Sociology
The study of society, social relationships, social behavior, how people relate to one another, and how these dynamics shape human life and communities.
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Overview
This overview provides a brief introduction to sociology, highlighting its major areas of study, related disciplines, and resources for exploring the field in greater depth.
What's sociology?
What's sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of society, how it works, and how people’s lives are shaped by their relationships, institutions, and shared rules. It explores how culture, institutions, and social forces influence what we do, think, and experience.
It also examines how humans behave and interact in groups, organizations, and institutions, and investigates how these social relationships both shape and are shaped by human attitudes and actions
For an in-depth description of the field of sociology, see the American Sociological Association.
What are the main subfields of sociology study?
What are the main subfields of sociology study?
The American Sociological Association (ASA) describes all human behavior as social. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to list all of sociology’s possible subfields. However, listed below are examples of typical fields of study offered by many colleges and universities.
If you would like to read more about these subfields and their concepts, links to the free, peer-reviewed OpenStax Introduction to Sociology textbook are provided. OpenStax textbooks are written by subject experts, reviewed by faculty, and commonly used in introductory and core undergraduate courses.
What other subjects are important to sociology?
What other subjects are important to sociology?
Social issues are complex, and sociology draws on multiple perspectives to help sociologists see the bigger social picture. As an interdisciplinary major, sociology draws from other disciplines such as history, economics, political science, public policy, psychology, and many others.
Resources for new sociology majors?
Resources for new sociology majors?
Sociology majors are trained to analyze social problems and find employment in areas such as social services, education, business, and non-profits. If you’re thinking about majoring in sociology, these resources can provide useful background information and help guide your next steps. They explain what to expect from the major and the wide variety of career paths available to you.
- Majoring in Sociology: A Pathway to Opportunity – American Sociological Association
- What You Need to Know About Becoming a Sociology Major – U.S. News & World Report
- Learn How the World Works With a Sociology Degree – United Negro College Fund
Literature Reviews
After selecting a topic, conducting a literature review is an essential step in the research and writing process. Writing a literature review helps you:
- Understand how scholars have approached your topic
- Identify key debates and theoretical perspectives
- Recognize gaps in the existing research
- Situate your own work within the broader academic conversation.
But what are the best resources for a literature review if you are unfamiliar with the topic? The following databases are great places to start to help you locate major publications and relevant scholarship on sociology topics.
The Annual Review of Sociology is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes comprehensive literature review articles in sociology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship in sociology.
Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology includes authoritative books, journal articles, websites, and other materials selected and organized by academic scholars. These bibliographies can help researchers build literature reviews by identifying important authors, major debates, foundational studies, and key publications on different sociology topics.
When searching for literature reviews, don’t overlook dissertations found in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Doctoral students are typically required to write extensive literature reviews. Each review will examine major debates, theories, methods, and key publications related to their research topic, which can help you identify important authors, major studies, useful keywords, and gaps in the existing research.
To learn more about finding resources for a literature review, see “How to Locate Resources for a Literature Review.”
Sociology Reference
Reference resources are important for sociology research, providing reliable, concise, and well-organized background information that helps researchers understand key concepts, definitions, historical context, and major theories before diving into deeper analysis.
Bibliographies
Bibliographies
A bibliography lists referenced sources, such as books, articles, documents, websites, and other academic materials used in research. Oxford Bibliographies is the most up-to-date resource for locating bibliographies.
Oxford Bibliographies is a leading scholarly source for expert-curated bibliographies, providing scholarly bibliographies in most social science disciplines, including anthropology, communication, criminology, economics, international relations, political science, psychology, and sociology. Each bibliography provides a list of authoritative books, journal articles, websites, and other materials, all organized by academic scholars.
Biographies
Biographies
A biography provides a detailed account of a person’s life, covering key aspects such as their early life, education, career, achievements, challenges, and impact on the world. The following are comprehensive reference works that provide biographical information on influential figures in sociology.
Companions
Companions
Companions provide scholarly essays that examine a topic, theory, region, or subfield in greater depth than introductory texts. Written by experts, they are especially helpful for students and researchers who already have a basic understanding of sociology and want a more comprehensive overview of current scholarship in the field.
Dictionaries
Dictionaries
Dictionaries are important for understanding words, concepts, and terminology. Sociology dictionaries provide clarity when exploring complex concepts or theories, offering clear definitions of key political terms.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias
Subject encyclopedias are specialized reference works that provide in-depth information on specific discipline topics. Unlike general encyclopedias, which cover a wide range of topics, subject encyclopedias focus exclusively on one field, offering detailed and comprehensive entries written by experts. For a list of general and specialized encyclopedia databases, go to Getting Started—Reference Resources.
Handbooks
Handbooks
Handbooks provide authoritative overviews, in-depth analyses, and critical discussions of a particular academic field, discipline, or topic. The following are important general handbooks in sociology.
