Education: Abstracts and indexes

Abstracts and indexes
CBCA Education [Canadian Business & Current Affairs – Education] (Formerly The Canadian Education Index)
Indexes Canadian Education magazines.

Education Index
From H. W .Wilson. Electronic version. Electronic Full Text covers English-language periodicals, monographs and yearbooks. Full text from 1996, indexing from 1983.

ERIC http://www.eric.ed.gov/
ERIC is the world’s largest source of educational information, with more than 1 million abstracts of documents and journal articles on education research and practice.

Canadian associations
Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) http://www.accc.ca/xp/index.php/en/members/memberinstitutions
Contains a list of members listed by province.

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada http://www.aucc.ca/
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is the voice of Canada’s universities. It represents over 90 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges. Click on “Canadian Universities” link to access AUCC’s Directory of Canadian Universities, a searchable database containing information about facilities, services and academic programs offered by AUCC member universities.

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada http://www.cmec.ca/en/
In Canada, education is the responsibility of each province and territory. CMEC is the national voice for education in Canada. It is the mechanism through which ministers consult and act on matters of mutual interest, and the instrument through which they consult and cooperate with national education organizations and the federal government. CMEC also represents the education interests of the provinces and territories internationally. Site contains information on education in Canada at all levels plus links to other related organizations.

Canadian Education Association http://www.cea-ace.ca/
The Canadian Education Association is a network for educators in Canada. The CEA is their source of information about the latest trends in education. It’s the only bilingual organization dedicated to improving education. Publishes School Calendar: Opening and Closing Dates http://www.cea-ace.ca/research-publications/other?field_publications_author_nid=All&tid=254 Summarizes all the opening and closing dates (Western Canada and Eastern Canada) for primary and secondary schools in every province and territory.

Encyclopaedias/dictionaries Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Educational Philosophy and Theory http://eepat.net/doku.php

Glossarist: Education Glossaries and Education Dictionaries http://web.archive.org/web/20120512065628/http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/education/

Internet sources
Blue Web’n http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/tips/scrap_instructions.html
Blue Web’n is an online library of 1800+ outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hotlists, resources, tutorials, activities, projects). You can search by grade level (Refined Search), broad subject area (Content Areas), or specific subcategories (Subject Area).

Canada’s SchoolNet http://www.schoolnet.ca/home/e/
Schoolnet is a Canadian education site developed through funding by a variety of agencies (government, industry and educational establishments). Features a large selection of educational sites for students and teachers.

Canadian Education on the Web http://web.archive.org/web/20080109054933/http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/canedweb/

The purpose of Canadian Education on the Web was to bring together everything relating to Canada and education that had a presence on the World Wide Web. The page was developed and maintained by Marian Press in the Education Commons of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

Canadian Information by Subject: 37 Education https://web.archive.org/web/20120305193407/http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/caninfo/ep037.htm
National Library of Canada site arranged in subject order according to DDC.

Canadian Information Center for International Credentials. http://www.cicic.ca/
Information on foreign credential evaluations, postsecondary education in Canada, specific professions and trades, Learning English (ESL) or French (FSL) as a second language, postsecondary education abroad, exchange and financial aid programs, international mobility in higher education.

education@canada http://cmec.ca/en/
Provides access, for both the international education community and international students, to Canadian education resources on the Internet. An information resource of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), the secretariat for the provincial and territorial ministries/departments responsible for education.

Education Virtual Library http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/home

The Gateway to Educational Materials http://thegateway.org/
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. Access to high quality lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the Internet!

Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth. Instructional Resources Library. http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/mel/index.html
Home page with links to publications, etc.

McGill University Library. Education Library. Resources by Subject. http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-findinfo/subjects/education/curriculum/
Includes links to sites for teachers and students in art, drama, ESL, history, math, science, social studies, and sports.

SchoolFinder.com http://www.schoolfinder.com/
Find information on more than 1,400 universities, colleges and career colleges in Canada, including admission requirements, costs, programs, and contact details. View interactive virtual campus e-ToursTM. Search by keyword for programs, schools, careers, and scholarships.

Study in Canada http://www.studyincanada.com/english/index.asp
Includes a searchable database of schools of all types in Canada.

