The Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace site provides an excellent introduction to a good variety of web resources.
SocioSite is a Dutch site that covers the discipline well with an international perspective.
Socioweb is another good site.
Yahoo has a useful web site for sociology. The number of links for Criminology is a good indication of its popularity/importance.
Timeline of Sociology lists notable events from 1600 to 1995. Many events are linked to appropriate source material.
The Iona introduction to library search strategy is a good example of a guide for the college library.
The University of Delaware Library has another useful guide.
Several university libraries provide research guides for sociology. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign guide to sources in sociology is more inclusive and uses DDC which may be helpful for those interested in public libraries.
Kids Count offers a wide variety of data on both national and state level from 1995.
The American Association of Retired Persons Research Center provides much information and several links to issues likely to concern and interest older adults and aging. Also provides access to the AgeLine database from 1966 to date.
The National Crime Prevention Council offers a variety of resources on crime prevention.
Criminal Justice Web Links is a comprehensive, authoritative site dealing with many aspects of crime.
The University of Michigan is creating a digital library of primary sources in U.S. social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The Making of America site now contains more than 634,000 pages and 4,058 volumes.
Guidestar is a searchable database of more than 640,000 nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Many of these are involved with social problems.
The National Center for Charitable Statistics or NCCS is the national repository of data on nonprofit organizations in the U.S.
The George Warren Brown School of Social Work provide good introduction to social work web sites. The topical index is particularly useful.
The University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign School of Social Work also has good links to WWW resources.
1. A graduate student has been asked to present an oral report on Seymour Martin Lipset. This would also be a good opportunity to characterize Sociological Abstracts.
2. An undergraduate student is writing a paper on "charisma." You might begin with the Social Science Encyclopedia [Ref H 41 .S63 1996]. Where would you go next? Why?
3. (Please do this or 2 but not both) An undergraduate student is writing a paper on "social roles." What they? What sources are useful in providing a thoughtful definition and context?
4. A teen-ager wants to know how many Americans are divorced each year. Useful sources?
5. A public library patron may have to place her mother in a nursing home. She needs help in discovering which homes are good ones. Useful sources?
6. A patron has found a reference to the National Crime Victimization Survey and wants to learn more about it, particularly the questions asked. Where would you go?
7. An undergraduate student wants to know how many children were adopted in your state in 2006. Where would you begin? Especially useful sources?
8. A public library patron wants information, especially financial, on a charitable organization with the initials AFSC. What sources provide objective information on charitable organizations, especially how much money is actually well spent?
9. A local school district wants information on foundations in your state or region that might fund a project to assist local schools with students who do not speak English. You might begin with the Foundation Directory.
10. An undergraduate student thinks that she heard a recent news item that infant mortality for African-American infants in the U.S. was worse than in some third world countries. She wants statistics to validate that news. Where would you begin? Best sources?
11. A public library patron needs to get a birth record from Alaska. What is involved and where should the request be sent? Where would you begin? Best source?
*12. A college student needs statistics on binge drinking by college students and how that has changed over time. Where would you begin? Best source?
13. A public library patron working for a local community health organization wishes to develop a public education initiative on fetal alcohol syndrome. She needs popular medical information as well as information on the social causes and implications of this problem. Where would you begin? Best sources?
14. An undergraduate student is writing a paper on the migration of African-Americans from the South to Chicago before, during, and after the Second World War. She is particularly interested in the social aspects of the migration. Useful sources?
15. A public library patron wants information about adopting foreign children, especially on assets and liabilities as well as challenges. statu Where would would you begin? Useful sources?
16. A public library patron wants information about agencies and organization in your community and region that help abused women.
17. A high school student is writing a term paper on abused children in your state. How many abused children are there? Easily understood overview sources?
18. An undergraduate student wants to write a paper on the homeless, especially older single women. Which of social science databases would be most useful and why?
19. A high school student is interested in learning more about racism. Authoritative, but easily understood sources?
20. A graduate student is beginning work on a paper on the driving habits of the aged. In particular, she wants to gather evidence to test the hypothesis that older drivers have more traffic accidents. Where would you begin? Most useful sources?
21. A middle school teacher is interested in thoughtful, authoritative but not overwhelming scholarly information on bullies and bullying behavior. This is a problem in her school, especially with female students. Useful sources?
22. A high school student wants to write a paper on the jails in your state. He is interested in learning more about them, including which jails are the worst and the best. Useful sources?
23. An undergraduate student wants to know how Tennessee and your state [use North Carolina if you need a second] compare in the number of drunk driving arrests adjusted for population. Information on change over time is also of interest. Useful sources?
24. A college student wants to investigate the relationship between playing console and PC games and violent behavior. Please use Sociofile but consider other databases too. What sources were most useful?
Last major revision: August 2007.