Introductions
Introductions
Introductions offer concise yet comprehensive introductions to a subject. Written by experts, they present key ideas, theories, and debates in a clear and understandable way. The following books are ideal for readers new to sociology, providing foundational knowledge without requiring prior expertise.
General Databases
Academic libraries subscribe to a wide range of research databases. EBSCO and ProQuest are the largest and most widely used subscription-based academic research databases. Most colleges and universities offer access to one or both platforms which provide multiple subject-specific databases. Although each has unique features, they share several key characteristics:
- Both are multidisciplinary research platforms that cover a broad range of academic disciplines.
- Both provide a single search interface for accessing dozens of subject-specific databases.
- Both offer access to diverse content, including e-books, scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, magazines, newspapers, and images.
EBSCO is a major research database platform that allows users to search multiple EBSCO databases simultaneously. The difference between EBSCOhost and Academic Search is that Academic Search can be searched as part of the EBSCOhost platform or searched separately if your institution has a subscription. To check if your institution subscribes to EBSCOhost, use EBSCO’s Find your institution page.
ProQuest is a major database vendor and platform that provides access to hundreds of database collections. The ProQuest platform provides a multidisciplinary search with access to scholarly ebooks, journals, video and audio, newspapers, and more, all searchable simultaneously. ProQuest is unique in providing dissertations and theses, historical newspapers, and other primary sources.
Scholarly Databases
Scholarly research databases provide peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book reviews, and other scholarly resources authored by scholars, researchers, or academics who are experts in their fields. Unlike magazines which focus on current events and general-interest stories, articles in scholarly journals undergo rigorous peer-review before publication. The following is a list of the most important multidisciplinary scholarly research databases.
Google Scholar is a free academic search engine that helps researchers and students find scholarly literature across disciplines. It indexes journal articles, books, conference papers, theses, patents, and other resources from academic publishers, universities, and professional organizations.
- Unlike subscription databases, which publish lists of journals in their collections, Google Scholar does not provide a list of the journals, books, repositories, or conference proceedings it indexes.
- General databases such as EBSCO and ProQuest allow you to limit your results to peer-reviewed articles only. Google Scholar does not filter results for peer-reviewed articles.
- When off your school’s network, you must enable your institution’s Google Scholar library links (review process) to see full-text articles available in your institution. If Library Links are not enabled, you’ll only see paywalls, publisher links, and what’s available open-access in the public domain.
The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, provides access to a vast collection of scholarly literature in the social sciences. Covering multiple disciplines, IBSS includes references to journal articles, books, newspapers, and dissertations, with records dating back to 1951.
JSTOR is an important scholarly research database for the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It provides the full text of articles from thousands of influential academic journals. In addition to journal articles, users can access eBooks, book chapters, images, and primary source documents. JSTOR also provides an AI research tool that provides key points and arguments of articles.
JSTOR contains the full text of more than 2,000 journals from 1,000 publishers, with publication dates ranging from 1665 to 2015 (for certain titles). JSTOR also provides:
- Free access to Early Journal Content published before the last 95 years in the United States or before the last 143 years if initially published internationally.
- A collection of nearly 150 open-access journals covering the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- JSTOR allows anyone to register for a free personal JSTOR account and provides access to 100 free monthly articles.
Project MUSE offers online access to a vast collection of scholarly journals, books, and academic resources in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. As a leading provider of digital humanities content, it features high-quality, peer-reviewed publications from prestigious university presses, scholarly societies, and academic publishers.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is a database of dissertations and theses from universities worldwide. It provides access to millions of full-text works across many disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and business. Each dissertation includes an abstract or summary that provides a concise overview of the research, its methodology, and key findings.
ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scholarly scientific database that provides journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. It covers over 24 major subjects in the physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
Social Sciences Full Text provides access to a wide range of scholarly literature in the social sciences. It covers many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, international relations, political science, anthropology, economics, and education.
Web of Science is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary research and citation index that provides access to a wide range of scientific, technical, social science, and humanities research. It maintains rigorous criteria for the journals and publications it indexes, ensuring that only high-quality, peer-reviewed content is included. Web of Science includes 98 million papers dating back to 1900.
Sociology Databases
Multidisciplinary research is an absolute necessity if sociologists wish to better understand how social life is shaped. As a result, we've listed both core sociology databases along with highly recommended databases from criminology and psychology.
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Psychology
Sociology
The Annual Review of Sociology is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes comprehensive literature review articles in sociology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship in sociology.
The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) is a multidisciplinary citation database within the Web of Science platform that indexes leading journals across the social sciences. Its purpose is to allow researchers to discover scholarly articles, track citations, explore how ideas develop over time, and identify influential authors, journals, and research trends in fields such as political science, sociology, psychology, economics, education, and international relations.
