Library Resources for Investigating Social Forces in American Society

I. The Approach: warming up to the topic

Find a topic that interests you. Brainstorm keywords and conduct pre-research on your research topic .
If you haven’t settled on a research topic, look through various resources for ideas: scientific magazines,
sociology handbooks/encyclopedias, textbooks, etc. If you’re still stuck, your professor will guide you in
the right direction.

Once you settle on a topic, brainstorm keywords related to your research topic. Learn about your topic
and find other keywords by doing some pre-research. Once you identify keywords to start off your
search, your goal should be to find an article that will lead you to other keywords, subject headings and
references. If you find a term and do not know what it means, look it up before you use it in another
search. Get a sense of how your topic is covered in the literature.

Resources:

 To find online reference books relating to Sociology, go to the A to Z List of Databases on the
library homepage, and select Credo Reference. Go to “Find A Book”. You can skim the e-books
by discipline (Social Science) and then enter keywords in the search box. Here is an e-book
relating to Sociology: Collins Dictionary of Sociology.
 Books on Social Science on Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?
q=Social+Science&as_brr=3&rview=1&source=gbs_lp_bisac
Scan the online books and look through the snippets of information (if book is not available full-
text). If you find a good resource, request book through library catalog or interlibrary loan.
 Search for books through our library catalog. Extend your search to “all locations”.
 To determine the subject category your topic belongs under, go to the A to Z List of Databases,
select a database and enter the keyword either in the Thesaurus or Subject Terms link.

Example topic: gun ownership

Brainstorm: gun ownership, socialization, social factors…

From Credo Reference:

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

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From GoogleBooks:

The term within SocINDEX’s Sociology Thesaurus:

II. Mini-Tour of Library

First floor:
 Circulation desk and reserves (near the entrance): get your library card, check out books and
check out articles/books your professor places on reserve.
 Reference room and Reference Foyer (side of building): contains encyclopedias, handbooks,
dictionaries that provide context to your research topic. Always staffed by a reference librarian.
 Computers: PCs throughout the library. The two PCs in front of the reference desk have
Microsoft Office installed. Print to Pharos stations located in the lower level, the first and second
floors.

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

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 Library Resources for Investigating Social Forces in American Society

 Index Area (back of the building): Find book reviews and indexes of articles published. Business
Reference section. Four PC’s have Microsoft Office installed.
 Study Carrels: Towards the back of the first floor; quiet study areas located throughout library.
 Archives and Special Collections: Houses historical documents and artifacts of the college.
 Photocopier: 2 copiers located on each side of the library; one copier in Periodicals area.
 Bathrooms: women’s room 1st floor, men’s room lower mezzanine.

Lower Mezzanine Levels:

 Book stacks level 1 (floor underneath the “Pit”); bound journal articles; Archives Room; vending
machine
 Book stack level 2
 Book stack level 3

Upper Mezzanine:
 Periodicals Area: magazines, newspapers, microfilm, microfiche
 Curriculum Library: library materials for education students
 Smart market: coffee, tea and snacks

III. Search for encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries in the Reference Room at the library
The Reference Room’s books are organized by subject categories. To determine the category where a
reference book would be classified under, look at the list posted on the door of room 118 labeled
“Library of Congress Classification Schedules.” Reference books relating to Sociology would be classified
under the letters HM through HV.

The library also provides encyclopedias, handbooks and dictionaries online through the database called
Credo Reference. You can access Credo Reference under A to Z List of Databases on the library
homepage.

IV. Access the library’s resources if you are off campus:

You will be prompted for your Blackboard username and password when you select a link to any of our
subscribed online resources.

V. Search for a book in the catalog from the Minuteman Library Network

Go to the library homepage and select the link “Books” with the section “Books, Journals, Articles. Enter
a phrase or a keyword in the search box and select “subject” or “keyword” and “Framingham State
College” in the drop down menus. To search for books in other libraries, select “All locations” in the drop
down menus.

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

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Here is a simple search for “gun ownership”:

Once you find a book, write down the call number to help you find the book in the library.

If the book is available through the Minuteman Library Network but not available at the college, you can
request the book with your library card and have it sent to the library (it should take 3 business days to
arrive).

