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This guide covers search tools for research in topics related to sociology.
Start with:
Once you have a basic understanding of your topic, try finding books and journal articles.
- Google Scholar (Setup connection to get to PDFs)Use Google Scholar to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, research institutes, and scholarly repositories from colleges and universities. If you are using from off-campus access, change the "Library Settings" to University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Look for the "FindIt@U of M Twin Cities" links in your Google Scholar search results to access full text and PDFs. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science)Covers the most of the sciences, including veterinary medicine and zoology. Also includes a list of references cited in the source article, and can retrieve a list of works that have cited a specific author or a specific earlier work. Impact factors for many journals are also available. Coverage 1900-date
- Sociological AbstractsThis core database for the field of sociology contains information on sociology and social policy worldwide. Sociological Abstracts includes citations from the 1952-present. It provides abstracting and indexing of articles and book reviews drawn from thousands of journal publications, plus books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers.
Then try the following:
To find news and media try searching the databases listed below.
- Ethnic NewsWatchEthnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press from 1990, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives.
- MasterFile CompleteSearch magazines, with a small number of journals and newspapers, covering a broad range of disciplines and topics. Includes photos and multimedia.
- U.S. Newsstream This link opens in a new windowSearch the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format.
Also check out:
Use Google, Wikipedia, and reference books and databases like the ones listed below to gain a basic understanding of your broader topic. Write down keywords and concepts you can use to refine and narrow your topic and develop a search strategy.
Elgar Encyclopedias in SociologyCollection of online encyclopedias focused on specific sub-disciplines, concepts, and theories in sociology dated 2021-2024.
Routledge Handbook of Cultural Sociology by ISBN: 9781315267784Publication Date: 2018-11-01Short, accessible chapters by contributing authors address classic questions, emergent issues, and new scholarship on topics ranging from cultural and social theory to politics and the state, social stratification, identity, community, aesthetics, and social and cultural movements.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Sociology by ISBN: 9781119429401Publication Date: 2019-09-16Presents wide-ranging, comprehensive coverage of the discipline. New chapters for the second edition cover essential topics including feminist theory, armed conflict, big data, authoritarian capitalism, debt and social change, and the rise of nationalism.
- Sage KnowledgeSearches all library subscriptions from Sage Publishing including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more.
Last Updated: Jun 4, 2025 9:46 AM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/sociology