Social Sciences Full Text provides access to a wide range of scholarly literature in the social sciences. It covers many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, international relations, political science, anthropology, economics, and education.
SocINDEX and SocINDEX with Full Text are sociology research databases produced by EBSCO. They exclusively cover sociology and related disciplines, such as criminology and criminal justice, demography, gender and ethnic studies, social psychology, social work, socio-cultural anthropology, religion, substance abuse, urban studies, and marriage and family.
Sociological Abstracts is a subscription-based bibliographic database, provided by ProQuest, that indexes and abstracts the international literature of sociology and closely related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It covers journal articles, conference papers, dissertations, book chapters, and book reviews drawn from over 1,800 serial publications dating back to 1952.
Social Theory is a full-text database of works in social and sociological theory from the eighteenth century to the present. It provides important writings by major thinkers such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, W.E.B. Du Bois, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Jürgen Habermas, and Harriet Martineau.
Criminology
The Annual Review of Criminology is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes comprehensive literature review articles in criminology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship on crime, justice, and social control.
Criminal Justice Database is a research collection that focuses on crime, law enforcement, corrections, and the criminal justice system. It provides access to full-text articles, reports, and other publications that explore real-world issues such as policing practices, court decisions, and rehabilitation programs.
Criminology Collection (ProQuest) is a comprehensive research database covering criminology, criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, and security. It provides scholarly journals, dissertations, trade publications, crime reports, and other sources examining crime, its causes, societal impacts, and the operation of criminal justice systems. It includes the Criminal Justice Database and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts Database.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts provides summaries of publications on crime, justice, and public safety. It includes research studies, government reports, policy papers, and other materials from the U.S. and abroad. Topics covered include policing, corrections, juvenile justice, and victim services.
Violence & Abuse Abstracts is a specialized EBSCO research database that indexes scholarly literature on interpersonal violence, abuse, and victimization in all its forms. It covers legal, medical, psychological, and social aspects of topics including family and intimate partner violence, sexual assault, emotional abuse, aggression, and related social and behavioral issues.
Psychology
The Annual Review of Psychology provides authoritative literature review articles that summarize and interpret major developments happening in the field of psychology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship in the scientific study of behavior.
APA PsycArticles® is a research database from the American Psychological Association (APA). It provides full-text, peer-reviewed articles from scholarly journals in psychology and related fields. Provides access to 119 journals back to 1894.
APA PsycBooks is a research database from the American Psychological Association (APA) that provides full-text access to books published by APA and its partners. It includes classic works, handbooks, reference titles, and scholarly books covering many areas of psychology.
APA PsycExtra is a research database from the American Psychological Association that focuses on psychology-related material you usually won’t find in academic journals. It includes reports, newsletters, conference papers, fact sheets, standards, and other practical documents produced by organizations, researchers, and practitioners.
APA PsycInfo is a comprehensive research database produced by the American Psychological Association (APA). It focuses on psychology and related fields, including psychiatry, education, social work, sociology, and more. PsycInfo indexes journal articles, books, chapters, dissertations, and reports in psychology and behavioral sciences. It contains citations, abstracts, and some full text, depending on your library’s subscription level. PsycInfo is available through multiple academic platforms, including EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and OVID.
PsychiatryOnline is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides access to key psychiatry resources. It includes scholarly journals, reference books, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in one search interface.
PTSDpubs (from the National Center for PTSD) is a free, online research database that focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health effects of trauma. It’s produced by the National Center for PTSD, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and was formerly known as PILOTS (Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress).
PubMed® is a free, open-access online database from the National Library of Medicine providing research articles about medicine, health, and related fields like biology and psychology. PubMed® provides over 38 million citations and abstracts for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) main bibliographic database.
Although PubMed® is free to search, it does not own or publish most of the articles. It simply indexes articles found in scientific journals. Some articles link to publisher websites that require payment or institutional access. Check your library’s database resources to see if PubMed is listed and search from there. PubMed will recognize your institution and display “Full Text” buttons if your library subscribes to the journal in which your article is located.
Sociology Journals
Scholarly journals are essential for academic research. However, not all scholarly journals are of the same quality. While peer review is a good starting point, researchers should also consider a journal's reputation and impact within its discipline. Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is considered one of the best tools to help researchers identify leading journals within a discipline.
Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is widely regarded as the leading subscription-based resource for identifying high-quality, peer-reviewed journals and assessing the impact, influence, and quality of scholarly journals across all academic disciplines. To learn more about JCR and journal impact, go to Journal Databases.
To review the entire JCR list of highly cited anthropology journals, go to Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and choose Categories > Social Sciences, General > Sociology. Below are the ten most-cited sociology journals in the latest rankings.
