English 202A : Writing in the Social Sciences : Ethnography

Finding Articles | Selected Databases | Selected Print/Online Resources | Books | Other Web Sites

Finding Articles for Literature Review (scholarly articles)

1. Identify and develop your topic (Known Topics)
   • Check the correct name of your organization/club and look at its mission
   • Match your research topic (organization/club) with specific and/or general subject/discipline to locate articles in databases
   • Identify keywords, synonyms or related terms in your topic. Use a thesaurus to find other terms
2. 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 [available through the Libraries' Databases by Title (A-Z List)]
   • Encyclopedia of Sociology
   • Encyclopedia of Religion
   • Encyclopedia of Education
   • Encyclopaedia of Islam
   • Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America
3. 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
4. Finding Journal Articles
   Try searching a subject-specific and/or general database from Find Articles and Databases by Subject page.

Selected Databases (General)

All databases below are available to researchers in the library. Outside the library, these databases are available to researchers with a Penn State Access Account. All databases are available via the Libraries' Databases by Title (A-Z List).

• JSTOR (the scholarly journal archive)
• America : History and Life
• ProQuest
• Sociological Abstracts
• Social Sciences Citation Index

Selected print and online resources to help you with your literature review

• Penn State theses, dissertations and papers, and reviewed journal articles (print and online)
  • 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
• Pennsylvania Newspapers News & Microforms Library
• Unions & Students Activities Penn State

Books

• Integrating research : a guide for literature reviews
• The elements of an effective dissertation and thesis : a step-by-step guide to getting it right the first time
• The Sage encyclopedia of social science research methods

Other Web sites

• 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)