SOCI 422: Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
Tips for finding books
To find the most relevant items, use a Keyword search to identify several relevant Subject Headings. For instance, a Keyword search for "positive psychology" (including the quotation marks to search the two words as an exact phrase) yielded these Library of Congress subject headings:
- Positive psychology.
- Happiness.
Note the special linking in subject headings:
How to Read a Book Call Number
Research Resources from the Library
One of the major components of your grade in this class is a research project. The resources provided here will help you complete your research.
I recommend a few strategies to start:
- Brainstorm a list of keywords about each concept in your topic to use as search terms
- Start with Sociological Abstracts (in the database list below)
- If you get stuck, contact me and/or schedule an appointment to talk about your research.
- BONUS: You can use Oxford Bibliographies Online to find information about major theorists, journals and books on topics like medical sociology and the sociology of mental illness.
Tips for finding articles
Look for subject headings, descriptors, etc. in item records that match your topic to zero in on that database's terms
- For instance, in Sociological Abstracts [Subjects]:
- medical sociology
- illness
- health
Think about the topic of the database: don't need to search "health" in PubMed.
Remember Articles+ and Google Scholar for interdisciplinary topics.
Key Article Databases
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Oxford Bibliographies OnlineHelps you to identify the core authors, works, ideas, and debates that have shaped the scholarly conversation on your topic, so you can find the key literature. All the bibliographic essays have been peer-reviewed, and the specific entries are linked to full-text content available through the web or the UNC-CH Library.
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PsycInfoDatabase from the American Psychological Association covering the academic research and practice literature in psychology and related disciplines (medicine, education, social work, etc.) from over 60 countries in more than 29 languages. It provides indexes to journals, dissertations, book chapters, books, technical reports, and other documents from 1887 to the present.
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PubMedDatabase of biomedical literature from the National Library of Medicine covering journal articles about medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, biology and public health from 1950 to the present; multiple mobile apps available, provides access to MEDLINE, etc. Includes links to full text of UNC-CH's electronic journal subscriptions.
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Social Work AbstractsThe Social Work Abstracts database, produced by the National Association of Social Workers, Inc., contains records, from social work and other related journals on topics such as homelessness, AIDS, child and family welfare, aging, substance abuse, legislation, community organization, and more.
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Sociological AbstractsProvides access to the world's literature in sociology and related disciplines, both theoretical and applied.
Social Sciences Librarian
UNC-Chapel Hill
Available for meetings on Zoom
Library Presentation
Films
Available at the Media Resources Center at the Undergrad Library on DVD and Blu-ray
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The New AsylumsAvailable streaming through the library.
- Last Updated: Aug 3, 2020 12:12 PM
- URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/soci422