Teacher Librarian Toolkit http://web.archive.org/web/20041011221407/http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tltoolkit/tl_toolkit.html
From Teacher Librarian magazine. Portal to a variety of materials from the pages of TL and the Internet beyond, plus essential professional resources for teacher librarians.

University of Winnipeg Library, Education http://libguides.uwinnipeg.ca/education

The World of Education: Manitoba Perspective http://web.archive.org/web/20040706211737/http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/education/educwww.html

Education

Education is a topic about which almost everyone has an opinion and on which many consider themselves to be experts.

Richard J. Kraft,

The Reader’s Advisor

Speaking generally education signifies the sum total of processes by means of which a community or social group, whether small or large, transmits its acquired power and aims with a view to securing its own continuous existence and growth.

John Dewey

Definitions

Education:
1. The act or process of educating or being educated. 2. The knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process. 3. A program of instruction of a specified kind or level: driver education; a college education. 4. The field of study that is concerned with the pedagogy of teaching and learning. 5. An instructive or enlightening experience: Her work in the inner city was a real education.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000

Education:
1. The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
2. The science or art of teaching.

Random House Dictionary of the English Language.

Education may be:

• An institution or the structure of education in a particular place at a particular time, e.g. Canadian education vs. British education
• An activity, i.e. the continuous process of learning
• The methods, techniques, psychological aspects of teaching or dealing with students
• Content, i.e. curriculum
• A pro duct, e.g. an employable person

Pedagogy:
1. The art or profession of teaching. 2. Preparatory training or instruction.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000

An older name for the profession of teaching.

Education and the social sciences

• Seen more as a profession than a social science
• An applied art which sometimes uses scientific approaches
• Interdisciplinary e.g. research in history of education, sociology of education, educational psychology, economics of education

Subdisciplines/specialities

• Educational history, philosophy, sociology, economics, demographics
• Educational specialities
• Early childhood
• Infant
• Elementary
• Secondary
• Higher/postsecondar
• Community/vocational college
• 2-year (junior)
• 4-year
• University
• Adult and continuing (lifelong, recurrent, informal)
• Distance
• Special
• Guidance
• Educational administration and supervision
• Out of the classroom, e.g. principal
• Curriculum and instruction
• People making suggestions and changes
• Educational psychology, measurement and guidance
• Education for occupations
• Professional pedagogies, e.g. music, art, phys ed
• specialities
• Professional education, e.g. medicine, nursing, law
• Vocational, cooperative, or distributive
• e.g. mechanic in colleges, co-operatives can last 3-4 months at a time with pay
• Teacher education
• Multicultural education
• Special education
• For exceptional students (physical, mental, behavioural disabilities)
• Gifted and talented often included
• At-risk education
• Less than half of aboriginal students graduate from high school, set up schools to help keep them in education
• Urban education
• Inner city (U.S.) with core problems, immigrants, places to help
• Comparative and international education
• Looking at education in another place and see if changes, improvements can be made

History

• Traditionally ‘schooled’ at home with emphasis on training as opposed to education
• Compulsory, free education a relatively recent phenomenon (Ontario 1891; Manitoba 1916)
• Education in Canada a provincial responsibility

Trends

• School organization and funding
• Reduce number of school boards
• Budget constraints
• Accountability
• Increased emphasis on evaluation and assessment
• provincial exams, standardized tests
• Responding to needs
• Especially re disabilities, literacy, aboriginal students, visible minorities, at-risk students
• Expand services
• Extend day/daycare, conflict resolution, health, safety, tolerance
• Not everyone is the same, different people require different services
• Technology
• Computers
• Curriculum
• Strengthen core subjects
• New subjects, e.g. technology, html
• Second languages
• Outcomes based
• Co-op, work study, internships
• Employability skills
• Globalization
• International students
• Exchange students
• Distance delivery
• Market programme around the world, open to anyone
• Lifelong learning
• Refreshers’ course
• Teacher retirements
• Number of years in school increasing
• Due to amount of information needed to be learnt
• Increased interest in alternatives to public school system
• Homeschooling
• Private schools
• Independent schools

Reference

• Wide variety of users with variety of needs
• Teachers (K-12)
• focus on curriculum and instructional material
• Practical tips, handbooks, guides
• Home schoolers
• Will use public library may request materials outside of normal scope of public library
• Parents
• Possibly popular material on major issues in news
• Material for student reports e.g. science fairs
• Adult learners
• Test preparation, G.E.D., self improvement, how-to
• Children/teens
• School assignment driven

Psychology

• The scientific study of human and animal behaviour (text)
• Science or study of the thought processes and behavior of humans and other animals in their interaction with the environment

Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed., 2001
http://web.archive.org/web/20040815133411/http://www.bartleby.com/65/ps/psychlgy.html

What is psychology?

