SOC101 Finding Sociology Journal Articles Martin J. Crabtree - MCCC library August 31, 2006

Agenda What are Periodicals? What makes a periodical scholarly? Journals available from the MCCC Library –In Print –Electronically Electronic searching strategies Giving credit to the article’s author

Periodicals Periodicals include: –scholarly journals –newspapers –magazines Periodicals represent the bulk of published scholarly information. The library has a number of periodicals available in print, on microfilm, and especially via electronic databases. The library staff can help determine if a specific periodical is available from the library.

So just what is a scholarly (or peer reviewed) periodical?

Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals Scholarly Purpose is to inform the scholarly world of original research in a given field Has a serious format Contains many graphs & charts few photos Regularly uses footnotes and bibliographies Written by scholars or researchers Popular/General Interest Purpose is to inform, entertain and/or sell to a wide audience Attractive/slick appearance Frequently uses photos and a few graphs & charts Rarely uses footnotes or bibliographies Written by staff or freelance writers

Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals Scholarly Uses the terminology and jargon of the subject, assumes reader knows it Published by professional or educational organizations Contains little if any advertising Examples: Annals of Microbiology, Journal of Abnormal Psychology Popular/General Interest Rarely uses subject terminology or jargon, when used, contains explanation Published by commercial enterprises for profit Extensive inclusion of advertisements Examples: Newsweek, People, Psychology Today

Periodicals in the MCCC Library The Library subscribes to a number of periodicals including: –American Sociological Review –Journal of Social Issues –Social Problems Also available are a number of electronically accessible databases of articles.

Searching Electronic Databases And The Web Too

Starting An Electronic Search Keywords Keywords are used when searching electronic databases and web search engines First step - Generate a list of words (keywords) that describes or is commonly used when discussing your topic. For example: –Ozone –Layer –Depletion –Atmosphere –Hole

Starting An Electronic Search Boolean Searching/Logic Boolean searching - Connecting keywords with the terms –and –not –or For example –eagles NOT football –(car or automobile) and exhaust More Terms = Fewer “Hits”

Searching More Than Just Keywords Phrases & Truncations To search for a phrase, use quotation marks –“survival of the fittest” Truncations allow for searching related words all at once –The * is usually used. For example: “sociolog*” would include: sociology, sociological, sociologist, etc.

Searching More Than Just Keywords Field Limiters Database field limiters allow you to specify your search within varied parameters for example: –Only full-text articles –Only peer reviewed/scholarly journals –Date (or date range)

Let’s take a quick look at how Boolean searching can help

Electronic Databases at the Mercer Library

Electronic Databases In General Over 60 databases available Not every article is available full text though many are. Abstracts (summary) is often available when full text is not.

Electronic Databases - In General Accessible at any computer on the MCCC/JKC campus network Most are available off campus, need to request a password. From to obtain a password are available after this presentation. Can print/ /download articles Need acrobat reader for some articles in PDF format.

Some of the databases Proquest Social Science Journals –Articles in the Social Sciences field including scholarly articles. EBSCOhost - Academic Search Premier –Broadest of the databases covering everything from science to the humanities including many scholarly journals –Not every article full text –Need Acrobat Reader for some articles

Using the information you find...and giving credit where credit is due.

Using the Information You Find Always give credit to the author or creator of the information that you use. This includes not only the actual facts, conclusions, and ideas that an author presents but also the words that he/she has used.

Plagiarism can take many forms Plagiarism is the presenting of someone else’s intellectual work as your own. It may be done deliberately, but it may also be done without your realizing it. The copying, word for word, from a book or an article is the most blatant form of plagiarism.

Plagiarism when paraphrasing or writing a summary Incomplete paraphrasing or summarizing another’s work could cause plagiarizing without your realizing it. To prevent this, you should avoid:  Using the original sentence structure.  Simply substituting a few words here and there.  Using any of the author's key words or unusual words. Let’s look at an example...

Good paraphrasing It takes some effort to do a good job of paraphrasing. One helpful method is to: 1. Read the original sentence 2. Without looking at the sentence, try writing the idea of the sentence in your own words 3. Look back at the original sentence again to see it you haven’t used too much of the original language -Adapted from “Avoiding Plagiarism”, at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia webpage:

Giving credit using the APA format You will be using the APA (American Psychological Association) style. The latest APA manual is available in the library: –The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. at: BF76.7.p (in the reference collection & on reserve). The manual is not available on line. For more help with the APA style, go to: – (click on APA) –

Now it’s your turn…