LibGuides: SOC3010/CCJ3010: Research Methods: Finding Articles

Using Databases to Find Research Articles

When conducting your literature review, you should try to find as much information about previous research on your topic, as possible.

One of the best places to look for articles is on the Library’s Find Articles or Databases tabs. Find Articles will give you a broader search, across all of our databases and resources, but may be too broad (including things you don't want). The Databases option allows you to focus on specific collections of information, but may require that you search in multiple places. Each has its merits, but I would recommend starting with subject databases, to make sure you're finding the most relevant information first. Either search option can be used from off campus, and many articles are available in full-text.

If your topic covers more than one subject (Social Sciences and Music, etc.) you'll want to search more than one database to get the full picture.

General Sociology Databases

A general search isn't always the best place to go when doing research. In fact, some our our databases actually offer more control over you searching!

The following databases are good starting points for your Sociology/Criminal Justice research. The contents of each are different (with some overlap) so it's always a good idea to check in multiple databases to ensure that you find all relevant information.

If you topic touches on another subject, such as education, health, or gender studies, be sure to look in those databases as well (see below).

Education Databases

If your topic touches on issues of educational equality, or relates to issues present in schools and higher education, you might want to also explore these databases:

Educational Administration Abstracts This link opens in a new window Index to articles on topics in educational administration from over 150 periodicals, with links to full-text content where available. [1993 - present]
ERIC (via EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window The ERIC database, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, provides access to more than 1.3 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials. Included in the database are citation records, abstracts, and (where available) full-text links for journal articles, books, research syntheses, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers, and other education-related materials. [1966 - present]
ProQuest Education Database This link opens in a new window The ProQuest Education Database includes over 1,130 full-text periodicals and 18,000 dissertations, supporting research on the theory and practice of education. Education Database covers not only the literature on primary, secondary, and higher education but also special education, home schooling, adult education, and hundreds of related topics.

Health-Related Databases

For those of you dealing with issues of healthcare and mental illness, the following databases will be useful:

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) with Full Text This link opens in a new window The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) is the most comprehensive resource for locating published research in nursing and allied health. The full text version includes content from over 600 journals indexed in the database, with many article backfiles extending to 1981. Frequently updated, CINAHL also provides searchers with current awareness of the newest journal articles through a rotating file of "Pre-CINAHL" records containing citation information and links to full-text (where available). [1981 - present]
PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new window PsycARTICLES offers complete access to the full text of more than 80 landmark journals in behavioral science and related fields ranging from education, to nursing, to business, to neuroscience. The database currently contains over 160,000 articles from many of the most important journals in psychology, including 34 journals published by the American Psychological Association. Most titles feature complete content from the current issue back to volume 1, issue 1, with complete coverage of all subject areas relevant to psychological science including basic/experimental psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, education and school psychology, health psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, social psychology and social processes. Articles in PsycARTICLES are also accessible through links in the (larger) PsycINFO database. [1894 - present]
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window PsycINFO is the principal abstracting and indexing database covering peer-reviewed literature in the behavioral sciences and mental health. The database currently contains over 3.3 million records for articles from over 2,500 journals, books, and dissertations. Although the major focus of the database is psychology, it also includes information about the psychological aspects of related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, technology, linguistics, anthropology, business, law, and others. The records in PsycINFO are organized by a rigorous and detailed system of subject classification to support high-precision searching, and links to full-text content are provided where available. [1887 - present]

Gender-Related Databases

In addition to searching the general sociology databases (above), check out these resources when dealing with issues of gender inequality:

Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window This bibliographic database provides citations and abstracts for materials in all areas of women's studies. It includes more than 958,800 records and spans from 1972 to the present and indexes journals, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, reports, theses, dissertations and grey literature.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window GenderWatch is a full-text database useful for gender and women's studies, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) research. The database offers over 300 titles, with more than 250 in full-text, from an array of academic, radical, community and independent presses, with coverage back to 1970. Researchers and teachers may access more than 219,000 full articles on wide-ranging topics like sexuality, religion, societal roles, feminism, masculinity, eating disorders, healthcare, and the workplace. [1970 - Present]

Scholarly v. Popular

When conducting research, you will usually be asked to find Scholarly Articles, or artices from a Scholarly Journal, rather than popular sources (like magazines and newspapers).

Not sure what the difference is between scholarly and popular? Check out this short tutorial: Scholarly v. Popular

Is It Scholarly?

How can you tell if you've found a scholarly article?

Some of our databases allow you to limit your results to Scholarly or Peer-Reviewed (possibly Refereed) articles. In some cases, this isn’t so clear. You can either check with your professor or a librarian, or you can search for the journal name in Ulrichsweb (under Articles & Databases, on the Library homepage).

Once you’ve found the name of the journal you’re looking for, look for a small referee’s shirt icon (), to the left of the title. This indicates that there is scholarly (peer-reviewed, refereed…) value to the articles in this title.