Social Problems

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Social Problems
SOC 205

Books - to find broad information on a topic, or the history of a given topic, try the book collection. This information may not the most up to date, but should give you a good sense of the "big picture." To look up books on a given topic, go to the library catalog:

http://cmars.cwmars.org/search~S38/

Once you're in the library catalog depending on your topic, try broad keyword searches like:

welfare
drug abuse
domestic abuse

Remember that we have access to many more books than are located at MWCC library. To see what books other libraries own on your topic, search "All Central MA Libraries" or pick a specific library to search, within our system. Also, if you do locate a book which contains good information on your topic, see if there are bibliographies in the book, which list other sources. Here are some useful reference books which you might use in your work:

The encyclopedia of child abuse / Robin E. Clark and Judith Freeman Clark - Ref. HV6626.5 .C57 2001
The encyclopedia of violence : origins, attitudes, consequences / by Margaret DiCanio - Ref. HM291 .D4857 1993
Encyclopedia of juvenile justice / Marilyn D. McShane, Frank P. Williams III, editors - Ref. HV9104 .E58 2003
Encyclopedia of drugs, alcohol & addictive behavior / Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, editor-in-chief - Ref. HV5804 .E53 2001

Periodical Indexes/Databases - to find the most current information on a topic, try journal or newspaper articles. In order to locate them, you must use an index. Just like in the back of a book there is an index which tells you what page to look at in the book, there are indexes to journals and newspapers which tell you which issue and page to look at in the journal. These indexes used to be just available in print but are now available online as well. Some online indexes which you should use in your work would be:

Academic Search Premier - great for general information
Expanded Academic ASAP - again, good for general information
Business Source Premier - a focus on business related issues
LexisNexis - newspaper articles plus journal coverage

The really exciting thing about these online databases is that about 50 percent of the time, the articles which are indexed online, are available online, full-text. These are all available through the library's Database page:

http://www.mwcc.mass.edu/HTML/Library/login.html

Find these online indexes in either the alphabetical or subject arranged database listings. Once in these databases, try specific keyword searches such as:

child abuse and prevention
domestic and (abuse or violence)

Hint: If you haven't decided on a topic yet, browsing through a subject specialized journal can give you ideas for your paper.

Websites - To supplement your investigation, but not to substitute for information you find in journals and books.

This page is maintained by the MWCC Library.
This page was last updated 1/27/05