University of Southern Maine

SOC 307D - Quantitative Research Methods

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Writing the Paper

For further research assistance, please contact Barb Mann (bmann@usm.maine.edu; 780-4672), Information Literacy Coordinator, or Pat Prieto (pprieto@usm.maine.edu; 780-5562), Sociology Liaison, USM Libraries, University of Southern Maine.

In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System you will need to consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject). To find materials located elsewhere in Maine, check Maine Info Net.

The Library of Congress provides a breakdown of the call number classification scheme. To find a listing of call numbers within the subject area of this class see social sciences: statistics.

To find materials in URSUS related to this subject, perform a SUBJECT search using the phrase social sciences statistical methods.

To find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials not available through the University of Maine System or MaineInfoNet, please check WorldCat, which includes bibliographic records for more than 36 million items held at OCLC member libraries throughout the world and is updated daily.

To obtain materials not located at your USM campus, but within URSUS, you will need to click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, always beginning with 25022....). Your barcode will first need to be activated at the Circulation Desk.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or Maine Info Net you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad).

Reference sources are useful tools to obtain background information and to develop a vocabulary of possible search terms. The following items are resources available within the University of Southern Maine system.

County and City Data Book
POR Reference HA202 .A36 2000
Earlier editions are located in the POR stacks under call number HA202 .A36.

Datapedia of the United States, 1790-2005: America Year by Year, 2nd edition
POR Reference HA202 .K87 2001

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
Online access: Part 1 and Part 2
POR and GOR Reference HA202 .A38 1975

Statistical Abstract of the United States (1878-present)
POR and GOR Reference HA202 .A3 2004
Earlier editions are located in the POR and GOR stacks under call number HA202 .A3

Because of the lengthy publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more information on how to find articles.

To find scholarly articles it is necessary to consult a discipline-specific electronic or print index/database. The following are electronic and print indexing sources available to the University of Southern Maine community.

Academic Search Premier
Date coverage: dates vary by resource
A multidisciplinary database providing full text for nearly 3,300 scholarly publications of which 2,400 are peer reviewed

America: History and Life
Date coverage: 1964-present
Index to research on the history of the United States and Canada, from prehistoric times to the present. Includes references to journal articles, books and book reviews, dissertations, and collective works. For non-U. S. history see Historical Abstracts.

ASI Index and Abstracts
POR Reference Z7554 .U5A46 (1978, 1981-1997)
"A comprehensive guide and index to the statistical publications of the U. S. government."

Current Index to Statistics
POR Reference QA276 .A1 (1986-1999)
Published by the American Statistical Association and Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

EconLit
Date coverage: 1969-present
Subject indexing and abstracts of journals, books, dissertations, and working papers.

ERIC (education)
Date coverage: 1966-present
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) provides education information for K-12 teachers, school administrators, education faculty, school psychologists and education students. ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. This bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations goes back to 1966. More than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (from years 1993-2004) are included in the database. Full-text articles are also available from more than 80% of the 1,000 education-related journals indexed.

FactSearch
Date coverage: 1984-present
Facts and statistics on current issues. Guide to statistical statements on current social, economic, political, environmental and health issues. Includes information from Christian Science Monitor, Congressional Record, congressional hearings, White House Press briefings, and briefings from the U.S. departments of state and defense, as well as debates in the Australian, British, and Canadian Parliaments.

Official Documents of the United Nations
Date coverage: 1993-present and selected earlier coverage
Official Document System of the United Nations(ODS)covers all types of official United Nations documentation. To find citations to UN documents search UNBISNET (United Nations Bibliographic Information System) and the database Access UN.

PAIS International
Date coverage: 1972-present
Citations for articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, and book chapters. The print index is available in the POR Reference collection at call number POR Reference Z7163 .P9 (1915-1990).

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
Date coverage: 1861-present; abstracts 1980-present; thesis abstracts 1988-present
Source for current research and trends.

SCOPUS
Date coverage: 1966-present
Provides coverage in the sciences and social sciences through abstracts and cited references from over 14,000 journals and from more than 4000 international publishers. Subjects covered include chemistry, biology, environmental sciences, mathematics, physics, engineering, health and life sciences, social sciences, psychology and economics. SCOPUS also provides citation analysis (back to 1996). With registration for a personal account, SCOPUS can provide saved search functionality and email alerts.

Sociological Abstracts
Date coverage: 1974-current
Covers sociology and related disciplines including anthropology, criminology, demography, education, gerontology, mental health, minority studies, political science, public health, social psychology, social work, urban studies, welfare programs, and women's studies. Comprehensive and international in scope.

Statistical Theory and Methods Abstracts
POR Reference HA1 .S764 (1990-2000)
Published by the International Statistical Institute.

Statistical Universe
Searchable index to more than 100,000 United States government and privately published statistical sources. Also includes searchable, full-text access to the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Date coverage: 1975-present
This database supplies citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law and public administration/policy.

Internet Resources

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

United States Government

ChildStats.gov
Sponsored by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

FedStats
"The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies."    

Homeland Security

National Center for Education Statistics

National Center for Health Statistics

TheDataWeb
A product of the U. S. Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "theDataWeb is network of online data libraries that the DataFerret application access the data through. Data topics include, census data, economic data, health data, income and unemployment data, population data, labor data, cancer data, crime and transportation data, family dynamics, vital statistics data,  . . .  As a user, you have an easy access to all these kinds of data. As a participant in TheDataWeb, you can publish your data to TheDataWeb and, in turn, benefit as a provider to the consumer of data."

United States Census Bureau

United States Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics

United States Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics

International

Council of European Social Science Data Archives

Eurostat (European Union)

United Nations Statistics Division

General Sites

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

Record of American Democracy, 1984-1990 (ROAD)

Social Science Data Archives-North America

Statistical Resources (University of Michigan Government Documents Center)
This aggregator source contains many useful links to other statistical information.

This category contains information on how to properly cite sources. In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in this process.

USM has a site license for EndNote, a personal reference database program. The main functions this program include maintenance of a database of reference, downloading reference from other databases, using the database to link to references in word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the EndNote Help for further information.

American Sociological Association's Quick Style Guide

Citing Electronic Data Sources (Emory University)

The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources, 3rd edition
POR Reference J9.5 .G37 2002

Created by: Barb Mann
Created on: 09-05-05
Last update: 09-07-05