LibGuides: LIS 409: Literature of the Social Sciences: Home

What's In This Guide

Use the tabs above or the links below to navigate this guide. And remember, Help! is only a click away!

How to Use This Guide

Welcome to the Simmons Library guide to resources for LIS 409. This guide was designed to familiarize you with resource to assist you in course assignments. Use the tabs at the top of the page or links in the table of contents for help finding information sources across a number of formats.

If you don't find what you are looking for or need help navigating this guide, don't hesitate to contact the author of this guide or Ask a Librarian.

Good luck with your research!

Getting To Know Your Topic: Reference & Background Sources

Background sources--like dictionaries and subject encyclopedias--provide contextual information and answer straight-forward questions. They include definitions, statistics and other details. Below is a selection of reference and background sources in the social sciences.

Education in Crisis: A Reference Handbook
A description and critique of education reform in the United States since the 1950s, focusing on the current condition of American schools and efforts to increase both educational opportunity and overall excellence.
The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
Featuring numerous entries, from concise definitions to discursive essays, written by leading international academics, the Dictionary offers a truly global perspective, examining both American and European traditions and approaches.
The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology
Psychology covers the whole span of human activity from childhood development, to the study of the elusive concept of consciousness to disorders, such as those based around anxiety, mood and eating. The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology addresses all these issues and more, and is a core reference for any student of psychology.
Blackwell Dictionary of Political Science
The Blackwell Dictionary of Political Science is a clear and lively introduction to the terminology of political science for students and general readers.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Combining anthropological theory and ethnography, it includes 275 substantial entries, over 300 short biographies of important figures in anthropology, and nearly 600 glossary items.

Evaluating Reference Sources

Curious about how to evaluate reference and information sources in the social sciences? These helpful resources will provide you with some basic guidelines for evaluating materials.

Evaluating Reference Resources

More Guides to the Literature of the Social Sciences

Sociology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources
Call Number: Reference HM585 .A24 2005
Provides students, faculty, and librarians with descriptions of approximately 610 major reference sources in sociology, its subdisciplines, and the related social sciences.
ALA Guide to Sociology and Psychology Reference
Call Number: Z7164.S68 A53 2011
Includes versions of traditional indexes, periodicals and scholarly journals, online statistical data sets, and websites and thoroughly covers sociology and psychology reference options.
Education, a Guide to Reference and Information sources
Call Number: Z1035.1 .B89 2000
Focusing on English-language publications, this guide identifies and describes key reference and information sources in the field of education.
Social Sciences : a Cross-Disciplinary Guide to Selected Source
Call Number: H61 .S62 2002
Comprises more than 1,500 annotated citations, offering librarians and researchers access to some of the best and most commonly used resources.

Meet Your Librarian

Linda Schuller

Email Me

Contact:

COVID-19 Alert: Library Services have been modified and may continue to evolve with changing conditions. More Info.

E-111

617.521.2767

Helpful Simmons Resources

School of Library and Information Science
Info for Online Students
Info for Distance Students
Simmons Connection Your portal to services, resources, and people here at Simmons.
Simmons Moodle Get to the online content for your courses, including course reserves, here.
The Writing Center
Get Help Are you stuck? Talk with a librarian to come up with strategies to get unstuck.

LIS 409: Literature of the Social Sciences: Home