Your Librarian
Bernadette Lear
Contact:
LIB 301B
Penn State Harrisburg Library
351 Olmsted Dr.
Middletown, PA 17057
Penn State Harrisburg Library
351 Olmsted Dr.
Middletown, PA 17057
(717) 948-6360
Website Skype Contact: balibra76
Subjects: Adult Education and Workforce Education, Applied Behavior Analysis, Campus: Harrisburg, Community Psychology and Social Change, Education, Education: Organization, Development, and Change / Training and Development, Health, Health Education, Kinesiology, Exercise, and Sport Science, Nursing, Psychology
Sociology Search Tips
Use each database's thesaurus or subject headings list to identify the best wording for your topic. For example, Sociological Abstracts uses:
- American Indians (NOT "Native Americans")
- A variety of terms for what Americans call "Middle Eastern," including "Arab Americans," "Muslims," and "North African Cultural Groups"
- Black Americans (NOT "African Americans")
- Hispanic Americans (NOT "Latinx")
- Homosexuality (NOT "LGBT" or "gay")
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Empirical Research in Social Sciences and EducationA cheat sheet to finding empirical articles (qualitative or quantitative) in many of the library's databases. Besides this page, see links on the left side of the guide to learn more about empirical research.
Using ProQuest Databases (including Sociological Abstracts)
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APA PsycINFO: AboutProQuest's detailed guide to using PsycINFO. Includes explanations, tips, and videos.
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ERIC: AboutProQuest's detailed guide to using ERIC. Includes explanations, tips, and videos.
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Social Science Training MaterialsA gateway to resources for using ProQuest's Social Sciences databases.
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ProQuest VideoProQuest's YouTube channel. Includes videos about its products, and about database research in general.
Using EBSCO Databases (including America: History and Life)
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EBSCO Product HelpA gateway to resources for using EBSCO databases.
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EBSCO Tutorials (on YouTube)EBSCO's playlist of database tutorials.
Using Penn State and General Search Tools
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LionSearch TutorialsHow to use LionSearch, Penn State's federated search engine, which enables you to tap the library catalog and most journal databases simultaneously.
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Online Students Use of the LibraryAlthough this guide is intended for Penn State World Campus students, it's a helpful orientation for anyone who is doing most of their research off-campus.
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How to GuidesPenn State's library tutorials. They cover a wide variety of research-related skills.
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Google Scholar Search TipsAdvice for using Google's search engine for journal articles.
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JSTOR Support > StudentsJSTOR's student page is helpful for any user.
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JSTOR on YouTubeVideos from JSTOR's support team.