Finding Background Information
The materials listed below are a selection of reference resources for finding authoritative background information and context for topics you will be covering in this class. Note the call numbers and library locations for these materials and check the reference collections for additional sources of background information. The authors of articles in reference books often provide bibliographies of selected books and articles for further study.
- Annual Review of SociologyCall Number: Olin Library HM1 .A61Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews Inc.
Clear, in-depth descriptions make this an ideal introduction to sociology for beginners as well as an invaluable reference tool for more advanced students and teachers. - The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological Language byCall Number: Olin Library Reference HM425 .J64x 20002nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. 413 p
- The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology byCall Number: Olin Library Reference HM425 .B53 2007 +11 Vols. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2007.
A definitive reference source for students, researchers, and academics. Commissioned entries written and edited by an international team of scholars and teachers, including Cornell faculty. Arranged alphabetically in 11 volumes. Detailed subject index at the end. Valuable selective bibliographies lead to further reading. Provides explanations of key concepts and extended explorations of major topics. Includes research and theoretical developments from outside of the United States, especially Western Europe. Historical depth as well as more recent developments. Additional features include a timeline and a lexicon by subject area. The online version provides additions three times a year, extending and updating coverage and functionality. - Dictionary of the Social Sciences byCall Number: Olin Reference H41 .D53x 2002 +New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Comprehensive, authoritative single-volume work, featuring over 1,800 concise definitions of key terms. Covers the vocabularies of anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, human geography, cultural studies, and Marxism, the Dictionary is an integrated, easy-to-use, A-to-Z reference tool. - Encyclopedia of Sociology byCall Number: Olin Reference HM35 .I565 20065 Vols. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000.
Significant encyclopedia in a burgeoning new field. Includes some 250 signed entries. Examines how economics and society are interrelated. Entries are cross-referenced and include succinct bibliographies. Subject index. Advisors include Cornell Professor Richard Swedberg. - International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences byCall Number: Olin Library Reference H41 .I58x 2001 +26 Vols. Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier, 2001.
The printed edition of this online database runs to 24 volumes plus 2 index volumes. Both are alphabetically organized and extensively cross-referenced throughout. Covers theory and methodology in core disciplines, including sociology. Emphasizes the interconnectedness among disciplines, including mathematics and science. - Oxford Bibliographies Online, SociologyOxford University Press
Publisher statement: "A scholar-curated library of discipline-based subject modules, OBO is designed to help busy researchers find reliable sources of information in half the time by directing them to exactly the right chapter, book, website, archive, or data set they need for their research. Each entry is a selective guided tour through the key literature on a topic, receives multiple peer-reviews as well as Editorial Board approval, and is designed to facilitate a research experience with no dead ends.” … "The site is updated regularly, with 50-75 articles added per year to each subject area."