Sociology

Use the Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to refine your topic and to thereby increase the number of relevant articles. The Boolean operators are on each and every database. Use them when searching the Internet as well.

• AND -- specifies that all the terms in the search must be present in an article (e.g. subject AND subject). Using AND narrows your search.
• OR --  specifies that either search term can be present (e.g. subject OR subject). Using OR expands your search.
• NOT -- excludes a search term (e.g. subject NOT subject). Using NOT makes your search more specific.

It is advisable to use quotation marks (" ") when searching for a phrase (e.g. "fetal alcohol syndrome"). The computer will search for the exact phrase, not each individual word. Searching the exact phrase reduces the number of irrelevant "hits" and gives you more relevant results.

To find articles:

• Select an appropriate database, e.g. for a topic on families, one of the databases that you could use would be Family & Society Studies Worldwide.
• Type your topic in the Search Box. The computer will display a list of article titles with names of authors. Limit your search results to “full-text articles”. This means you can read and print the articles right there and then.
• Some articles may not be available full-text on the computer. They may be available in the print journals and magazines in the library. Ask the Library staff for help to find out if the journal or magazine you need is available in print in the library.
• If the article (s) you want are not available in full-text on the databases and the Library does not have print copies, you can request the articles through our FREE Interlibrary Loan Services. Click on “Request this item through interlibrary loan” and log into the interlibrary loan form with your Library Barcode and PIN to request the article. Articles take 2-3 days to arrive. 

Available online:

• American Sociological Review
• Canadian Journal of Sociology
• Canadian Studies in Population

Journals, magazines and newspapers are an excellent source of current information. Thousands of articles on all kinds of topics are stored in databases. Most of the articles are available on the computer. You can read them, print or e-mail them to yourself so that you can read them later.