Resources for Background Information

Subject encyclopedias are great for:

  •  locating authoritative, peer-reviewed, high quality information
  •  choosing a topic
  •  gaining background information quickly (major ideas, theories, events, people)
  •  identifying variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
  •  finding a bibliography (list of important, selected references for further reading)

Librarian

Profile Photo
Leah Dodd
she/her
Contact:
106 Olin Library
Cornell University
607-255-3525

Sociology Databases

Relevant Journals

Library Catalog Searches - Subject Headings

Other Helpful Research Guides

Requesting Library Items

If you need a book that is checked out to someone else...

Search BorrowDirect. If one of our partner libraries owns the item, it will be shipped to you within about 4 days.

If it's not available via BorrowDirect, you can Recall the item from the current user. (Note: This takes time. The first borrower gets at least 2 weeks with the item, and another week following the Recall notice).

If Cornell University Library doesn't own the book...

Search BorrowDirect. If one of our partner libraries owns the item, it will be shipped to you within about 4 days.

If it's not available via BorrowDirect, try the Interlibrary Loan option.

If it is at the Annex...

The Annex is an off-campus storage facility. Choose the Requests or Request Item button to have it sent to a campus library. Turnaround time is approximately 1 day, longer over the weekend.

If Cornell doesn't subscribe to the journal...

Request a scanned copy of the article you need via Interlibrary Loan. It may take several days, occasionally longer, to receive the scanned article.

If someone else has taken out the journal issue you need...

If it is due back within a few days, place a hold on the item. If it's not due back for some time, request the article through Interlibrary Loan.

For more information, see Borrowing and Delivery.

If you can't find anything good on your topic...

It happens. Don't struggle for hour upon hour. Ask a Librarian!

Land Acknowledgement

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.