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. The discipline embraces all aspects of the human experience – from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged. In every conceivable setting from scientific research centers to mental health care services, “the understanding of behavior” is the enterprise of psychologists.

American Psychological Association http://web.archive.org/web/20041009164609/http://www.apa.org/about/

Psychology

• Modern psychology emerged from philosophy in the last quarter of the nineteenth century
• Strong links to other social sciences especially sociology, anthropology, education, business
• More than any other social science has strong links to biology (especially physiology and comparative) and medicine
• Not only a discipline but also a profession
• American Psychological Association (APA) , the largest >150,000 members worldwide, and oldest founded 1892
• American Psychological Society (APS) c. 12,000 members worldwide, split from APA in 1988 to meet the perceived needs and interests of the scientific, applied, and academic psychologists as opposed to psychologists whose sole or primary interest is in clinical practice

Statistics

• Psychologists constitute over half of all social scientists in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: 1996-97 http://web.archive.org/web/20040805093810/http://www2.jobtrak.com/help_manuals/outlook/ocos054.html)
• Major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar illness, eating disorders, anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses frequently impair normal daily activities such as working, sleeping and caring for oneself and others
• In Canada, mental disorders accounted for the second most hospital days in 1995-96
• 1996-97 National Population Health Survey results indicate that 2% of Canadians consulted a psychologist during the preceding year

Notable schools of psychology

• Structuralism: interested in structure or elements of the mind or consciousness
• Gestalt psychology: the whole (gestalt) is seen as more than the sum of its parts
• Functionalism: studies the function of the mind and consciousness as they help the organism to adapt to the environment
• Behaviourism: focuses on the observable, measurable behaviour of organisms
• Psychometric research: design of tests, really began with Binet

Major divisions of psychology

• Experimental
• Physiological/biological
• Developmental
• Social
• Clinical: largest and most popular
• Educational/instructional
• Industrial/organizational
• Psychometrics
• Psychiatry: closely related to psychology but is a medical speciality and requires an MD

For information on areas of specialization see:

Lloyd, M. A. and Dewey, R. A. (1997, August 28). Areas of specialization in psychology. [Online]. Available: http://www.psywww.com/careers/specialt.htm

• World Wars created an enormous demand for psychology, especially during and after World War II
• Greatest growth in subfields of
• Clinical
• Counseling
• Educational
• School

Empirical Research Methods

• Direct observation
• Experimentation
• Case studies
• Questionnaires
• Interviews
• Standardized tests

Ethical problems

• Use of humans
• Use of animals
• Use by advertisers

Literature use

• Journal articles predominate
• Collaborative research, multiple authorship common
• Articles seen as primary sources (report research results)
• In U.S. overwhelming reliance on recent articles by students in the field
• Books often in form of collection of readings aimed at undergrads
• Trend in late 1980s towards more publishing as chapters in books
• In general psychologists rarely use the literature of other social sciences with the following exceptions:
• Educational and school psychologists use ERIC
• Social psychologists use sociological literature
• Psychologists do use medical literature via MEDLINE
• Psychologists frequently create and use a variety of tests

Reference needs

• Practitioners: current awareness materials; state of the art summaries, hot topics, mental health problems associated with work, school, home
• Teachers: popular summaries of common problems, material on tests and measurements
• Students: materials for class assignments, periodical articles (Psychology Today) http://www.psychologytoday.com/magazine/archive
• Vertical file material popular
• Lay persons: overwhelming amount of material in print and on the web a problem (problem of identifying authoritative sources)
• Popular topics: recovery, self-help, depression
• Children/teens
• Fastest growing segment of the depressed population
• Popular age appropriate, authoritative material on topics as for lay persons
• Material to help understand selves and relationships with family members
• Sexuality, addiction, suicide current issues
• Censorship a concern
• Realistic fiction often useful

Psychology resources

Indexes and abstracts
Psychological Abstracts 1927- print; PsycInfo (formerly PsycLit) 1967- electronic
American Psychological Association
The most comprehensive index to psychological literature. Provides access to articles and books on topics in Psychology and related disciplines contained in periodicals published throughout the world, covering over 1300 journals in 35 languages. Use of the thesaurus, containing a list of subject words which describe the contents of the articles and books as well as broader, narrower, and related terms, facilitates the search process. Indexes books and book chapters in English language books published from 1987 to present. Indexed to provide citations with abstracts in psychology and behavioral sciences from the American Psychological Association. Topics covered include psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and more.

