LibGuides: Sociology Research Guide: Articles

Accessing Full-Text Articles

Having issues finding full-text access to a journal article?

If you come across an article in a database that is not available in full-text, there are a few steps you can take to make sure.

Some databases have a "Search for full text" link that looks like this:

After clicking on that link, it will tell you if it is available in another database that Bishop's subscribes to.

If that doesn't work, don't give up! Try these steps!

1. Type the journal's title in the E-Journals search bar to find out if the journal is available in another BU database.

The system will tell you if Bishop's University library users have access to that title and what issues are available, and will provide a link to the journal in the appropriate database or databases.

2. Search for the journal's title using Sofia's Advanced Search to find out if we have the journal issue in print.

For more information about searching for print journals see our page Using Sofia: Journals, Newspapers and Magazines

3. Search for the journal title in Interlibrary loans to get a copy of the article from another institution. .

We can help you with these searching steps by visiting us at the Research Assistance desk or chatting with us. The chat box can be found on this page!

Locating Journal Articles

Sociology Databases

Depending on your area of research, there are many databases that could be helpful. SocINDEX has a large collection of core sociology journals.

The databases below may be useful as well, depending on your area of research. Talking to a librarian can be helpful in order to focus your research. Librarians can help you identify which databases would be most relevant and suggest search terms. Remember to refine results to search by subject or indexed term as these terms are usually the most relevant search terms. Searching by keywords or author could also be useful.

If you are working from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your BU login and password before you will be granted access to these databases.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Full text for more than 5,300 periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals.Access: On or off campus
Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new window Canadian Newsstream provides users with access to current Canadian news content with archives as far back as the 1970s, from almost 400 news sources. Newspapers including The Globe and Mail and Montreal Gazette along with newswires and broadcast transcripts in full-text format. Sherbrooke’s local newspaper, The Record, is also available through this database. Canadian Newsstream content is updated daily so researchers always have timely access to new information.Access: On or off campus
Canadian Publishers Collection This link opens in a new window A multidisciplinary collection of approximately 8,100 English and French e-books from Canadian publishers, including the major university presses.Access: On or off campus
CanLII This link opens in a new window The largest Web resource providing free access to legal documents from Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments for both legal practitioners and the general public.Access: On or off campus
CBCA Reference This link opens in a new window This collection provides in-depth access to a wide diversity of Canadian periodicals, ranging from academic titles to special interest publications to general magazines. The academic titles include the most prominent journals from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and professions. Other magazines focus on opinion, public policy, children/youth, lifestyles, arts and culture, health, regional concerns, etc.Access: On or off campus
Contemporary Women’s Issues This link opens in a new window Contemporary Women’s Issues (CWI), a multidisciplinary, full-text database that brings together relevant content from mainstream periodicals, “gray” literature, and the alternative press — with a focus on the critical issues and events that influence women’s lives in more than 190 countries.Access: On or off campus
Criminal Justice Collection This link opens in a new window Criminal Justice Collection provides access to academic journals and magazines on topics in criminal justice and related fields. Key subjects covered in the database include law, law enforcement, security, and terrorism.Access: On or off campus
Defining Gender, 1450-1910, Online This link opens in a new window Wide range of original sources including pamphlets, books, diaries, letters, poetry and other materials, all indexed by person and subject.Access: On or off campus
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online This link opens in a new window Biographies of Canadian inhabitants who died between the years 1000 and 1930 or whose last known date of activity falls within these years. Provides access to the 15 volumes of the print version and to be a selection of biographies from unprinted volumes. The biographies are fully searchable by keyword.Access: On or off campus
JSTOR This link opens in a new window The JSTOR archives include scholarship published in over one thousand of the highest-quality academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. JStor Arts & Sciences I through VI, including Business II, Arts & Sciences Complement and Life Sciences (Biological Sciences/Health and General Sciences combined) are included.Access: On or off campus
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window Extensive online library of 20 thematic book collections, 24 periodicals and 24 statistical databases from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Access: On or off campus
Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window A major online periodical archive, providing access to the backfiles (1802-1995) of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences.Access: On or off campus
PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new window The APA Full-Text Article Database contains the full text of articles from APA journals and selected EPF (Educational Publishing Foundation) journals, most from 1988 to the present.Access: On or off campus
SAGE Journals Online This link opens in a new window Full text of over 500 journals in business, the humanities, social sciences, science, technology and medicine.Access: On or off campus
SocINDEX This link opens in a new window This index contains abstracts for more than 815 “core” coverage journals dating as far back as 1895, data from more than 630 “priority” coverage journals as well as from more than 2,840 “selective” coverage journals. Further, extensive indexing for books/monographs, conference papers, and other non-periodical content sources is included.Access: On or off campus
Statista This link opens in a new window Statista integrates statistical data from over 80,000 topics in areas such as business, education, finance, media, politics, society, and technology. Statista gathers data from over 22,000 sources, including market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases. The reports, charts, infographics, and statistics found in the database can be downloaded in Excel, PDF, PNG, or PowerPoint formats or embedded in web pages.Access: On or off campus
Statistics Canada - Data This link opens in a new window Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System is produced by Statistics Canada. It is a database containing more than 650,000 time series covering various aspects of the Canadian economy and society.Access: On or off campus
Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window A searchable database, providing access to the full text of all Taylor & Francis’ social sciences and humanities journals in the following subject areas: arts and humanities, business and management, economics, education and social sciences. Select “Only show content I have full access to” under Refine your search to search within subscribed titles.Access: On or off campus

Database Search Tips

Tip #1:

Combine Boolean Operators with subject terms in a search. The most common Boolean Operators are simply the words: AND, OR, NOT. Many databases have a drop down menu in the Advanced Searching screens to facilitate the use of these terms.

How to Use Boolean Operators:

Using AND in between descriptive terms or keywords will narrow the results of the search meaning you will have fewer results. The use of AND tells the database that you want only records containing all those words. The use of the term OR combines search terms so that the results contain at least one of the terms you have entered. This means that you will have more results, although they may not be as relevant. OR is helpful when you are having trouble finding records dealing with your subject. Using NOT excludes the terms following it, also reducing the number of records found.

Tip #2:

Use Truncation and Wildcards:

Use truncation to search for multiple word endings at once. For example: emotion* will search for emotion, emotions, and emotional.

Truncation symbols can vary - they're usually *, ! or ?

A wildcard symbol takes the place of a letter for multiple spellings/word variations. For example: wom?n will search for women and woman.

Wildcard symbols can also vary - they're usually ?, sometimes !

Tip #3:

Set Limits:

Use the database's limits feature to refine your search. Typical limits include: Years, Language,Type of article/study

What is A Scholarly Journal?

These journals contain articles based on original research & are usually published by academic presses. Sometimes called peer-reviewed, the articles have been reviewed & chosen for their quality by specialists in the field of study. Some periodical indexes have limits that can be set to only retrieve results from scholarly journals.