Resource Guides: Social Sciences: Find a Topic

Find a topic

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How to narrow a research topic (from UCSC)

Geography, dates, location, gender & age are just a few of the ways you can narrow your research topic. We recommend starting with one of these resources:

CQ Researcher: Find in-depth background information on controversial and current issues. Browse Recent Reports or By Topic to paper topic ideas. Reports written by CQ staff writers.
CREDO Reference: An excellent source for background information! Credo Reference has 3.2 million entries from more than 450 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, and atlases in all fields.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context : This Gale portal features a range of perspectives on important issues and related references to bring research on these perspectives to light.
Search in the URSUS catalog for "your topic and Opposing viewpoints" or "your topic and Taking sides". These book series cover the 'pros' and 'cons' of current issues.

How to narrow a research topic

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Reference has 3.2 million entries from more than 450 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, and atlases in all fields. Sources are selected from major publishers, such as Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Greenwood, Penguin, Routledge, Sage, Thames and Hudson, Wiley, and more. Bangor Public Library provides access via its in-house workstations.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window Opposing Viewpoints In Context answers the call for a better way to explore today's most hotly debated topics. This next-generation portal delivers a range of perspectives on important issues. Users find a remarkable compilation of proven reference content—including the award-winning Opposing Viewpoints series from Greenhaven Press— integrated with the best multimedia available today. With its scope and depth, Opposing Viewpoints In Context supports virtually any curricular, academic, or general-interest need. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Explores a single hot issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology. There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete is a large scholarly, multidisciplinary, full-text database, with more than 7,400 full-text periodicals, including more than 6,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 11,500 scholarly, popular, trade, and special interest serials, and a total of more than 12,000 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and more. Updated daily.
In Context: Middle School This link opens in a new window Created specifically for middle school students, Research In Context combines the best of Gale's reference content with age-appropriate videos, newspapers, magazines, primary sources, and much more. Categories cover a range of the most-studied topics including cultures, government, people, U.S. and world history, literature, and many more. Research In Context provides engaging reference, periodical, and multimedia content supporting national and state curriculum standards for grades 6 to 12 in language arts, social studies, and science. Middle school students will benefit from an interface that delivers a combination of the highly visual design and navigation preferred by younger users as well as the authoritative content and user-focused tool set needed to support middle school assignments and coursework.
Academic OneFile with InfoTrac Collections This link opens in a new window The premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles for academic libraries from the world's leading journals, this comprehensive resource covers the physical and social sciences, technology, medicine, engineering, the arts, technology, literature, and many other subjects. With millions of articles in both PDF and HTML full-text format and simultaneous, unlimited usage, researchers are able to find accurate, timely information quickly. Gale's InterLink technology intelligently connects contextually-relevant results from your library's eBook collection on GVRL within articles in a user's search results. The Topic Finder tool adds power and depth to searches, allowing students to mine their search results and develop their research focus in ways never before available.
American Community Survey This link opens in a new window Data Profiles have the most frequently requested social, economic, housing, and demographic data. Each of these four subject areas is a separate data profile. The data profiles summarize the data for a single geographic area, both numbers and percent, to cover the most basic data on all topics.
Statistical Abstracts of the United States through 2011 This link opens in a new window **The U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for the Statistical Compendia program effective October 1, 2011.** This electronic version of the Statistical Abstract provides access to approximately 1500 statistical tables drawn from published and unpublished data from federal agencies plus some state and private sources. Click Contents and Index to find specific tables. Use the Table of Contents to select tables from a list of broad topics (e.g. Population or Transportation). Use the Index A-Z to identify more specific topics (e.g. pets or jogging). Updated annually.
World Book Advanced This link opens in a new window Thousands of articles, primary sources, and online books designed to support personalized learning and enhance digital citizenship. Contains up-to-the-minute access to worldwide news publications, government links from numerous countries, and multimedia reference materials. World Book Advanced uses technology to deepen comprehension, encourage collaboration between users, and create digital natives.
World Book Discover This link opens in a new window Assist differentiated learners and older adults with a research database that offers a practical Life Skills section. A collection of unique videos, featuring expert answers to often asked questions, and a visual dictionary make content more accessible for readers of all levels.
World Book Student This link opens in a new window Fascinate student researchers with thousands of articles and multimedia aligned to curriculum. Contains numerous tools to engage users in 21st-century education and blended-learning practices. World Book Student features responsive design, daily current events, assessment tools for educators, and dedicated resource guides to provide blueprints for advanced learning and college and career readiness.

ProCon.org The Pros and Cons of controversial issues. The mission statement at ProCon.org is: "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, and primarily pro-con format."
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation and based on a model of openly editable content. The name "Wikipedia" is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's articles provide links designed to guide the user to related pages with additional information.

Please click on image below for Keywords tutorial.

This Keyword tutorial from Auburn University is described as:
This resource is intended for those who need to search a library database in order to find sources for research and writing activities.

Learning outcomes:
Recognize that the careful selection of keywords can help focus your research
Apply strategies to select relevant keywords and synonyms for your own research

The Library of Rush University Medical Center has put together this guide that may help with your search.

How to Construct a Search Strategy