Bunker Hill Community College Library Resources for Sociology

The following is support material related to a library instruction session conducted by a library instructor and a BHCC Behavioral Science Department course instructor.

As we begin, it is important to remember that this class session is as much about what you locate, retrieve, and produce for your instructor as it is about the process you follow to deliver the end product.

Let's start by discovering where we are...

If you haven't yet seen the library's online catalog, take a look at it. The holdings of the library are easy to get to if you have a connection to the Internet and web browser software. You may also expand your search to holdings of all thirty NOBLE libraries, which can be helpful if you are having difficulty finding information locally.

Using the Library of Congress Subject Headings means you can browse the library shelves and the world wide web more efficiently. If you are in the library, you can find what you need without relying on the computer to point out specific shelf locations of individual books.

The Library of Congress System organizes information by applying the 26 letters of the alphabet to general disciplines of knowledge like Law, Science, Religion and then narrows the categories by adding subdivisions to each. If you do one or two searches in the catalog using the keyword sociology you'll notice that many of the books in that subject area have call numbers beginning with HM or HN. If you restrict yourself to that one subject, however, you'll be missing out on other valuable information in other areas of the collection. Using the LC Subject Headings will show you that more information can be found in the following subject areas:

• B -- Philosophy & Religion
  BC - Logic
  BF - Psychology
  BL - Mythology, Religion

  C -- History and Auxiliary Sciences

  CB - Civilization

  CS - Genealogy

  CT - Biography

  D -- History & Historical Biographies

  E-F -- American/Local History

  G -- Geography

  GN - Anthropology

  GT - Manners and Customs

  H -- Social Sciences

  HM - Sociology

  HQ - Family

  HT - Communities

You should also remember to check the reference section as well as the library's circulating collection when searching for information. Of particular interest may be Borgatta and Borgatta's Encyclopedia of Sociology Ref. HM17 .E5 1992, which contains a useful article on case studies and may help you to place your work in historical context.

Subscription Databases

If you are looking for journal articles, consider InfoTracBasic, a full text subcription database, for this and other projects

From on campus, you can either click on the InfoTrac icon (available from NOBLE PCs in the library) or go to http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mlin_b_bunkhcc From off campus, use the URL: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mlin_b_remote and enter your 14 digit ID number from the back of your BHCC ID card.

There are 10 databases within InfoTracBasic from which to choose.

Select Expanded Academic ASAP 1980+and consider what this database has to offer relevant to your project.

Now take a look at EBSCO. From on campus, you can either click on the EBSCOhost icon (avilable from NOBLE PCs in the library) or go to http://search.epnet.com. From off campus, click on http://search.epnet.com/cpidlogin.asp?custid=bhc and enter your 14 digit ID number from the back of your BHCC ID card.

In EBSCO use the Choose A Database and then the Magazine Search icons to investigate the difference between Academic Search Elite and MasterFile Premier to determine for yourself which one will serve you best for the activities related to this course.

Softline Information publishes three separate databases, two of which are particularly relevant to sociolgical issues. Ethnic Newswatch covers 200 publications of the ethnic, minority and native press, and Gender Watch covers 140 international publications devoted to women's and gender issues. To get to either of these databases from anywhere on campus, go to the following web address: www.softlineweb.com

Select the particular database you wish to search. Click on the name of that database. You will be asked which language you wish to use. Click on either English or Espanol. On the main search screen you can enter information in many fields, depending upon the type of article you wish to find. Click on the entry box for any particular field and enter terms to begin your search.

Next we'll take a look at JSTOR, which is a database containing the backfiles (older issues) of over 50 scholarly journals. These journals may either be browsed individually or searched using text files. Since this resource is focused on backfiles, the most recent several years (usually 3-5 years) of any particular journal is not available using JSTOR. This resource makes available to the researcher almost one hundred years worth of articles, depending upon the start date of each individual journal.

To begin using JSTOR from anywhere on campus, you should go to the following web address: http://www.jstor.org Then click on "Enter JSTOR." On the "Start JSTOR" screen, you can click on either "Browse the journals" or "Search JSTOR". "Browse the Journals" will allow you to see what journals are archived, view individual contents pages, and view individual citations or articles on a page-by page basis. "Search JSTOR" allows you to search the entire database by entering terms describing your area of interest. You can also limit your search by date, article type, and general subject area. If you don't specify a subject area before trying a search, you will be prompted to select one before continuing, so you should be sure to select the "Search all Sociology Journals" option.

If you are looking for full-text newspaper articles, use Lexis Nexis. Lexis Nexis allows you to search current and back issues of the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and much more. The Lexis Nexis database is only available on computers connected to the Internet on the BHCC campus so plan your search time carefully.

Sociology Websites

Sociology Internet Resources

A good directory site from Western Connecticut University. Has many links covering all aspects of the field, but this site appears to be particularly sdtrong on cultural and ethnic studies.

Sociology Central

This UK-based site has a good directory of links as well as a section devoted to resources for educators.

Citing Information From Electronic Sources

After you have completed your research paper, your final step will be to compile a list of the sources you used in writing your paper. The format you will use is known as APA format, since it was first developed by members of the American Psychological Association. To assist you in compiling your list of sources,consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th edition Ref. BF 76.7 .P83 1994. This volume is very detailed and covers citation formats for the different electronic resources you will be using. For a good brief treatment of the same material available on the World Wide Web, check out the formatting in Sociology tips from the online writing lab at Purdue University.

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Last reviewed November 5, 2001 Last updated November 5, 2001