Course Guide ~ SOC 101 / Introductory Sociology

Newspapers and Program Transcripts

1. Select “Advanced Search.”
2. Select “News."
3. Select “Headlines and Lead Sections” from the dropdown menu located on the right side of the top search box.
4. Perform a search:
   • For an exact phrase add quotation marks (e.g., "artificial intelligence").
   • For keywords place the word "AND" between words to find documents containing all of the words (e.g., health AND income).
   • For keywords place the word "OR" between words to find documents containing any of the words (e.g., teenager OR adolescent).
   • For word variants truncate the word and finish with an asterisk (*). The search sociolog* returns documents that include the words sociology, sociological, and sociologist.
5. Focus your search using the limiters in the left-hand column.

Magazines

1. Perform a keyword search:
   • For an exact phrase add quotation marks (e.g., "artificial intelligence").
   • For keywords place the word "AND" between words to find documents containing all of the words (e.g., health AND income).
   • For keywords place the word "OR" between words to find documents containing any of the words (e.g., teenager OR adolescent).
   • For word variants truncate the word and finish with an asterisk (*). The search sociolog* returns documents that include the words sociology, sociological, and sociologist.
2. Focus your search using the limiters in the left-hand column.
   • Limit your search to "Magazines" in the "Search Types" category.
   • Choose any other limits you think would be helpful.

Books at Hamilton

1. Perform a keyword search
2. Limit your search to books by clicking on "Resource Type" in the right-hand column and choosing "Books."
3. Keep your subsequent searches limited to books by hovering over the "Books" button under "Active Filters" and clicking on the padlock icon.
4. Browse the results list to find titles of interest.
5. Use the subject headings in the catalog records for titles that interest you to focus or expand your search.

Books at Other Libraries

• Use WorldCat to find books at other libraries.
• Search as you would the Hamilton Library Catalog. Start with a keyword search and use subject headings to focus or expand your search.
• To request a book from another library, use the "Find It" icon in the catalog record for the title you want.
• You can also search items in WorldCat from within the Hamilton Library Catalog by choosing "Books at other libraries" from the drop-down menu to the right of the search box.

Scholarly Articles Databases

• The library licenses nearly 200 discipline-specific databases that index the scholarly literature of all of the areas of study offered by the college.
• Deciding where to start your search can make a big difference in what you find and how efficiently you can search. A good place to start is the subject guide for an area of study. The "We Suggest" box at the top of each subject guide highlights the most important resources for that particular discipline.

Scholarly Articles from (Mostly) Sociology Journals

• You can limit your searches to scholarly or peer reviewed articles in both Academic Search Premier and the Hamilton Library Catalog. Using Sociological Abstracts has the advantage of focusing your search primarily on journals in the field of Sociology.
• Beginning on the "Advanced Search" allows you to modify your search without losing your initial search terms.
• As with any database, your best strategy is to start with a keyword search, identify subject terms used by that particular database (look for the drop-down list in the left-hand column), and replace your initial search terms with the subject terms.
• If you don't see a direct link to an article, click on the "Find It" icon to search all of the library's full-text databases.
• If we don't have access to the article in any of our other databases, you should be dropped into the Hamilton Library Catalog where you will find a link to request the article using interlibrary loan. In most cases, you will receive an email from askill@hamilton.edu providing you with directions on how to access a PDF of the article within 3 days. 

Scholarly Articles on the Web

• Navigate to Settings > Library Links and make sure Hamilton College appears on your list of libraries to get access to more full-text resources using Google Scholar.