This document provides guidance on conducting sociological research, including identifying relevant keywords and variables, searching databases like SocIndex and PsycInfo, obtaining full-text articles through services like BeachReach, citing sources in APA or MLA style, reading scholarly works by examining aspects like the methodology and conclusion, and quoting or summarizing passages appropriately. Common citation errors are highlighted along with tips for fixing them such as changing all capitalized words and ensuring journal titles are italicized.

1. Sociology
488H
Tiffini Travis

2. Photo by KCIvey - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/17218700@N00 Created with Haiku Deck

3. The elements of the
record that you need to
create a reference list
Citation

4. Look for this button
to find out if the
item is full text
Get it @ CSULB

5. The library emails you
the PDF of the
requested article in less
than 72 hours
BeachReach

6. Start with a
Research Topic
Identify Keywords
and Synonyms

7. Contains the databases: SocIndex, Sociological Abstracts, Psycinfo and ERIC
ONESEARCH

8. Self-esteem
Self concept
Body image
Self perception
Ethnic identity
Social identity
Translate your topic
into scholarly
languageIdentify
Variables

9. Tattoos
Tattoo
Body modification
Body art
Physical appearance
Concept A
Concept B
Identity
Self concept
Self presentation
Social identity
Self perception

10. Narrows a search
Both terms appear in same record
Terms have different meanings
example: infidelity AND culture
AND
OR
Broadens a search
Either term may appear in record
Terms have similar meanings
example: adultery OR cheating

11. Can look for multiple endings of a
word or plurals
theor* theory theories
asterisk
Proximity
Allows you to specify how close
you want your terms to appear in
the record – use quotes
“online interaction”

12. Searches: title, abstract,
subjects and in some
cases the full text of the
record
Keywords
Default fields
Subject
Descriptor
Searches: only the
subject line-This makes
your searches more
specific and better defined

13. Searching
for
ArticLes

14. Getting
the
Article
ArticleReach
Get It @ CSULB

15. Click on Get it @ CSULB
If there is no full text

16. Arrives in about 48 hours
BeachReach

17. Look for citation generators
in the records of the article
DATABASES
ONESEARCH

18. Citing sources
Books
Articles
In-text citations
Book Chapters
Web Sites
OWL Purdue Writing Guides
This page provides links to a variety of online
examples of citing in both MLA and APA styles
InstagramImagebykaren_yim

19. Common Citation Errors.
1. Part of the citation is in ALL CAPS
2. Every Word Of The Article Title Is Capitalized
3. The journal title is not italicized
4. The ending page number for your article is missing
5. There is no hanging indent
Before

20. Fixing the Errors.
1. Change any words that are all caps
2. Make the appropriate words lower/upper case
3. Italicize the Journal Title
4. Look at the PDF of your document and find the
ending page number
5. Create a hanging indent
After

21. Ctrl + T *
Creates paragraphs
with hanging indents
in Microsoft Word.
Command for Mac
*

22. Tips for Reading Scholarly
info
read the abstract
and the literature
review
examine results
and conclusion
section
Read the methodology
Look at the theory applied

23. Quoting
the author's language is noteworthy for some
you intend to analyze the passage in detail
a summary or paraphrase of the passage would
result in misinterpretation
Direct quotations
should only be
used when:

24. Summarizing
A summary is a condensation of a passage.
Restate the central idea in your own words
Avoid including opinions or feelings about the
passage. Opinions must be clearly distinguished
from