BU-px).
Ccontains abstracts to journal articles, reports, dissertations, and books on criminal justice.
Criminal Justice Periodicals Index. 1981 - . (BU-px).
More than 50 titles are available full-text, with abstracts and indexing for a further 140 titles. The major emphasis is on practical aspects of criminal justice, especially law enforcement and corrections. Available in print (1978-1981). Mugar Z5118 C9 C74 Storage: Use Request Form.
Criminology: A Sage Full Text Collection. (BU-px).
"Includes the full-text of 23 journals published by SAGE and participating societies, some journals going back 23 years, encompassing over 5,500 articles. It covers such subjects as Criminal Justice, Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Justice, Corrections, Penology, Policing, Forensic Psychology, and Family and Domestic Violence."
Ethnic NewsWatch. 1990 - . (BU-px).
A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press.
FRANCIS. 1984 - . (ChRiv-px).
Multilingual, multidisciplinary index to journals in the social sciences and humanities.
HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index. 1970 - .  (ChRiv-px).
Subject/author index to articles, bibliographies, documents, literary works and reviews on U.S. Hispanics and on Latin America.
 
Human Resources Abstracts. 1975 -1999.
Formerly Poverty and Human Resources Abstracts (1966-74), this work abstracts articles, government documents, books and reports dealing with poverty, manpower, human resources, and urban and national problems. Mugar Z7165 U5P2 Storage: Use Request Form.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).
"Established in 1962, ICPSR is an active partner in social science research and instruction throughout the world. ICPSR's unique combination of data resources, user support, and training in quantitative methods make it a vital resource for fostering inquiry and furthering the social sciences.  ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction." (BU-px).
  
JSTOR. (BU-px).
Archive of scholarly journals in electronic format, digitized from the first issue onward to a "moving wall" of two to five years ago. Includes several sociology journals.
LexisNexis Academic. (BU-px).
A full-text database that includes newspapers, wire services, transcripts of television and radio broadcasts, medical and health journals, trade journals, accounting literature, company financial reports, law reviews, statutory and case law, and public opinion polls. The database is international in scope, and includes newspapers in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and German. Dates of coverage vary depending upon the publication.
Medline (PubMed). 1966 - . (BU-px).
Indexes and abstracts medical literature.
The Men's Bibliography.
"Comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography of writing on men, masculinities, gender, and sexualities."
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service). 1915 - . (BU-px).
Index to articles, books and documents in public affairs and public policy, including social conditions.
Population Index. 1935 - 2000.
Index to the literature in demography and population growth. Includes books, journal articles, theses, machine readable data files, and proceedings. Searchable on the Internet from 1986-2000. Searchable in JSTOR from 1935-1985 (BU-px).
PsycINFO. 1872 - . (BU-px).
"Contains nearly two million citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports, all in the field of psychology." It also includes information about the psychological aspects of related disciplines such as sociology.
Rural Development Abstracts. 1990 - . (BU-px).
Indexes English and foreign language journal articles, reports, conferences, and books about all aspects of rural development in developing countries from environmental management to technical progress, poverty and women's studies. Mugar HC59.7 R75   (1983-1994).  Mugar Microfiche HC59.7 R75 (1978-1983).
Sage Family Studies Abstracts. 1979 - 2002.
Contains abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, documents and books on policy, theory and research relating to the family. Mugar HQ503 S25M Storage: Use Request Form.
Sage Race Relations Abstracts. 1980 -2002 .
Contains abstracts of periodical articles on race, race relations and related topics. Mugar Z7164 R12 S12 Storage: Use Request Form.
ScienceDirect. 1995/96+. (BU-px).
A web-based information source for scientific, technical, and medical research offering access to more than 1100 full-text electronic journals across 16 fields of science, including the social sciences.
Social Sciences Citation Index. 1973 - . (BU-px).
Interdisciplinary index to 4700+ journals and collected volumes in the social and behavioral sciences. Provides access by author, citation and subject. Mugar Z7161 S65 (1956-1975) Storage: Use Request Form.
Social Sciences Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px)
Indexes and abstracts core journals in such fields as anthropology, criminal justice and criminology, gender studies, geography, gerontology,  minority studies, social work, sociology, and urban studies. Includes full text of articles from 215+ journals as far back as 1995.  For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.
Social Services Abstracts. 1979-. (BU-px).
"CSA Social Services Abstracts provides bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,500 serials publications and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews."
Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - . (BU-px).
Indexes and abstracts periodical articles, conference papers, proceedings, dissertations and book reviews in sociology and related fields.
Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts. 1995 - . (ChRiv)
Indexes and abstracts journal articles, chapters, and books on women. The focus is on "education, employment, women in the family and community, medicine and health, female sex and gender role socialisation, social policy, the social psychology of women, female culture, media treatment of women, biography, literary criticism, and historical studies." Formerly Studies on Women Abstracts (1983-1999), Mugar Z7962 S78 Storage: Use Request Form.
Women's Studies International. 1972 - . (BU-px).
Contains 646,000+ citations or citations/abstracts from ten women's studies databases.
Women's Studies Index. 1989 - 2002.
Subject/author index to feminist and mainstream women's studies periodicals, including U.S. and foreign journals and magazines. Easier to use than Studies on Women Abstracts and the print version of Women Studies Abstracts. Mugar HQ1180 W66 Storage: Use Request Form.

