Sociology

Books and journal articles are the most common way to access scholarly research in your field, but each has advantages and disadvantages. Books take longer to research, write, and publish, so the information is not as current as in journal articles, which are shorter and slightly faster to publish.  However, because they are longer and took more time to produce, books offer more thorough coverage of a topic, draw on a wider range of preexisting scholarship, and often excel in placing an argument in broader thematic and disciplinary context.

Consider a scholarly book in your own research, and look for the following:

• Helpful introduction and overview of the topic;
• Comprehensive literature review, outlining the major scholars and existing points of view on the topic;
• Detailed study of the topic, usually broken down into manageable chapters;
• Extensive bibliography to help you and other scholars find related works on the topic.

1 Limit to a particular type of information source before searching or search Everything.

2. Change the drop-down menu to Stetson if you you want to limit to items accessible through our library.

We have a mix of print books (mostly on the 2nd floor of the library) and e-books (accessible through OneSearch). Our books are organized by the Library of Congress Classification system.

The library has both DVDs and streaming video. The circulating DVD collection contains more than 3,000 items, including non-fiction films, documentaries, and feature films. The videos are shelved on the north side of the main floor in our Fine Arts wing. 

The non-fiction and feature film videos in the Library are in OneSearch. Search by Title to locate the Call Number of the video. You can also search by keyword for a topic, director, or series. Filter your results to video for streaming video and DVDs or filter to DVD for physical DVDs.