ERIC http://www.eric.ed.gov/
ERIC is the world’s largest source of education information, with more than 1 million abstracts of documents and journal articles on education research and practice.

PubMed (Medline) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, this database provides access to the major biomedical literature including references to articles from more than 3200 journals. Virtually every area in biomedicine is covered, including Psychiatry and Psychology, Clinical Medicine, as well as Behavioural and Mental Disorders. The thesaurus, containing a list of Medical Subject Headings (MESH) which describes the contents of the articles, facilitates and enhances access to the information contained in this database.

Print
University of Winnipeg. Psychology (Print-only) http://libguides.uwinnipeg.ca/content.php?pid=4968&sid=30818

Internet resources
PsycCrawler http://psycnet.apa.org/
From APA. Created to provide quick access to quality content in the field of psychology.

Athabasca University Psychology Resources (AUPR) http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/aupr/psycres.shtml
The Academic Content Sites contain links to a large number of psychology web sites organized by the different sub-fields within psychology. Other useful sites are listed at the bottom.

Canadian Psychological Association. Web Links. http://www.cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/
Links to provincial psychological associations.

Internet Public Library. Psychology Resources. http://www.ipl.org/IPLBrowse/GetSubject?vid=13&cid=1&tid=6895&parent=6687

Psychology Topical Index http://www.religiousworlds.com/psychology/index.html
Keeps track of online information. Topics are listed in narrower subfields for easier reference.

Psychological Research on the Net. American Psychological Society http://psych.hanover.edu/research/exponnet.html
Supplies links to known experiments on the Internet that are psychologically related.

Tests
ETS Test Collection: Test Link
http://www.ets.org/test_link/about
The collection is the largest in the world. It was established to make information on standardized tests and research instruments available to researchers, graduate students, and teachers. The tests contained in this collection were acquired from a variety of U.S. publishers and individual test authors. Foreign tests are also included in the collection, including some from Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

BBC: Science & Nature: Human Body & Mind: Surveys and Psychology Test http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/index_surveys.shtml

Queendom.com http://www.queendom.com/tests/index.htm
Links to various tests on the WWW, including “fun” tests.

Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences. Tests Available in Compilation Volumes. http://libraries.uta.edu/helen/Test&meas/testmainframe.htm
An index, compiled by a librarian at the University of Texas at Arlington. To obtain any of these resources, you can:
1. Check the library closes to you to determine if it has the source volume.
2. Contact YOUR library Interlibrary Loan department or other services available at your institution.

Buros Institute. Mental Measurement Yearbook: Test Reviews Online http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp
Fee based service.

Sociology resources

Abstracts and indexes
Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to the world’s literature in sociology and related disciplines, both theoretical and applied. The database includes abstracts of journal articles selected from over 2600 journals, abstracts of conference papers presented at various sociological association meetings, relevant dissertation listings from Dissertation Abstracts International, enhanced bibliographic citations of book reviews, and abstracts of selected sociology books. Approximately 2600 journals in 30 different languages from 55 countries are scanned for inclusion, covering sociological topics in fields such as anthropology, economics, education, medicine, community development, philosophy, demography, political science, and social psychology. Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and non evaluative abstracts of journal articles. See http://www.csa.com/factsheets/socioabs-set-c.php 

Print titles
University of Winnipeg. Library. Sociology (print-only) http://libguides.uwinnipeg.ca/content.php?pid=4956&sid=2251864

WWW Resources for Sociologists
http://sociology.colorado.edu/grad-sudent-resources/research-resources 
From Dept. of Sociology, University of Colorado.

WWW Virtual Library: Sociology
https://web.archive.org/web/20041023084730/http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/w3virtsoclib/ 

WCSU List: Sociology Internet Resources http://web.archive.org/web/20041010173515/http://www.wcsu.edu/socialsci/socres.html
Compiled by Western Connecticut State University, Dept. of Social Sciences. Links grouped by topics, i.e. Culture & Society, Ethnic, Women’s, Family, Criminology, Social Theory, Social Research & Evaluation, U.S. Census, General, Miscellaneous.

Alcohol Studies Database http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/alcohol_studies/alcohol/
Contains over 70,000 citations for journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and a-v materials.

Glossarist: Sociology Glossaries and Sociology Dictionaries http://web.archive.org/web/20110103223400/http://glossarist.com/glossaries/humanities-social-sciences/sociology.asp?Page=1

Dead Sociologists Index http://media.pfeiffer.edu/lridener/dss/

The Sociology Page http://www.macionis.com/
Sponsored by sociological textbook publisher. Of most interest is the Sociological Links Library and Sociologists’ Gallery.

BUBL LINK/5:15 Catalogue of Internet Resources: Sociology http://web.archive.org/web/20120515201538/http://bubl.ac.uk/link/s/sociology.htm
BUBL LINK is the name of a catalogue of selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas and catalogued according to DDC. All items are selected, evaluated, catalogued and described. Links are checked and fixed each month. Created by librarians in the UK.

Sociology essay

Herron, Nancy L. The Social Sciences: A Cross Disciplinary Guide to Selected Sources, 3rd ed. Greenwood Village, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 2002. Z7161 S648 2002 pp. 259-261

Sociology essay
Diane Zabel and Christine Avery

As its name clearly implies, the social nature of the human animal is the focus of sociology. Although such an interest has been a subject of philosophical contemplation since ancient times, the modern discipline of sociology emerged in the nineteenth century. The origin of the term is attributed to the nineteenth-century French philosopher Auguste Comte. Comte is generally regarded as the founder of modern sociology. Lee Braude’s 1994 bibliographic essay on the emergence of sociology is a good choice for those who wish to know more about the development of sociology as a discipline. 1 This essay discusses some of the major developments in sociology from the mid-nineteenth century to 1930, with an emphasis on the development of American sociology. More than eighty works are cited in this essay, making it a valuable tool for any librarian needing a summary of the most seminal publications in the field. Braude’s coverage concludes with 1930, because by that date American sociology had firmly established itself as a discipline. A symbol of this, according to Braude, was the 1929 construction of the Social Science Research Building at the University of Chicago. In 1999, Braude published a follow-up bibliographic essay in Choice, tracing developments in sociology since 1930. 2 The phenomenal growth in sociology since 1930 is evidenced by the increase in the number of works that Braude cites in his analysis of the discipline’s progress. Braude’s critical evaluation of key contemporary works is useful to librarians, graduate students, and others needing to become conversant with the core literature in sociology. Choice also publishes bibliographic essays on subfields of major disciplines. One example is Harry Gold’s article on the development of political sociology, a subspeciality that emerged in the post-World War II era. 3 It is particularly important for academic librarians to browse this feature of Choice because these bibliographic essays are outstanding and provide an easy means of gaining familiarity with the literature of a discipline or subdisclipine.  

Sociology is a social science, using empirical methods to study human group behaviour. It is the broadest of the social sciences, overlapping with psychology, anthropology, education, political science, business, history, communication, statistics, law, and economics. Some subfields of sociology, notably the sociology of work, the sociology of law, political sociology, the sociology of welfare, the sociology of the environment, and the sociology of work conflict, illustrate this overlap. Sociology has distinguished itself from these related fields by developing a unique perspective. Both psychology and sociology study behaviour, but whereas psychology concentrates on individual behaviour, sociology is concerned with collective behaviour and how groups influence individual behaviour. Historically, anthropologists have primarily studied tribal peoples and pre-industrialized societies. Consequently, anthropological methodologies were developed primarily for the study of non-Western societies. However, since World War II, anthropologists have increasingly studied urban societies in Western countries and in the Third World. Like sociologists, many anthropologists have researched many relevant contemporary topics ranging from drug abuse to unemployment. In contrast, sociological methodologies were developed primarily for the study of modern Western societies. 