Bibliographies.

Finding the Source in Sociology and Anthropology. 1987.
Bibliography of 586 core reference sources in sociology and anthropology with a subject index. Mugar Z7164 S68 B75 1987.
International Bibliography of Sociology. 1955 - .
Annual publication listing sociology journal articles and monographs in over 70 languages. Arrangement is by subject classification, with subject and author indexes. 2000+ in Mugar HM1 I534, 1999 and older in Storage: Use Request Form.

Yearbooks and Review Literature.

Annual Review of Sociology. 1975 - .
Essays cover current research in the field. Articles are organized under broad subjects, such as theory and methods, demography, urban and rural sociology. Mugar HM1 A55M. Available (1975- five years ago) full text in JSTOR (BU-px) and from 1975 onward in Annual Reviews (BU-px).
Current Sociology. 1952 - .
Each issue consists of a trend report on sociological topics. Reviews current trends in sociological theories, methods, concepts, substantive research and national/regional developments. Mugar Z7161 F523. 1952-1998 in Storage: Use Request Form. Current Sociology (1999-) is also available on the Web (BU-px).

Atlases.

Atlas of American Diversity. 1998.
Examines issues of crime, health, immigration and migration, language, politics, and socioeconomic status as they relate to racial and ethnic variance in America. Mugar E184 A1 J575 1998.
Atlas of American Society. 1995.
Uses maps, tables and text to present statistical data on American society in several categories, including the status of women, senior citizens, crime and violence, lifestyle risks, education, health and health care, and ethnicity. Mugar HN60 A5 1995.

Internet Sources.

American Sociological Association.
Contains information on ASA meetings, membership, publications, sections, the ASA Code of Ethics, and governance, with links to employment and funding opportunities in sociologyas well as to publicly available Data Sets.
The Association of Religion Data Archive.
"The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world. "
Boston University Department of Sociology.
Contains information on the faculty, undergraduate and graduate courses and programs, and degree requirements of the Department of Sociology at Boston University.
Dead Sociologists' Society.
From Jane Addams to Max Weber, this site created by a Sociology professor chronicles the lives, theories, and works of several influential sociologists.
Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
"Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research has a twenty-seven year record of rigorous, policy-relevant research, anticipation of emerging issues and commitment to the creative dissemination of learning."  This site contains summaries of current religion research by Hartford Institute for Religion faculty as well as by other sociologists of religion. See also their Sociology of Religion Resources section and the web version of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society (Mugar Ref. X BL60 E53 1998).
IQSS Dataverse Network.
The world's largest collection of social science research data. Part of The DataVerse Network Project, which also includes the Henry A. Murray Research Archive and the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science.

 

The SocioLog: Julian Dierkes' Comprehensive Guide to Sociology On-Line.
Links to university sociology departments, e-journals, professional associations, research institutes, great sociologists, sociology blogs, and more.
SocioSite.
Based at the University of Amsterdam, "the SocioSite is designed to get access to information and resources which are relevant for sociologists and other social scientists. It has been designed from a global point of view - it gives access to the world wide scene of social sciences. The intention is to provide a comprehensive listing of all sociology resources on the Internet."
The SocioWeb: Your Independent Guide to Sociological Resources on the Internet.
Links to university departments, sociological associations, statistics, topical research, journals and 'zines, and other resources.
University of Virginia Scholars' Lab.
Access to data collections, interactive data, retrieval services and social sciences links.
W.E. B. Du Bois Papers.
This University of Massachusetts Libraries site includes a biographical essay and chronology of the sociologist, author, co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and editor of The Crisis and other journals. There is also a detailed guide to the W.E.B. Du Bois Papers and an online exhibit of materials from the collection.
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.
"Presents 470 interview excerpts and 3882 photographs from the Working in Paterson Folklife Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The four-month study of occupational culture in Paterson, New Jersey, was conducted in 1994."
J. Christina Smith
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