Penn State University Libraries - ENGL 202A: Writing in the Social Sciences: Ethnography

• Identify and develop your topic

  • Check the correct name of your organization/club and look at its mission

  • Match your research topic (organization/club) with a specific and/or general subject/discipline to locate articles in databases

  • Identify keywords, synonyms or related terms about your topic. Use a thesaurus to find other terms

• Use identified keywords, synonyms and related terms to find encyclopedias and other reference works (reference materials like encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. provide useful descriptions, overviews, and lists of references/cited works).

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library

  • Encyclopedia of Sociology

  • Encyclopedia of Religion

  • Encyclopedia of Education

  • Encyclopaedia of Islam

  • Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America

• Find general books and textbooks relevant to your topic, and check bibliographies/cited works at the end of a book or book chapters) for articles in journals, magazines and newspapers

Finding Journal Articles

Try searching a subject-specific and/or general database from Find Articles and Databases by Subject page.