Sociology has affected other disciplines. For example, history traditionally studies prominent people and important events in the past. Historians have adopted a sociological perspective with their increased interest in the daily life of average people, the family, and work. Sociology has also had an impact on librarianship. Leigh Estabrook’s 1984 study using citation analysis to measure library researchers’ use of sociological materials found that 8 percent of library citations were sociological references. 5 She concluded that this was not insignificant and projected that in the future, library researchers would probably increase their use of sociological works, especially those publications relating to computing and technology issues. 

Sociology has been applied to the study of society’s problems. Topics under sociological investigation include alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, homelessness, crime, and racial discrimination. In 1994, Neil J. Smelser, a prominent sociologists, accurately predicted that in the future more research would focus on subjects such as step-parenting, dual-career couples, commuter marriages, telecommuting and home-based work, the economic and ethical consequences of medical technology, the social epidemiology of AIDS, and the social aspects of environmental threats. 6 These were important themes in the late 1990s and continue to be in the twenty-first century. Social work developed as a practical response to social problems and is based in sociology. Along with teaching in universities, sociologists work in industry, government, human services, and private social agencies. 

A range or research methods characterizes the discipline of sociology. Sociological conclusions are not based on common sense but are the product of systematically collected data. After developing a hypothesis, sociologists select a research method and collect data, which are interpreted, reviewed, and sometimes replicated. The most heavily used research method in sociology is survey research. Survey research uses questionnaires, interviews, or both to determine what people think, predict behaviour, or to measure public opinion. This technique uses a sample, a representative number of people from the population studied. Generalizations about large groups of people are based on the samples. 

Sociology shares the tradition of fieldwork with anthropology. Fieldwork uses direct observation to collect data. Some sociological studies involve the participation of the observer, who becomes part of the group studied. Case studies analyze a community, a family, or an occupation. The collection and analysis of statistical data are important in sociology. Sociologists require statistics on the demographic and social characteristics of special groups. Instead of generating their own data, they may rely on statistics already collected. Sociologists in the United States make heavy use of data collection by the Census Bureau and other government agencies. 

Many sociologists make use of machine-readable data files. There are several repositories of machine-readable social science data. The most well-known archive in this country is the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), which is centred at the University of Michigan The Consortium receives, processes, distributes, and archives large datasets. It also sponsors workshops and training sessions that are useful to data users and data librarians. 

A large number of scholarly books are published annually in the area of sociology. Approximately 41,000 academic titles in sociology were published or distributed in the United States or Canada in 1997 alone. 7 Only two other subject categories in the social sciences surpassed this publishing output: history and business/economics. However, this figure from The Bowker Annual excludes the number of popular titles published in sociology. Herbert Gans authored a fascinating study on fifty-six best-sellers written by American sociologists during the period 1950 through 1995. 8 Each of these titles sold more than 50,000 copies; included were the 1950 classic The Lonely Crowd (which topped 1 million in sales), Artie Hochschild’s groundbreaking study, The Second Shift (documenting the chore wars between men and women); and three works by Lillian Rubin (World of Pain, Intimate Strangers, and Just Friends). Gans’s insights about these best-sellers suggest the impact that sociology has had on the public. These best-sellers have addressed issues such as loneliness, poverty, racism, social injustice and gender inequality, topics that obviously struck a chord with many Americans. 

Collection development in sociology can be a challenge given the large volume of monographic output. Fortunately, there are selection tools that can help librarians evaluate new titles in sociology. Although it dates from the 1980s, Sharon Quist’s article on the value of book reviews in sociology is still relevant reading for beginning sociology librarians. 9 Quist outlines the importance of reviews and lists journals in sociology where book reviews can be found. Another article that should be required reading for sociology selectors is Judith Fox’s critical comparison of Choice and Contemporary Sociology as book selection tools. 10 This evaluative article reiterates the importance of not using Choice exclusively for collection development decisions given only moderate overlap between Choice and Contemporary Sociology, a premier scholarly review journal in sociology. 

