Sociology  Tags: sociology soci  

If you need help with finding information for your assignment please contact the Sociology Librarian.

This guide outlines a simple but effective approach to finding information for your assignment, based on the resources found on the Sociology guide. Depending on your topic and your level of study, you may need to rearrange or review these steps.

Define your topic

It may seem obvious, but the first step is to make sure you understand the topic. Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question to help you develop a search strategy.

More on defining your topic

Developing a research strategy

Gather background information

Use encyclopedias and dictionaries to find definitions and background information. Articles from specialized subject encyclopedias are authoritative and often substantial.

More on reference resources for Sociology

Find Books

Search the Library catalogue:

• Check for books on Restricted Loan.
• Use Title and Keyword anywhere searches to find additional material.
• Click on the Subject headings of useful titles to find books on related subjects.
• Browse the library shelves in the classification sequence for Sociology.

More on catalogue searching

Find journal articles

The catalogue lists the print and electronic titles of journals held by the Library. To find articles on your specific topic search the recommended databases for Sociology.

More about using databases to find an article.

Find information on the Internet

The Internet can be a rich source of information but not everything will be useful or appropriate for research use. Web resources need to be carefully evaluated and used in conjunction with the scholarly resources provided by the Library. Use the Advanced search features of Google or Google Scholar to restrict your search to search results from reputable sources.

Listed below are some subject-specific interactive online tutorials that are part of the Intute: Virtual Training Suite. They have been written by a national team of subject specialists in U.K. universities and are designed to help students learn how to get the best from the Web for their education and research. There is much that will be helpful for New Zealand students, too.

Internet Sociologist
Internet for Social Policy
Internet for Social Research Methods
Internet for Social Statistics
Internet for Women's Studies

Internet Detective
"Wise up to the Web". This tutorial helps students to develop the critical thinking required for their Internet research.

Evaluate your sources

References recommended on reading lists will already have been evaluated for quality. You will need to evaluate sources that you find yourself. Think critically about the information you find. The quality of your information will help to determine the quality of your assignment.

More on evaluating your sources

Cite your sources

Avoid plagiarism by citing all the sources of information you use in your essay, using the Harvard citation style.

More on citing your sources.

Write your assignment

See the Writing Guides page for books which have useful tips for writing about social science topics.