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Sociology
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Graduate Students in Sociology
This page is directed toward CSUF Sociology
graduate students. As you a graduate student your research needs will be
much greater than that of an undergraduate student. This library has a wide
range of specialized services, research sources, and research assistance
available which will be of interest to the graduate student.
Where to Obtain Research Assistance
| Reference
Desk |
The Reference Desk is a good place to start
with your research questions. The librarians working at this desk have
multiple degrees, including a masters in Library Science, and years of
experience working with college students and the research process. There at
least one librarian on duty at the Reference desk almost every hour the
library is open. |
| Research
Assistance Appointment |
It is possible to make an appointment with a
librarian who is a subject specialist within your field of study. This is
especially useful when you have already talked to a librarian at the
Reference Desk and still need additional in-depth assistance.
Research
Assistance Appointment forms After you have submitted the
form, a librarian will contact you within a few days by e-mail to arrange a
meeting. A research appointment is especially recommended for a student
who is writing a thesis. |
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Library Instruction |
At the request of the faculty member a
Library Instruction session can to arranged to teach research techniques,
electronic resources in Sociology, evaluation of sources, and more.
These sessions are for the entire class and take place during class time.
Faculty-Requested Instruction
Form
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| Electronic
Workshops |
Many graduate students return to the
academic setting after years in professional fields. During those
years the research process changed dramatically as it became entirely
computerized. We understand that this can be frustrating at a time
when you have little extra time and need to "get up to speed quickly." The
library offers a variety of free
Electronic Workshops each semester to introduce the techniques of
electronic research. These workshops are available to the entire
campus community but we have found that these workshops are heavily attended
by graduate students who are then able to quickly gain electronic research
expertise. |
| AskRef |
AskRef E-mail Reference Service is an online Reference Desk. You
may ask any question here that you would ask in person at the Reference
Desk. Expect an answer in your e-mail within about 24
hours.
This service can be especially helpful for the graduate student who is on
campus only once or twice a week. |
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Chat Reference |
Chat
Reference is an
online real-time Reference service where the student can ask questions of a
online academic librarian at any time, even in the middle of the night! |
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Telephone |
Telephone Reference is available to all during
normal reference desk hours at 714-278-3284. |
How to Find Everything on Your Topic
| Primary
Sociology Databases |
Sociology students should start their
research looking for articles in the primary databases within their field.
The best example is the Sociological Abstracts which is a graduate and
faculty-level database which leads to articles, books, book chapters,
conference proceedings and much more in the field of Sociology. Take a
look at the list of the recommended Sociology
databases. |
| Additional Databases |
After searching the primary sociology
databases, explore further. This library subscribes to
over one
hundred and fifty databases on every subject taught on this campus.
These supplementary indexes may lead to you only a few additional sources
each. However, you may find them very helpful as they often will offer
a different perspective. Examples would be the Historical Abstracts to get a
historical perspective or Medline to get a medical perspective. To get ideas
on additional places to look for materials on your topic, explore the
articles page or ask at the Reference Desk for advice. |
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WorldCat |
WHAT IS IT? WorldCat is the OCLC
Online Union catalog which contains more than 40 million records describing
items owned at libraries around the world. Each record will contain
library holdings. It covers the years about 1000AD to present date
with new records added daily. It does not contain articles.
What you would use it for: The WorldCat does not contain everything ever
published but it does contain a significant portion of published materials.
Search this database for materials on your subject not owned in the Pollak
Library. Once you have found books on your topic
that this library does not own, you may request them through
Interlibrary Loan. |
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Melvyl Catalog |
WHAT IS IT? This online catalog
contains records of the University of California books and other materials
such as maps, videos and sounds recordings.
What you would use it for: The Melvyl catalog is so large that it is a
good place to check on other library holdings in your area of
research. Searching Melvyl is one way to locate a library that has a large
collection within your subject area. A graduate student might find
that a trip to a library with a specialized collection is well worth the
time. Materials listed in Melvyl can generally be requested through
Interlibrary Loan. |
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Citation
Indexes |
WHAT IS IT? Citation indexes are
specialized research tools designed to tell the researcher whose work is
being cited and how often. It other words, a citation database
searches the bibliographies of articles. The library has three
different citation databases; Arts and Humanities Search, Social
SciSearch and SciSearch. Sociologists would be most likely to use
the Social SciSearch.
What you would use it for: A researcher will search a citation database
to determine how important an article or researcher is within the field
based on how often other researchers cite their work. It is also
helpful in finding out who is currently doing research within a narrow
field. |
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Dissertation Abstracts Online |
WHAT IS IT? This is an online
index of dissertations awarded from accredited academic institutions from
1861 through present day. The index selectively covers masters,
Canadian dissertations, and European dissertations. New records are added
monthly. The library also has the paper version of the set,
Dissertation Abstracts International, (5th floor, Library South Z5055 U5)
What would you use it for: Dissertation have gone through vigorous quality
control and contain very detailed research on their topic. They often
represent unique research that is not available elsewhere. Dissertations are
also very useful for their extensive bibliographies.
How to obtain dissertations:
1. To find out if a dissertation was later published and is easily
available, check the
Library Catalog and
WorldCat
by author.
2. Request the dissertation through Interlibrary Loan. Do be aware
that this request my take longer than the average article request.
3. Purchase a paper or microfilm copy of the dissertation through the
commercial service, UMI
http://www.umi.com |
How to Obtain the Research Materials
|
Library Catalog |
The Library
catalog is an online listing of everything that this library owns. It is a
good idea to check first to see what this library owns on your topic before
searching other libraries. We own a remarkably large collection of
graduate-level materials. |
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Interlibrary Loan |
This is a service where the
library can obtain materials for you from other libraries. The
Interlibrary Loan office is found on the first floor of the south building.
You can also request material online. |
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Link+ |
Link+ is a project to provide a
single searchable catalog for books and other materials for the
participating academic libraries. It is possible to request any
books that you find within this catalog.
This catalog will only contain information on the titles
of journals and it is not possible to request articles through Link+.
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