The American Sociological Review (ASR) is the main journal of the American Sociological Association, publishing peer-reviewed research articles, theoretical contributions, and methodological innovations across all areas of sociology. ASR is one of the most widely read and cited sociology journals in the world.
The American Journal of Sociology is a leading publication in the field that showcases research on how societies are organized and how they change. It covers a wide range of topics, including culture, inequality, and social institutions, and has been an important source for sociologists since 1895.
Annals of Tourism Research is a leading academic journal for tourism scholarship. It examines questions such as why people travel, how tourism shapes economies and communities, and what the broader consequences are for the places and people involved. It draws on fields such as economics, psychology, and geography.
Annual Review of Sociology publishes in-depth literature review articles that synthesize and assess what the field has learned about a given topic up to that point. It covers a broad range of sociological concerns from social processes, institutions, and culture, to organizations, political and economic life, stratification, demography, urban issues, and social policy.
Social Indicators Research is a journal that publishes studies on how to measure and understand quality of life, well-being, and social progress. It covers topics like health, education, income, environment, and happiness, focusing on the data and indicators that show how societies are doing and changing.
The Journal of Marriage and Family is a leading journal that publishes research on families and relationships. It covers topics such as marriage, parenting, gender roles, family diversity, and how social, economic, and cultural factors shape family life.
Social Forces is a major sociology journal that publishes research on social structure and change. It covers a wide range of topics, including inequality, race, gender, education, politics, and globalization, with a focus on how social forces shape individual lives and society as a whole.
Sociological Methods & Research is a journal that focuses on the development and use of methods in sociology. It publishes work on research design, statistical techniques, qualitative approaches, and new tools that help sociologists study social patterns and test theories.
Sociological Theory is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published by the American Sociological Association since 1983. It publishes articles that explore and explain different ways of thinking about social life such as power, identity, and social change.
The Journal of Health and Social Behavior publishes research on how social factors influence health and illness. It explores topics such as health inequalities, the role of social support and stress, access to healthcare, and how social conditions shape physical and mental well-being.
Sociology News
Sociology does not have similar mass-market magazines as some of the other social sciences (i.e., Psychology Today, Anthropology Now), but there is one well-known publication that presents sociological ideas to general readers rather than academic specialists. The American Sociological Association (ASA) Contexts, highlights emerging research topics and trends in the field of sociology.
Contexts is published by the American Sociological Association. It explains sociological research in a readable, magazine-style format with essays, interviews, photography, policy discussions, and commentary on current social issues. It is intentionally written for non-specialists and general readers.
Below is a list of magazines you may already be familiar with. Although not sociology-specific, these publications are popular with academics and other sociologically minded readers.
- Aeon — An independent digital magazine founded in 2012. It’s become one of the more respected venues for serious long-form ideas writing on the internet.
- The Atlantic — One of the most well-known magazines in the world. It focuses on social issues such as inequality, culture, education, and social trends.
- Dissent — A well-known ideological magazine that frequently analyzes social institutions and social change.
- Harper’s Magazine — One of the oldest (1850) and most prestigious general interest magazines in the United States, it provides long-form essays on society, politics, and culture.
- Jacobin — Named after the radical Jacobin faction of the French Revolution, Jacobin is a prominent left-wing magazine that has grown into one of the most influential publications of the American democratic socialist left. It focuses on social class, labor, inequality, and political sociology themes.
- The New Yorker — Arguably the most prestigious and influential general interest magazine in the United States. Long-form journalism is the heart of the magazine, often featuring stories and cultural essays that have a strong sociological angle.
- ProPublica — Not quite a magazine in the traditional sense, but it has become one of the most important journalism outlets in the United States. ProPublica is a nonprofit investigative news organization that produces in-depth reporting on issues that affect society.
- Reason — Similar to Dissent, it is an ideological magazine that frequently analyzes social institutions and social change.
Research Methods
Research methods are the specific strategies, tools, and techniques researchers use to collect and analyze information to answer questions or solve problems. Research methods can be qualitative (interviews or observations), quantitative (numerical and statistical), or mixed methods (a mixture of both).
Sage Research Methods is an important resource for learning about research methods and can help you choose the methods best suited to your research question or project.
Sage Research Methods is an important resource for learning about research methods and can help you choose the methods best suited to your research question or project.
Sage Research Methods is a major subscription database that guides users in understanding research methodologies across different academic disciplines. It provides electronic access to reference books, journal articles, instructional videos, and other research methods resources.
Sociology Research Methods
The following resources provide in-depth information on research design concepts, methodologies, and techniques specific to sociology.
The icons next to each resource indicate its access requirements.
Open source/ Free
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Although Karl Marx is best known for his influence on economics and political theory, his ideas helped lay the foundation for sociology by showing how social class, labor, and economic systems shape everyday life.
Source: John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1875).