Guides: Sociology: Encyclopedias & More

What Are Reference Sources?

Reference sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases.
They may give you a succinct overview of a topic.
They may help you identify a topic to explore in depth.
They may provide quick, reliable facts.
They may include bibliographies that will lead you to detailed studies.

Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.

Sociology Dictionaries
This is a LibrarySearch results list containing books with a subject of Sociology and Dictionary

Encyclopedias

Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of subject-specific encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, The Encyclopedia of Anthropology, The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, The Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, The UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, and more.

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences by William A. Darity This 9-volume study of social sciences is a successor to the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (ESS, 1930-1935) and the initial set of the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (IESS, 1968) -- two groundbreaking MacMillan works that established standards for knowledge in social science research and practice (CHOICE, 2001). The entirely new International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences covers scholarship and fields that have emerged and matured since the publication of the original international edition. Like its predecessors, the set meets the needs of high school and college students, researchers inside and outside academia, and lay readers in public libraries. The new set highlights the expanding influence of economics in social science research and features nearly 3,000 entirely new articles and important biographies contributed by thousands of scholars (including several Nobel prize winners) from around the world on a wide array of global topics, including: achievement testing, censorship, personality measurement, aging, income distribution, foreign aid (political and economic aspects), food (world problems, consumption patterns), cultural adaptation, comparative health-care systems, terrorism, political correctness, agricultural innovation, legislation of morality, sexual violence and exploitation, white collar crime. The new 2nd edition also features biographical profiles of the major contributors to the study of the social sciences, past and present.
ISBN: 9780028661179
Publication Date: 2007

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Cultures
Country and culture-based encyclopedias. Print Reference.
Encyclopedia of Social Theory
Main Library Reference HM425 .E47 2005 (2 volumes)
Encyclopedia of Sociology
Main Library Reference HM17 .E5 2000 (5 volumes)

Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
Academic edition. Search by subject or keyword. In addition to topical essays, timelines, images, and videos, it provides links to full text journal articles and links to related websites.
SAGE Research Methods Online This link opens in a new window
Explore methods and concepts to help you design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct your research, and write up your findings.

Biography

Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists by George Ritzer; Jeffrey Stepnisky (Editor)
Call Number: HM478 .B583 2011 Volumes 1 & 2
ISBN: 9781444330786
Publication Date: 2011

Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
600,000+ biographies covering more than 525,000 individuals. Includes 170+ Gale reference titles, periodical information and multimedia content.

Maps & Places

Maps & GIS Research Guide
Library guide to map and GIS resources at Midd.
World Map of Minorities Rights Group
Previously known as the "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples". This map provides information on minorities and indigenous peoples throughout the world, including their rights and their historical, political or geographical context.