SOC 499: Tips and Strategies

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1. BEST BET!  DATABASES for scholarly articles 

2. DISCOVERY SEARCH BOX for books, magazine articles, and newspapers in Carmichael Library 

3. WORLDCat for books in all university libraries 

4. GOOGLE for general searching and data and statistics

• Use site:.gov   to limit to government sources such as data and statistics 
• Example:   maternal health site:.gov

• Think of your argument / research question in two or three concepts.  
• Use a database Thesaurus to locate search terms for each concept
• Always choose ADVANCED SEARCH
• Enter your search terms in each search box and separate each term with  AND

Sample Topic:  Women in the music industry (gender roles)  
Strategy:  Brainstorm on your own and consult a database Thesaurus for scholarly terms

• PsycINFO Thesaurus
• ERIC Thesaurus 
• Communication and Mass Media Thesaurus 
• Subject Headings in citations
• Library of Congress Subject Headings