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Sociology Research Basics: Find Information

Learn to research with ease using credible, college-appropriate resources to frame, guide, and inform your projects

Using & Finding Books

Why Use Books:

Use books to read broad overviews and detailed discussions of your topic. You can also use books to find primary sources, which are often published together in collections.
 

Where Do I Find Books?

You'll use the library catalog to search for books, ebooks, articles, and more.
 

What if MJC Doesn't Have What I Need?

If you need materials (books, articles, recordings, videos, etc.) that you cannot find in the library catalog, use our interlibrary loan service.

Find Articles in MJC Databases

Why Use Databases?

The MJC Library subscribes to many databases filled with authoritative articles, book chapters, research reports, statistics, and more from thousands of respected publications.

Using the Library's article databases ensures that you're using the academically-appropriate sources your instructors expect you to use. Also, you won't have to cull through millions of unrelated Web pages that will waste your time and energy.


All of these resources are free for MJC students, faculty, and staff.

If you're working from off campus, you'll need to sign in just like you do for Canvas or email.

 

Articles & Databases button image
 

To learn how to navigate our databases page, please view the video below.

Using & Finding Web Documents

Why Use the Web

Face it; it's easy and familiar to many people.  Also, the Web is a great resource for research because it's so vast; you can find primary documents, news stories, research papers, pictures, movies, sound, government reports, and more.  For research you would use the Web to:

  • Research cutting-edge topics
  • Link to Library information & resources
  • Find information from all levels of government
  • Read expert and popular opinions

Be a Smart Web Searcher

You don't want to wade through millions of Web pages. By using a few tricks, you can focus your searches relatively easily to those authoritative, reliable sources you want to use.

  • Use key search terms - Use the same search terms you used successfully to find books and articles.
  • Know your search tool - Use advanced search features to control your search. For example you can limit your search in Google to just search government or educational Web sites by limiting to a specific domain. Learn more at Google for Researchers.
  • Use search tools you can trust - Google Scholar indexes scholarly literature on the Web.

You can search Google Scholar below:


 

Google Scholar Search

Use the CRAAP Test for Credibility

Do Your Sources Pass the CRAAP Test for Credibility?

As you begin to explore your topic and seek answers to your research questions, you need to be sure that you're using the best possible sources of information. You'll most likely find a variety of sources during your research including books, articles, Web documents, interviews, DVDs, and more.

You can feel pretty confident that books you get from the library and articles you find in the library's databases are reliable and credible because you know those have gone through a traditional editorial process; someone or some group has checked all the facts and arguments the author made and then deemed them suitable for publishing. You still have to think about whether or not the book or article is current and suitable for your project but you can feel confident that it is a credible, reliable source.

For each and every source you use you want to make sure it passed the CRAAP test.

Evaluate your sources: The CRAAP Test

 

For more on the CRAAP Test see our guide entitled, Evaluate Your Sources Using the CRAAP Test.

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Watch the brief video below to see how this works.