Research help

This guide will provide assistance with finding scholarly material to support the research paper assignment.  For Library research help, please contact Moninder Lalli, Librarian for Sociology / Anthropology by email moninder_lalli@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian.

See also SFU Library guide: Research Methods for Anthropology and Sociology

Essay  

Start Your Research Here - This page gives you an overview of the research process, or in other words how to find materials for your essay.

Selected encyclopedias and handbooks

Get an overview of a topic by using encyclopedias, handbooks or textbook.  These types of resources identify key authors, theories and  important resources on a topic. 

• Encyclopedia of race and racism
• International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences
• Routledge companion to digital ethnography
• Routledge handbook of anthropology and the city
• Sage encyclopedia of LGBTQ studies
• Sage eReference

For more, try, "Background information - Anthropology" and "Background information - Sociology"

Research question example

Question: What are the causes of teen homelessness?

• Break down your topic into concepts or keywords.
• Are there other words that could describe each of these concepts? 

Create a concept map

Library Research Concepts Worksheet (Concept Map / Keywords)

Search syntax

Same search syntax is used for databases (below) and for Catalogue Search.

• homeless* AND (teen* OR youth) AND (poverty OR poor) AND (BC OR British Columbia)

Find journal articles

• How to find journal articles tutorial. 
• What is a scholarly (or peer-reviewed) journal?

If the full-text of the article is not available within the database then use the "Get@SFU" link to find it or to initiate an inter-library loan request.

• ProQuest Sociology Collection - for issues related to class, gender, racism, sexuality and sexism and theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and policy science. For information of immigrants, racism, society, structural barriers, migration, and refugees
• Anthropology Plus: Key database for Anthropology
• Social Sciences Full Text - access to social science journals
• Canada Commons (formerly: Canadian Electronic Library from desLibris) - Contains the full text of public policy documents from institutes, think-tanks and research groups.
• CBCA Complete - indexes Canadian journals
• Canadian Newsstream - indexes Canadian newspapers
• Canadian Research Index - indexes Canadian government reports.  All documents found in the database are available in the Microlog microfiche collection (JL 044 37) on the Sixth Floor of the Bennett Library. Individual reports are filed by the MICROLOG NUMBER.   Also try doing an internet search for the report and the name of the government department.
• Women's Studies International - The key database for women's issues with a feminist perspective.
• Ageline - indexes articles from journals and magazines, books, research reports, and videos related to issues of ageing and life at 50+.
• Sage Research Methods Online - Reference books by Sage on social sciences research methods.

Find books in the Library

• Library Catalogue search guide 

Search the SFU Library Catalogue, using either the Basic or the Advanced search

You can limit search results by "resource type" (books, book chapters, videos, journal articles, etc), "subject", date, etc.

• homeless* AND(teen* OR youth)AND(poverty OR poor)AND (BC OR British Columbia)
• homeless* AND (Vancouver OR Lower Mainland OR Surrey OR Burnaby OR Richmond OR BC OR British Columbia)
•  

From the results list, check the Subject Headings of books that look relevant. Click on the "Subjects" links to find other books on the same topic.

Selected books

• Small cities, big issues: reconceiving community in a neoliberal era
•  

Subject headings for books

Browse Search by "Subject".  Change the default "title" to "subject" and enter your subject term(s).  Browse by Subject will only result in books, not book chapters or journal articles.

Community Research

• Communities -- Research

Nature and society

• Nature -- Effect Of Human Beings On
• Social change -- Environmental aspects

Public spaces

• Public Spaces
• Public Spaces -- British Columbia -- Vancouver
• Public Spaces -- Design

Research methods

• Anthropology -- Methodology
• Ethnology -- Fieldwork
• Ethnology -- Methodology
• Mixed methods research  -- works on research methodology that combine approaches used in both quantitative and qualitative research
• Social sciences -- Methodology
• Sociology -- Research -- Methodology

For more: Information on research methods for Anthropology and Sociology

Social conditions

• Canada --Social Conditions
• Canada -- Social Conditions - 1991-
• Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.) -- Social conditions
• Homelessness -- British Columbia
• Homelessness -- Canada
• Homeless Youth -- British Columbia -- Vancouver
• Immigrants -- British Columbia
• Immigrants -- British Columbia -- Vancouver
• Indigenous women -- Canada -- Social conditions
• Migration Internal -- Canada
• Poverty -- British Columbia
• Social problems -- Canada
• Street youth -- British Columbia -- Vancouver
• Public housing-- Canada
• Youth -- Services for -- British Columbia

Transportation

• Bicycle Commuting
• Cycling
• Local Transit -- British Columbia -- Metro Vancouver -- Planning
• Local Transit -- British Columbia Vancouver Metropolitan Area
• Transportation -- British Columbia
• Urban Transportation
• Urban Transportation -- British Columbia -- Vancouver Metropolitan Area

Urban design

• City Planning
• Public Housing -- British Columbia

Statistics

Statistics Canada 

Statistics Canada is the major statistical gathering agency of the federal government. It publishes the "whole range of statistics on the economic and social activities of the Canadian people". There are daily, weekly, quarterly, annual and irregular publications. They also publish the Census of Canada at five-year intervals. They also have an  Advanced Search Engine.

National Census Information

Start by looking at the Canadian Census Program.

Postal Code Search

Use the search box to do a search by postal code

• Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population 

Library guides

• Statistics- Canadian Census -- this is also has a section on  Geographic levels, which provides definitions such as "Census Tract" (CT), Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), etc.
• Canadian census
• Which Census Product Should I Use? -- for detailed information on census terminology, see the Census Dictionary
• How to cite census products -- A citation guide available at the Statistics Canada website
• SFU Library provides access to additional products through Statistics Canada Products and Services

Provincial Census -- British Columbia

BC Statistics collects and publishes reports of statistics from Statistics Canada, provincial government ministries and agencies and from administrative files.

For more details check out the Library guide on BC Statistics.

Websites

• City of Vancouver
  • Search for: map
    • Home, Property and Development
      • Neighbourhood Planning Projects  
        • Westend Community Plan
          • Public Safety - Earthquakes
    • Open Data Catalogue Index - Take a look at the symbol, "G" for maps
      • Community Centres
    • Parks, Recreation and Culture
      • Facilities & Schedules
    • People and Programs
      • Housing and Homelessness
    • Streets and Transportation
• City of Vancouver - Archives (for historical material, including maps)
  • Search for: Strathcona
• Metropolis Project - British Columbia -- research material on immigrants, migration
• PovNet - Building an online anti-poverty community

Library guides

• Library Research Tutorials. Animated tutorials on search techniques for finding books and journal articles
• Finding and evaluating resources on the web
  • Evaluating sources [video from Western University 2:16 mins]
• Avoiding plagiarism
• What is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal?
• How to write an annotated bibliography
• How to place an Inter-Library Loan request
• Search tips for Google and Google Scholar
• Citation or reference management tools (Zotero or Mendeley) - use these tools to manage your citations and to create  bibliographies for your papers.   For assistance with Zotero or Mendeley, email, citation-managers@sfu.ca.

Writing help

• Student Learning Commons
  • Academic writing resources
  • Book a consultation

Selected resources on writing essays:

• A guide to writing sociology papers 
• The Sociology Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide
• The writer's handbook for sociology
• Writing ethnography 
• Writing for social scientists : How to start and finish your thesis, book, or article
  • Access to this book is limited to three-simultaneous users
• Writing up qualitative research