LibGuides: SOC 470: Qualitative Research Seminar : Starting Point

Instruction & Research Services Librarian

She/Hers

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Contact:

864 294-2260

Subjects: Anthropology, Asian Studies, Classics, History, Latin American & Latinx Studies, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Modern Languages & Literatures, Politics and International Affairs, Religion, Sociology

Let's Search

When selecting your topic, be sure to review your course syllabus. If you have questions about your topic, contact your instructor. This is your opportunity to learn more, as you navigate your research journey. Be sure to take note of what interests you most.

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Use library resources, course text, and other external resources to gather background information on your topic.

Keep in mind:

Do not be afraid to use the search engine Google for a better understanding. Jot down common keywords from your notes and apply it to your search using the library's databases.
Try using the databases below to support your background searches

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Credo Reference
Provides access to more than 1300 titles, covering every major subject - from art to medicine, psychology to history, and technology to literature.
Gale Ebooks
Gale eBooks is a Database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
More than 75,000 documents.
OneFile, Gale Academic

Visit the articles page to see suggested sociology focused databases. Have questions, book an appointment.

Try these sample searches in JSTOR:

viewers AND "reality tv" AND sociology
(reality tv OR reality television) AND "mass media" AND "perception of"
(makeover reality tv OR makeover reality television) AND governmentality

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Be intentional about the resources that you add to your bibliography. Your list of resources is beneficial to the scholar who reads your work.

Who is the author(s) or editor(s) of the work? What else have they published? Would you consider them an expert in the field?
What type of resource are you looking to cite?
When was this resource published?
Why was this resource published? What does the author or editor want you to know?
Where did you find the resource? If it's an article, what journal published the article? Does it match your area of focus?

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Using the ASA 7th edition, give credit to the authors and editors of the works you selected to include in your research assignment. You can grab this edition by visiting the Research Assistance Desk at James B. Duke Library.

Call number:

HM 596. A54 2019

ASA Quick Tips provided by the American Sociological Association

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RefWorks
RefWorks is a bibliographic management program that allows users to create personal databases and use them for a variety of research activities. References can be quickly and easily imported into RefWorks from text files or online databases. Users can automatically insert references from their database into their papers, generating formatted bibliographies and manuscripts.