Sociology: Find Articles

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a service that allows users of Cannon Memorial Library to borrow books or copies of articles from other libraries.

When we use outside sources, we always want to make sure that they are valid: Can we trust that the author was objective in his/her assessment? Can we trust that the information in the document is accurate? Did the author consider all facets of the problem? What is the agenda of the people who are releasing this information? When you write a term paper, you want to make sure that you are using credible, reliable, accurate, and valid sources.

The research community has devised a process to safeguard the validity of the information is releases. This is part of our knowledge-building activities. After all, we are not really building knowledge if we are disseminating falsehoods, biased results, or incomplete and information. This process is what is called peer-reviewed publication. Here is how it works.

Academic disciplines all publish professional journals that publish the cutting-edge work of their members. These journals are issued at least once a year. They are usually quite dull and severe in appearance: No fancy colors, few or no pictures, and lots of writing, typically peppered with the technical terms of the discipline. When a researcher wants to publish research findings, s/he will look for recognition of his or her research community by having his or her work showcased in one of these journals. But you cannot just send a piece and expect that it will automatically appear in the next issue. Your article has to go to the journal editor, who will distribute anonymous copies (meaning, your name has been removed) to a panel of experts in your field, who will appraise the quality of your work. You have to give detailed information about how you conducted your work (methodology), why it is relevant, how it fits with the work of others who studied the same question prior to you (literature review), what it is that you found, and what it means for your discipline. Usually, the reviewers, who have studied the same or similar topics, will ask you for clarifications or revisions. And if they deem your research to be solid enough, and your findings to be relevant enough, your work will be published. So your article has been reviewed by your peers, and approved by them, before it gets released. The review is based solely on the merits of the work for the discipline, not who you are or where you work. That's what a peer-reviewed article is. And this is why peer-reviewed articles are the most valid form of information.

When you search the databases, you will have the option to search only "peer-reviewed" or "academic" or "scholarly" articles or publications. If you have been required by your professor to include such peer-reviewed sources in your paper, checking that option when you do a search will save you a lot of time.