Books

• Before you borrow books from the CSUDH Library, take a close look at
  the regulations on the Circulation /Borrowing Books page.
  
  
• Use the Library's ToroFind catalog to find books available in the CSUDH Library.
  You can search for books by author, title or subject.
• If the CSUDH Library does not have the book you want, try the links that allow you
  to check for and directly request books from other libraries (LINK+ and "All CSUs Catalog"buttons).
  
  
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Journal Articles

To find journal articles when you don't already have a specific citation or reference to an article,
try using one of the journal article indexes (you'll also hear us call them electronic databases
or, simply, databases).

To use CSUDH databases off campus: 

1.  You must be a current CSUDH student, faculty member or staff member.

2.  Adobe Acrobat Reader software (v. 7.0 or later) must be installed on your computer.
      Many articles are available only in .pdf (portable document format) format,
      and you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print them.
      Get Adobe Acrobat Reader free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

• For detailed information on how to log in to CSUDH Electronic databases, click here.
  
  
• For an overview of how to use CSUDH databases to find journal articles, click here.
  
  
• To limit your results to peer reviewed articles, look on the database search page for the words "scholarly" and/or "peer reviewed" and place a check in the box beside these words.

           Click on a link below to access the database of your choice or use our comprehensive list of
           Article Indexes to see all available CSUDH databases.

For a guide on how to use the databases to find journal articles, click here.

• SocINDEX
  Comprehensive sociology research database that indexes numerous sociology and other social science journals; includes full text for over 800 "core" journals, as well as full text for over 700 books and over 6500 conference papers.
  
• Academic Search Premier
  Multi-disciplinary database with full text for more than 4,650 publications, many of which are peer-reviewed journals; often used as a starting point since it covers a wide range of subject areas.
  
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
  Reference materials on a wide variety of social issues, including commentaries and viewpoints, periodical and news articles, primary sources, statistics and multimedia.
  
• CQ Researcher
  Focuses on current issues and hot topics. Each issue provides the background, current situation, pros and cons, chronology, the outlook, and a bibliography. This is a good place to start for getting a general overview of current issues.
  
• Ethnic NewsWatch
  Provides newspaper, magazine and journal and journal articles from the ethnic, minority and native press. If you are researching ethnic populations, you may find additional perspectives because of the resources it indexes.
  
• Chicano Database
  A bibliographic database for materials, including books, on Chicanos and the broader Latino experience. Although this database does not include links to the full text, use the CSUDH Journals List to locate journals articles and the ToroFind catalog to locate books.
  
  
• GenderWatch
  Materials related to gender issues and the family.
  
• Social Sciences Full Text
  Indexing and articles for family studies and sociology.

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Thesaurus ( tool that locates correct subject headings to use in your search)             

• Locate the Thesaurus button or link on the screen (it may be called "Subject Headings" Type a word or phrase for which you would like to identify a subject heading
  into the appropriate box. Sometimes you can click on the suggested search term to see a note that
  defines the term as it is used in the database, as well as a list of narrower,
  broader and related terms.
• Either copy down useful subject headings or cut and paste them into the
  search screen where you are working.
  
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Finding a Specific Journal Title

If you already have a reference or citation to a specific journal article, find out if the Library subscribes to the journal you need by using the CSUDH Journals List. This list includes both print and online journals. The Library currently subscribes to over 25,000 journals online.

For more detailed help finding a known article, visit the Find a Specific Article tutorial.

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Interlibrary Loan

    If the CSUDH Library does NOT own in any form a specific journal, magazine or book that you need:

      - use the online ILL form at http://library.csudh.edu/ill.htm  to submit an electronic request.

               A print or electronic copy of that article will be obtained from another
               library and emailed to you, but it may take 7 days or more longer to arrive.
               Note: books requested through LINK+ usually arrive within 3 to 5 days!

              OR

   - go to the Library Online Catalogs and Information page to look for holdings at other
         academic libraries you can visit in person (such as other CSU libraries).      

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The Internet

Google is still an outstanding search engine, but unless you know exactly what you are doing, it will lead you to millions of web pages on sociology research and its hundreds of subtopics.

Three tips:

• Try Google's Advanced Search page to refine your search.When using information from the web for projects and research papers, remember to evaluate the quality
  and reliability of the information.
  For evaluation criteria, try Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages (Cornell University Library) and
  Evaluating Information on the Web (Pasadena City College Library).
  Google Scholar lets you search some scholarly literature, including many peer reviewed articles, but note that you may not be able to freely access the full text of the article. For scholarly literature, the Library databases listed above are usually a better option for beginning your research.
  
  More Websites Selected and Evaluated by Librarians:
  
  
• Librarian's Index to the Internet: Index of websites reviewed by librarians.
  Choose a topic from the index or use Advanced Search to search for keywords.
• Socioweb: Independent guide to sociological sources on the Internet.
• WWW Virtual Library: Sociology: Maintained at McMaster University.
• Julian Dierkes' Sociolog: Princeton University.
• Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences: Athabasca University in Canada.
• Sociology Timeline: list from Western Washington University.
• Statistical Resources on the Web in Sociology: University of Michigan.
  

Citing Your Sources

When writing a paper or completing a project for a class, you will usually be asked to provide a bibliography of the materials that you used.
Consult the Library's Citation Guide in advance so you'll know what information about each information source to write down before you begin your research.
It's much harder (sometimes impossible!) to retrace your steps than to make note cards as you're working to keep track of sources of information you use while doing your research.

Citing Your Sources

Our web page, How to Cite Your Sources in a Research Paper, has two links.
The first link takes you to a download page for the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you will need
to access the actual web page.
The second link leads to a document that shows you how to cite books, articles, and web resources in
APA, MLA, and Turabian formats.

Always check with your professor to find out which citation format to use for papers in that class!


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Summary of Searching (applies to most databases)

            * Enter your search terms.

* Focus your search by choosing a Field Code from the All Fields drop-list on each line
  you use. e.g.: to search for the subject “rape”, enter it in the Find field, and select SU-Subject

           * Enter additional search terms in the optional search fields.
              Use the * (truncation symbol) and the? (wild card) symbol as required.

            * Connect multiple search terms with connector words (AND, OR, NOT) to create a very
              broad or a very narrow search.

            * Tip: Put all Find box on one line.
              Select other appropriate search limiters and "broadeners" (see Search for Articles).