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SOC 445/545 Course Research Guide

This is a guide to the library and research materials you may find useful to accomplish the objectives of SOC 445/545 (Sociology of Race Relations) with Dr. J. Shiao, Spring 2008.

Note: items with the off-campus access limited to UO icon are available only to University of Oregon faculty, staff, and students, or to users working in the library.

Starting Your Research


Sources for Current Research

These sources can help you identify a topic for your research. Some provide an overview of a specific issue and suggest other materials which might be useful for your research. Others help you to notice a topic that might be of interest to you. Click here for help with access to databases from off campus.

  • Annual Review of Sociology off-campus access limited to UO (1975-current)
    Use this resource to get an idea for a topic that's been thoroughly researched. Also available in print: KNIGHT REFERENCE HM 1 .A78
  • Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race off-campus access limited to UO(2004-current)
    A journal that covers research on race in the social sciences. Also available in print: KNIGHT HT1501 .D83
  • Ethnic & Racial Studies off-campus access limited to UO (1987-current)
    A journal that provides an interdisciplinary approach to research on race, including sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, history, and international relations. Also available in print: KNIGHT HT1501 .E73
  • Race and Society off-campus access limited to UO (1998-2006)
    "This journal focuses on the study of the social and structural aspects of race and racism as basic organizing principles in society" (from publisher's description).

Finding Articles

To look for articles in journals, newspapers, or magazines, you will need to start with an index. An index will allow you to look by subject or a few keywords which describe your topic or by author. Listed below are some of the major and related indexes for topics in sociology. Once you find articles, you can either click on the button in the individual citation or go to the FindText link on the library homepage.

  • Sociological Abstracts off-campus access limited to UO (1963-present)
    For a more sociological perspective, use Sociological Abstracts. Citations are included from 1963 to the present, with abstracts included from 1974 to the present. The database is updated six times a year.
  • Academic Search Premier off-campus access limited to UO (dates vary by title)
    ASP provides full text for thousands of academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals. This is a good database to use if your topic is multidisiplinary.

Finding Book Reviews

  • Contemporary Sociology off-campus access limited to UOElectronic Access. See print for current. (1972-2004)
    This is journal of book reviews of sociology books. Each volume is divided by subject and there is a cumulative index for each year. Current issues are available in print: KNIGHT HM 1 .C65
  • Sociological Abstracts off-campus access limited to UO (1963-present)
    Sociological Abstracts provides access to the latest research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
  • Academic Search Premier off-campus access limited to UO (dates vary by title)
    ASP provides full text for thousands of academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals. This is a good database to use if your topic is multidisiplinary.

Finding Books

  • Summit Catalog
    Summit is the catalog of a consortium of libraries in the Pacific Northwest whose combined collections greatly exceed the size of the UO Libraries collection. Request books and other materials (but not journal articles) through Summit if the UO copy is checked out, missing, or if UO doesn't own a copy.
  • WorldCat off-campus access limited to UO
    Worldcat provides access to library catalogs from around the world AND you can request materials from most of them. The database contains more than 40 MILLION bibliographic records describing books, journals, maps, musical scores, manuscripts, etc. To obtain materials from WorldCat, fill out an interlibrary loan form.

How to Create Citations

Sociologists can use the American Sociological Association Style Guide to format citations for papers. Please see the overview and samples of the style.

Maintained by: Barbara Jenkins, jenkins@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 04/10/2008