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.

The databases listed below are available to researchers with a Penn State Access Account.

• JSTOR (scholarly journal archive)

• eHRAF World Cultures [Human Relations Area Files]

• AnthropologyPlus

• America : History and Life

• ERIC [Education Resources Information Center, U.S. Department of Education]

• LexisNexis Academic

• ProQuest

• Sociological Abstracts

• Social Sciences Citation Index

• Integrating research : a guide for literature reviews

• The Sage encyclopedia of social science research methods

• The elements of an effective dissertation and thesis : a step-by-step guide to getting it right the first time

• To locate Penn State dissertations, theses and papers, and reviewed journal articles (print and online) [Recommended]:

  • Use the CAT

    1. Click "Advanced Search" (on the right)

    2. Enter your keyword(s)

    3. Limit Material Type to "Doctoral Dissertation", "Masters, Theses and Papers", or "Bachelors Theses and Papers" from the drop-down menu

  • Penn State University Archives, Special Collections Library, 1st Floor Paterno Library

  • Unions & Students Activities Penn State

Newspapers and other news sources can provide context for information you are gathering. Use the Libraries' Newspapers and News Sources Research Guide for help finding current and historical news sources.

• Review of Literature (University of Wisconsin - Madison)

• How to Write a Literature Review (University of California, Santa Cruz)

• The Literature Review : A Few Tips on Conducting It (University of Toronto)

• Sample Literature Reviews (The College of New Jersey)

• Information Literacy & You (Penn State University Libraries)