Reference sources - like encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks - can be a great place to start your preliminary research. They often give a concise description of a topic (including key concepts, events, and individuals) and may even offer other sources for you to explore!
Some of the following sources are located in the library, while others are available online through our Credo Reference database. See Credo has available for Sociology and Criminology & Law or do a Books & Media search from our homepage for other titles!
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Class in America
The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice
Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society
Encyclopedia of Race and Crime
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender
Encyclopedia of Social Problems by To find books and media that our library owns, use the Books & Media tab on our homepage, or search for everything with the Search All option.
Start with one or two keywords, adding quotation marks ("") around concepts with more than one word: for example, "middle school" or "autism spectrum disorder"... quotes are not needed for single words, such as education or science.
Narrow your results using the limits on the right side of the results page. You may see a lot of non-book items, so be sure to limit the Resource Type category to Books, if that's what you're looking for.
When you've found a book (or ebook!) that looks interesting, click the title to learn more about it, or (if it's Available), write down the location and call number and head to the shelves to get it!
If you see 'Available Online', the book or media is available online!
While searching the catalog, you'll find a number of books and videos with a location of Internet Resource, and a link in place of the call number.
Simply follow the link ('Click here for full text', 'View Streaming Video', etc.) to access the online version of these books and videos.
You will need to log in to view these items from off campus (and on campus, for videos). If you are having trouble, contact the reference desk for assistance (973-720-2116; refdesk@wpunj.edu).