All full-time and part-time Framingham State College students can borrow books from the Whittemore
Library, as well as other libraries within the Minuteman Library Network. Day and evening students
must register with the library to activate the student ID barcode or student ID number. It just takes 3
minutes to get your library card.

With your library card, you are able to request books and articles from libraries outside of Minuteman
Library Network through interlibrary loan (ILL). You can request a book or article through interlibrary
loan at http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/borrowing-and-interlibrary-
loan/interlibrary-loan-request-form.html . Your request can take up to two weeks to process. Please
contact Neil Conrad at 508.626.4690 for questions on ILL.

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

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VI. Conduct keyword searches to locate articles from popular magazines and scholarly peer-reviewed
journals:

For a listing of all of our research databases, select the A to Z List of Databases link from within the
section “Books, Journals, Articles” on the library homepage. Construct a general search first then refine
your search with keywords and subject terms.

I recommend searching the following databases: SocINDEX, JSTOR, Project Muse, PsycINFO, CQ
Researcher and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. We also have a Sociology Resources
Guide found under the E-Resources by Subject page.

Scholarly journals and popular magazines: Scholarly journals are published by a professional society or
association. In order for articles to be included in some scholarly journals, they must be reviewed and
accepted by an editorial board. These journals are known as juried, refereed or peer reviewed journals.
(Review sheet for characteristics). Popular, news, or opinion magazines provide an “average person’s
view of an issue”. These magazines do not report results of research projects, have a peer review
process or include annotated bibliographies.

Use Boolean operators and truncation:

 gun ownership AND socialization – will combine the two search terms
 (social factors OR socialization) AND gun ownership – will search for social factors and gun
ownership & socialization and gun ownership
 (gun own*)AND social* - will search for (gun owner, gun ownership) and (variations of social like
socialization)

An example of a search in EBSCOhost’s SocINDEX:

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

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If an article is not available full text in the database, select the link “Article Linker” to check if any other
library database has the article full text. If an article is not available full text online in any of our
databases, check to see if we have the journal in print by looking in the print holdings list (found in the
red binders). If the article is not available online or in print, place an interlibrary loan request.

VII. Save and organize your research within EBSCOhost databases:

The vendor EBSCOhost provides the ability for researchers to save their EBSCOhost articles into their
own personal accounts.

Before you start your search, create a “MyEBSCOhost” account. I recommend using your Blackboard
username and password to make it easier to remember your account. After you create an account,
begin your search. Save articles into your account by selecting the link “Add to Folder”.

To view the saved article, go to “Folder” at the top of the page to access your “MyEBSCOhost” account.

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

Library homepage: http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/ Page 6
 Library Resources for Investigating Social Forces in American Society

In my account, I created a folder for research methods by selecting “New”. I can then move the article
into the folder to help me organize my research.

VIII. Search for scholarly articles in Google Scholar:

Go to the library homepage and select the link A to Z List of Databases. Go to the Google Scholar link. On
the Google Scholar page, go to the link Scholar Preferences and make sure that Framingham State
College is listed as a preferred library.

When creating a search in Google Scholar, you do not need to link terms by “AND”. Place quotation
marks around phrases. Use nesting and OR to expand the search. For example: (“social factors” OR
"socialization") AND gun control. Select “Find It @Framingham” to locate the article full text. Google
Scholar also indexes Google Books. Further instructions on using Google Scholar:
http://library.fscmedia.com/2008/02/16/try-google-scholar/

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

Library homepage: http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/ Page 7
 Library Resources for Investigating Social Forces in American Society

IX. Look up a journal to find out if the journal is available full text :

If you have a citation and would like to view any of the articles online, check to see if the journal is
available full-text online by entering the name of the journal in the Full Text Journal Finder.
(http://pj8tr3fm5l.search.serialssolutions.com/)

If the journal is available online, the results will list the research databases that contain full text articles
of the journal.

If an article is not available full-text, you can check to see if the library carries the journal in print by
looking up the title of the journal in the library catalog. For questions on our print journals, please
contact Debbie Hogan, periodicals supervisor, at dhogan@framingham.edu.

X. Citation Guide:
Style Guide for Students: American Sociological Association
http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/topnav/sociology_depts/quick_style_guide

Questions? Contact reference librarians at 508.626.4654 or reference@framingham.edu.

Library homepage: http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/ Page 8