While Wikipedia can sometimes be a good starting point, it is not considered "scholarly." If you are you having trouble distinguishing between the peer-reviewed/scholarly journals from the trade publication or popular magazines, Below is a link to a document that will help explain the differences.
REVIEW VERSUS RESEARCH
It is also important to be able to distinguish between review articles and research articles. A review article’s primary purpose is not to present new research, but to summarize, analyze, discuss, and provide an overview of previously published work on a topic. A research article is designed to present new research, methods, and/or findings. Research articles often employ the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Research, and Discussion) format. Below are a few articles of interest on this topic.
This is not an exhaustive list, but should provide a good starting point for generating ideas.
Check out these databases if you are looking for scholarly articles.
Below are some databases that will be more relevant/useful for topics related to "sociology" and "social work." Be sure to "scroll" down through the box to see additional choices.
Provides academic and public libraries digital access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps of more than 12,000 American towns and cities. In electronic form, Sanborn Maps take on much improved value over the microfilm versions of the same maps, allowing for greater flexibility of use and improved viewing possibilities. Users have the ability to easily manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections.
This module of the History Vault focuses on two major collections of the twentieth century, records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and records from the Major Council Meetings of American Indian Tribes. In addition to these twentieth century records, it features a number of excellent collections on American Indians in the nineteenth century, with a focus on the interaction among white settlers, the U.S. federal government, and Indian tribes.
Note to Department: The History Vault collection is a perpetual license, purchased through the Center of Tribal Studies through their grant. Our sincere gratitude to them for working with us to assist in providing resources for our community. NSU Libraries will cover the hosting fees following this year.
The Native Health Database contains bibliographic information and abstracts of health-related articles, reports, surveys, and other resource documents pertaining to the health and health care of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Nations. The database provides information for the benefit, use, and education of organizations and individuals with an interest in health-related issues, programs, and initiatives regarding North American indigenous peoples.
Information on election returns, congressional floor votes, Supreme Court decisions, presidential performance, economic indicators, and diverse demographics.
One of the primary online legal research services for lawyers and legal professionals in the United States. Information resources on Westlaw include more than 40,000 databases of case law, state and federal statutes, administrative codes, newspaper and magazine articles, public records, law journals, law reviews, treatises, legal forms and other information resources.
Here are some other databases that may prove useful to your research.
There is a lot of content in this box, be sure to scroll down for additional tips/techniques.
If you need a better understanding of Boolean logic and searching, here are a few resources to help:
Or, sometimes called a Survey of the Scholarship.
A literature review is a text written by someone to consider the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work. Also, a literature review can be interpreted as a review of an abstract accomplishment.
Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such as a thesis or peer-reviewed article, a literature review usually precedes a research proposal and results section. Its main goals are to situate the current study within the body of literature and to provide context for the particular reader. Literature reviews are a staple for research in nearly every academic field.
