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SOC 125 (Nealon) SP25

Brainstorm Keywords

Conduct background research in Gale Ebooks to learn more and refine your keywords.

Grow Your Keyword List With

  • Words you read in abstracts, article titles, and subject headings

Keyword Tips

Break Your Topic into Key Concepts

This helps identify the most important ideas to search for in databases.

  • Example Topic: Education System
    • What: Education
    • Whom: Teens
    • Where: California

Database Search Strategies

  • “Quotation marks” keep words together ("education system")
  • AND searches all terms ("higher education AND adult learners")
  • OR finds either term; useful for synonyms ("books OR literature")

Find Synonyms & Related Terms

Expand your search by brainstorming alternate words or phrases:

Concept Synonyms & Related Terms
Education Secondary education, Higher education, Public education
School Primary or Elementary school, Middle school, High school

 

 

What is an Empirical Article?

Empirical articles are based on original research.

Characteristics

  • Often include tables, charts, and graphs
  • Details how the study was conducted, including data collection and analysis.
  • Provides information about participants, experiments, and data.

Where to Find Key Study Details in Empirical Articles

Question What to Look For Section in the Article
What:What does the researcher want to know or explore? The study’s research question(s), purpose, and hypothesis. Abstract & Introduction
Whom: Who or what is the focus of the study? The population/sample being studied (e.g., demographics, characteristics). Abstract & Methods (Data Collection)
How: How does the researcher collect the data? Research methods (e.g., surveys, experiments, interviews, datasets). Methods (Data Collection & Procedure)
When:When is the data collected? The time frame of data collection (e.g., specific years, longitudinal study). Methods (Data Collection & Study Design)
Under What Circumstances:What specific conditions or context shape how the data is gathered? The study’s setting, external influences, or controlled variables (e.g., conducted during a pandemic, only participants from specific groups included). Methods (Study Design & Limitations/Discussion)

What is a Scholarly Journal Article?

Scholarly (or Peer-Reviewed) Articles are

  • Written by experts in a subject who share original research
  • Published in a scholarly journal

Characteristics

  • Use technical language 
  • Use many in-text citations
  • Include lengthy references
  • Often include tables, charts, and graphs

Learn how to spot a scholarly article: Is it a Magazine or Scholarly Journal?

Scholarly Databases

Sociology Databases

Consult the APA Style Guide

APA Style Examples

Cite Multiple Authors in APA

APA In-Text Citations

3 or More Authors

  • List et al. after first author: (Brown et al., 2020)

Purdue Owl In-Text Citations

APA References Page

3 to 20 Authors

  • List all of the authors (up to 20 names). 

20+ Authors

  • List the first 19 authors then an ellipsis ( . . . ) and final author.  

Purdue Owl Reference List