Citation Resources
The most often used citation styles for Human Service Studies are:
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Organize your sources using Zotero.
Finding Sources
Also known as "Scholarly Articles,", "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:
- Written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic.
- "Review" means the article is approved by other experts before publication
- Usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
- Intended for an academic audience
Why You Should Use Them:
- Information is based on research and expertise
- Information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
- The peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
- They add to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas
Find Sociology Articles:
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndex and abstracts of sociology, anthropology, criminology, demography, education law and penology, race relations, social psychology and urban studies. 1963-
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Coverage includes history, economics, political science, demography, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. Some current issues are available now.
- Sociology Database This link opens in a new windowSociological and social work research including culture and social structure, history and theory of sociology, social psychology, substance abuse and addiction, and more.
- SocINDEX w/Full Text This link opens in a new windowThe most comprehensive and highest-quality sociology research database. The database features millions of records with subject headings from a sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers.
Additional Sociology Databases:
Books written by scholars are a good source of information for many topics.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Written on a broad subject
- Easier to read than journal articles, and written for a broad audience
- Often undergo a peer-review process
- May contain a collection of chapters written by different authors
- Contain less recent information, due to the lengthy publication process
Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!
Find Books:
Search Belk Library's online system to find both library materials and articles in our databases. Use the search box below to do a basic search on library materials and databases.
Interlibrary Loan:
- Interlibrary LoanIf we don't have the book, chapter or article you need, you can request it here!
Use these internet resources as a starting point to find relevant content online.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Use to locate reports, statistics, and data
- Use content produced by government agencies and reputable organizations
- Resources may link to additional websites and resources
Find Internet Resources:
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatistics, studies and reports from over 18,000 sources. Includes data from businesses, government departments, market research concerns or associations and more.
- Health StatisticsThis link will take you to the Public Health Studies research guide here at Belk Library where you'll find links to national and international health statistics.
- Data ResourcesThis link will take you to the Data Resources and Mapping research guide created by librarians here at Elon University. Relevant websites can be found using the Social Issues tab and the Science and Engineering tab on the left of the guide.
- American Community SurveyCensus data (not updated after June 2019)
- European Social SurveyAcademically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations.
- Homelessness Research CenterFocuses on people affected by homelessness who have mental health conditions, substance use issues, and histories of trauma.
- Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) PublicationsPart of the U.S. Department of Labor; this site has downloads of datasets and reports on child labor, including the By the Sweat and Toil of Children series of reports.
- Office of Minority HealthU.S Department of Health and Human Services
- SocioWebIndependent guide to sociological resources on the web
- Understanding the World TodayReports describing global social, demographic and political changes over the last several decades
Documentaries, videos, and photographs are great resources for research in the social sciences. They are available through several online streaming platforms in the library's database collection.
Why You Should Use Them:
- They preserve important events or moments in time
- They educate us and raise awareness
- Focus is on real-life events and people
Find Videos & Images:
- Academic Video Online (AVON) This link opens in a new windowOver 68,000 titles spanning a wide range of subjects: anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. AVON includes a variety of video material with curricular relevance: documentaries, interviews, feature films, performances, news programs and newsreels, demonstrations, and raw footage.
- Films on Demand Video Collection This link opens in a new windowThousands of high quality videos on business & economics, health & medicine, humanities & social sciences, and science & mathematics, as well as travel and fitness programming, home and how-to videos, indie films, and popular music performances. Includes Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries, interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels.
- Kanopy Streaming Video This link opens in a new windowFor off campus access, please sign in with your Elon username and password.
Large collection of video documentaries and movies from many producers covering many subjects; pop culture, nursing, public health, lgbt issues, social sciences, sciences, political science and events, the arts, global studies, education, etc. NOTE: Kanopy has changed to mediated access and films will only be available by faculty/staff request. Click here to order Kanopy Streaming Videos that we don't have access to already. - Artstor This link opens in a new windowMore than 2.5 million images related to art, art history, architecture, painting, photography, and visual and material culture.
General Databases:
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowScholarly full-text journals and peer-reviewed journals covering a wide range of subjects. 1975 to present.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Coverage includes history, economics, political science, demography, mathematics, humanities and social sciences. Some current issues are available now.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowIs a leading provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. Includes books and journals.
- Research Library (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowGeneral reference database from business and political science to literature and psychology scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and daily news content, accessible to readers and researchers at every level.
Access All Databases: