Research Guides: SOC 262: Paper Trails: Library Search Tools

Choosing a Database

When to use the library catalog?

To search for materials in the Williams libraries such as:

books and videos
full-text articles from selected library databases
citations to articles in the library databases or beyond (to request through interlibrary loan)

Search Tips:

Searches limited to Books, Articles and More include articles + books
Searches limited to All Items at Williams will exclude articles
Use the Advanced Search mode to create more effective searches
Subject Headings will help you find related sources. Use the Browse Search function to identify Subject Headings. Examples of relevant Subject Headings include:

Suggested Library Databases

Researching questions of privacy and electronic surveillance will lead you to explore scholarship from a variety of disciplines such as sociology, history, political science, or gender studies. Here are examples of databases worth exploring for topics of privacy and surveillance. You can select additional databases from the A-Z Databases List.

Sociological Abstracts
Publication Dates: 1952-Present
Includes summaries of scholarly articles published in sociology journals and related fields (linguistics, economics, anthropology, law).
America: History and Life
Publication Dates: 1954-Present
Historical Time Period: Prehistory-Present.
Covers the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada. Contains summaries of scholarly articles, dissertations, and book reviews.
International Political Science Abstracts
Publication Dates: 1951-Present
Provides brief summaries of scholarly journal articles and books on foreign policy, international politics, political theory, and government institutions.
Congressional Publications
Publication Dates: 1789-Present
Provides U.S. congressional documents covering the full legislative process. Includes congressional debates (the Congressional Record), bills, laws, hearings, committee prints, and reports.