Need a Good Overview of Your Topic?

It can really pay off to take a few minutes and read about your topic, get to know who the players are, what the history is behind current events, even get some preliminary lists of key books and articles on the topic. Here are links to two of my favorite "overview" sources.

• International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (in the McHenry Library Reference Section with this call number: REF H41.I58 2001. Ask at the Reference Desk if you can't find it. Use the "subject index, " in the last volume.
  
• CQ Researcher. This reference source explores "hot" issues in the news in depth. Topics range from social and political issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. Each report is full-text and contains charts, graphs and sidebar articles, a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts. Also known as "Congressional Quarterly Researcher."
  

How to Write a Literature Review

Here's a link to a library guide that gives a very good description of what a literature review actually is and how to write one. http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html

How Do I Find Scholarly Journal Articles on My Topic?

I know the temptation to only use Google for searching is sometimes irresistible. However, there are some very fine article databases in Sociology and related subjects that can give you examples of literature reviews, abstracts (summaries) of articles, lists of references and direct links to full-text of the articles online. This can save you a lot of time in building a bibliography for your research. Here are some key databases in your field. Hint: Always use the "advance search" function, it gives you a lot more flexibility.

• Sociological Abstracts Start here first!
  
• InfoTrac/Expanded Academic
  
• Contemporary Women's Issues
  
• PAIS International Database

Also, here's a link to our "How to find articles," library guide:

Don't Forget About Books!

In the world of research, journal articles sometimes reflect more current information, simply because it doesn't take as long to publish an article as it does to publish a book. Still, the best sources for comprehensive analysis, history, and data related to your topic are likely to be books. Try a keyword search in Cruzcat to see what our library owns and again in MELVYL to see what books you can borrow from other UC campuses.

• CRUZCAT
• MELVYL