Citation analysis has been employed as a tool to study the literature of sociology. James Baughman conducted one of the earliest studies in 1974 11. Baughman’s research resulted in a list of most frequently cited sociology journals. A few years later, William Satarino conducted a readership analysis, examining journals that socialists reported reading. 12 Both of these early studies laid the foundation for subsequent studies of sociology literature by establishing core lists of journals relevant to sociologists. In 1984, Beth Shapiro examined several citation and readership studies in the social sciences in order to profile sociologists’ use of book and journal material. Her reviews of the research found that sociologists make greater use of monographic literature than many other social scientists, and there is an emphasis on recent English-language material. Her reviews of the research found that sociologists make greater use of monographic literature than many other social scientists, and there is an emphasis on recent English-language material. A synthesis of Shapiro’s findings indicates that 

1. 50 to 62 percent of all citations from scholarly research in sociology are from nonserial publications (e.g., monographs, documents, reports);
2. 90 to 93 percent of all citations are from English-language sources; and
3. 50 to 70 percent of all citations are from sources less than ten years old. 13 

Blaise Cronin, Herbert Snyder, and Helen Atkins have conducted the most recent citation analysis in sociology. These authors analyzed tens of thousands of references from scholarly monographs and academic journals for a nine-year period (1985-1993). Their findings suggest that there may be two distinct populations of highly cited authors: one in monographs and the other in journals. 

The literature of sociology is widely dispersed across related disciplines and the numerous subfields of sociology. Major subfields include criminology, social work, marriage and the family, demography, gerontology, ethnicity, women’s studies, and urban studies. Sociological Abstracts, the major database in the discipline, identifies approximately thirty broad subfields, ranging from group interactions to feminist/gender studies. Sociological research is highly interdisciplinary. There is only a small core of reference literature relating to general sociology. However, there are many specialized works relating to the numerous subfields of the disciplines.

Sociology

The study of social life, and social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.

American Sociological Association. “What is Sociology?”

http://web.archive.org/web/20040812101439/http://www.asanet.org/public/what.html

For general overview see Encarta Encyclopedia article: Sociology. http://web.archive.org/web/20091029155234/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576640/Sociology.html

• One of the broadest social sciences
• Originated in Europe but primarily an American subject up to the 1960s
• From 1800s what we associated, focus on Chicago – different ethnic groups, crime, deviants, social activism; make things better, become involved to do so
• Auguste Comte generally considered to be the founder of modern sociology
• History of interest in solving problems associated with urbanization and industrialization, e.g. poverty, inequality, family breakdown, crime/deviance, racial/ethnic minorities, and other topics socialists would be interested in
• Methodologies developed primarily for study of modern Western societies
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Research methods include
• Fieldwork: direct observation
• Quantitative methods
• Statistics; look at numbers related to groups
• Survey research
• Questionnaires, interviews, polls, focus groups
• Heavy reliance on primary statistical information
• Census, vital statistics, employment statistics, immigration statistics, crime stats …
• Numerous areas of specialization
• 50+
• Sections of the American Sociological Association http://www.asanet.org/sections/list.cfm
• Sociological Specialities https://web.archive.org/web/20100613121800/http://asanet.org/employment/specialities.cfm

Topical areas

(featured areas of both non-public and public interest)

• Crime and deviance (Criminology as a separate discipline/profession)
• Demography
• population study using government statistics
• Ethnic and racial relations
• Gerontology
• Marriage and the family
• Women’s studies
• Men’s studies
• Urban studies
• Rural studies

Interdisciplinary

• Closest relationship with anthropology
• Traditional division based on pre-industrial (anthropology) and industrial societies (sociology) breaking down – anthropologists looking more at urban, industrialized societies
• Traditionally, sociology was anthropology in an urban, industrial setting
• Sociology the social science discipline most likely to lend to other social science disciplines 

Reputation

• Sociologists often concerned with reform and are frequently critical of the status quo
• Has led to reputation of “pusher of unpopular causes,” sociology department may be seen as a “centre of radicalism”
• Sociological literature jargon filled (Sociologese) see Jargon Free Sociology http://www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/undergraduate/introsoc/jargon.html

Structure of sociological literature

• 50 – 62% of all citations from scholarly research are from nonserial publications
• Sociologists use monographs more than many other social scientists
• 90 – 93% of all citations English language
• 50 – 70% of all citations from sources less than 10 years old

User needs

• Academics: interest in “hot” problem areas, topics, issues, statistical sources
• Postsecondary students: popular works summarizing state of the art, subject dictionaries, encyclopaedias, handbooks
• Social workers: “how to do it good”, info on types of clients, regulations, laws, licensure
• Few practitioners read research periodicals or use research findings
• Lay persons: interest in problem solving literature with step by step format; local sensational social problems (careful selection of popular material required)