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SOC 308: Sociological Theory

Research Guide for SOC 308

Access Library Resources Online

Trying to access library resources online? Follow the instructions on the Online Access to Library Resources page to access library databases, articles, and ebooks, both on-campus and off-campus.

Mardigian Search (searches all the library's databases at once)

Advanced Search

Mardigian Search FAQs

Check out the library's self-paced tutorial How do I search library databases? to learn the basics of database searches.

1. What is Mardigian Search and why should I use it?

  • Mardigian Search is the library's Discovery search box, which looks through all of the library's databases at once.
  • Mardigian Search is great for:
    • finding out what's been studied in your research area
    • finding sources about interdisciplinary topics

2. How do I search for sources about my topic?

  • Identify the main ideas/keywords of your topic and use those as your search words. 
  • For your application paper, identify the specific sociological concept(s) of your theorist and use those as your search words
  • Each book and article has tags assigned to it, words or shorts phrases that make each book or article searchable
    • You want your search words to match those tags
    • Words like impact, effect, or factors are not used as tags

3. I'm looking for a specific article or book. How do I find out if the library has it?

  • Enter the title into the search box, removing all punctuation

4. How do I focus my search results to sources that meet my assignment requirements? 

  • Use Refine Your Search options to focus your hits so they're more relevant to your assignment needs
  • Peer-reviewed articles:
    • Check Peer Review 
    • Check Journal article under Content Type
  • Current/Recent articles:
    • Under Publication Date, click on last 10 years
  • To articles relevant to Sociology
    • Under Discipline, check Sociology and Social History 

5. I have too many search results. How do I focus my search results so that they're more relevant to my research interests?

  • Under Subject Terms, check the boxes beside the subjects that interest you to focus your search results to your specific research areas of interest
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags (subjects) 
    • Click on Quick Look below the article title
    • Look at its assigned Subjects/tags 
    • Add any relevant tags (words) to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research topics and search for books and articles for them

6. How do I preview the abstract/summary of articles in the list of search hits?

  • Click on Quick Look below the article title

7. How do I access the article so I can read the whole thing?

  • Click on Full Text Online
  • Look for pdf Full Text or HTML Full Text link

8. I can't find anything on my topic. What do I do?

  • The search words you're using to describe your topic may not match the tags that have been assigned to books and articles on that topic
    • Look through the Subject terms in the Refine Your Search sidebar and check the boxes beside the topic areas that interest you
  • When you find an article that looks interesting, look at its assigned tags 
    • Add any relevant tags to your search
    • This will also help you develop your research questions and search for articles about your specific research questions 
  • There may not be research tying your main ideas together yet
    • Try searching for your main ideas separately and linking their findings together
  • If you've found one article that's relevant for your topic, look through the sources in its References list to see if any of them are also relevant to your research
  • Ask your professor or the Behavioral Sciences Librarian, Nadine Anderson, for help
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