Sociology: Article Search

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Why Articles?

Articles appear in magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers.  Use articles for:

  • most recent research on a topic
  • coverage of very narrow topics
  • coverage of current events
  • contemporary accounts of past events and research

Search Strategies

Write down research questions for your topic and underline key concepts and keywords.  Think of broader or narrower terms depending on what search results you retrieve from those concepts and keywords.

Think of synonyms and alternative terms to search and refer to a Thesaurus for more ideas.

Most databases will have a list of suggested subject terms.  By choosing these you can narrow your search to those articles relate to what you are searching for.

Article Databases

Databases provide a systematic method of searching for articles, and other sources. Some databases include full text of the documents indexed but many do not. The top databases for sociology are:

Getting the Articles

Here's a short video showing how Find it @ MU works. (About 4 minutes long.)

Two common ways to find out if the Libraries have access to the articles you need:

1) You are searching in an article database, but it doesn't have the full-text:  

Click on  Findit@MU button in the article citation. Another window / tab opens with two possible options:

  • Links indicating Find it @MU may have located one or more sources for full text of the article. Click on the links and follow the trail to the article. 
  • Links to search MARQCAT by the journal title or its ISSN number. The journal may be available in print or electronically through a source not searchable by Find it @MU.

2) You already have a specific citation and aren't currently searching in a database:

  • Search for the journal title in MARQCAT, the library catalog;
  • Do not search the title or author of the article, MARQCAT doesn't contain article level information.

The MARQCAT record will indicate what years we have in print and/or online, providing call number locations for the print and links to the e-journal.  Once at the e-journal, navigate to the volume, issue and page that you need.

Questions:

Didn't find the article/journal using Find it @MU or MARQCAT?  Request the article through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by clicking on the link at the bottom of the Find it @MU window or tab.  Learn more about ILL here.

Ever wonder why the full-text isn't there?  Watch this short video about the Business of Information.