Langsdale Library, University of Baltimore

SOCI 312
Community Organizations
Gina Finelli
Fall 2008

Individual course index / fa08/soci312_finelli.htm

Introduction | Print Resources | Subject-specific Databases | General Databases | Book catalogs | Suggested Websites | General Reference Tools
Other Helpful Information

Introduction
This guide will provide information on resources for community research provided by Langsdale Library, including the PowerPoint presentation on APA style. For additial resources, please see our Statistics and Grants guides. For more assistance you can contact the librarian for this course, Lucy Holman, at 410-837-4333 or e-mail lholman@ubalt.edu. You can also contact the Reference Desk at 410-837-4274 or e-mail langref@ubalt.edu.

Print Resources:

Alreck, P. L. (2004). The survey research handbook. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. (XHN29 .A46 2004)

Demographics USA County edition (2005). New York: Market Statistics.
(XHF 5437 .S32 2005). Related title for prior years: Survey of Buying Power.

State and Metropolitan Area Data Book (2006). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, Data User Services Division. (C 3.134/5: 2006 Latest edition in READY REFERENCE; older issues in Government Documents Collection. Also available online: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/smadb.htm)

Statistical Abstract of the United States (2007). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, Data User Services Division. (C 3.134/7: 2007 Latest edition in READY REFERENCE; older issues in Government Documents Collection. Also available online: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/)

Subject-specific databases (this only includes selected databases based on topics; for more, see full list of Electronic Databases):

Soc Index with full text (Ebsco)
This index features more than 1,300,000 records with subject headings from a 15,600 term sociology-specific thesaurus designed by expert lexicographers. This product also contains informative abstracts for more than 620 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895. In addition, this file provides data mined from from more than 500 "priority" coverage journals as well as over 1,390 "selective" coverage journals. Further, extensive indexing for books, monographs, conference papers, and other sources is included.

PsycINFO  [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1887 – present. Indexes 1,300 Psychology journals from nearly 50 countries. Also includes abstracts for dissertations, books and book chapters. Same coverage as PsycLit.

Criminal Justice Abstracts [on-campus]
Coverage:  1968 - present. Criminal Justice Abstracts indexes the major journals, books and governmental reports in the areas of criminology and related disciplines. Topics include crime trends, corrections, police, offenders, juvenile delinquency, courts, victims, and sentencing.

Criminal Justice Periodicals[on campus]
1981 to the present: Full-text coverage for 45 of the titles most frequently accessed by criminal justice researchers, and complete indexing and abstracts for another 140 relevant U.S. and international journals.

ERIC (EBSCO) [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1966 - present. Indexes Current Journals in Education (CIJE) and Resources in Education (RIE). Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL).

Health Source Plus (nursing edition) [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1990 - present. Searchable full-text for nearly 580 journals and abstracts and indexing for over 615 general health, nutrition and professional health care publications. Now includes Clinical Reference Systems. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL).

General/Multidisciplinary databases:
Use these to find full text periodical articles and/or citations to articles.

Academic Search Premier  [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1990 - present. Provides full-text for over 3,400 scholarly journals covering the social sciences, humanities, education, sciences, and more. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL).

Baltimore Sun [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Sept 16, 1990 - present. Full text of Baltimore Sun.

Lexis-Nexis Academic [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1970 - present. Features full text of many newspapers and periodicals.  Also offers business news, legal materials such as federal & state codes, case law and legal journals.

Book catalogs:
Use these to locate books, journals (not individual articles), videos, and government documents.

Catalog USMAI [help]
Books, journals, government documents and other materials in the University System of Maryland, including UB. You may search up to six individual locations or the entire system.

WorldCat [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies. International database of collections (including books, journals , dissertations, documents, and other materials) held by libraries worldwide. Maryland libraries that own copies of the items display at the top of the list of libraries so you can easily determine if local libraries own the material needed. Records of any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Includes manuscripts written as early as the 12th century.

Sugggested Web Sites:

The Abell Foundation - Program Areas. http://www.abell.org/programareas/index.html

Baltimore City Data Collaborative. http://www.baltimorekidsdata.org/
Get data about children and families in Baltimore City.

Baltimore City Police Department. Fighting Crime Online. http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm
Map crime statistics for the previous 90 days (maximum view: two weeks at a time). Search by address, neighborhood, school or police post.

Baltimore Neighborhoods - Maryland Department (Enoch Pratt Free Library). http://www.prattlibrary.org/findanswers/subjects/guide.aspx?id=3420&subj=Baltimore

General Services Administration. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. http://12.46.245.173/cfda/cfda.html

City of Baltimore. CitiStat Reports & Maps. http://www.baltimorecity.gov/news/citistat/reports.html
Get up-to-date reports on City agencies. Maps not labeled by neighborhood, but good for seeing citywide patterns.

Enoch Pratt Free Library. Grants Collection. http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/grants/index.aspx?id=1240
From the webpage: "contains databases, over 300 circulating titles, reference materials and periodicals about grantseeking and grantmaking, nonprofit management, and related subjects."

Grants.gov. http://www.grants.gov/
Clearinghouse or federal grant information. Browse by agency or subject, and search by keyword, Funding Opportunity Number, or CDFA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number

GuideStar. http://www.guidestar.org/

U.S. Census Bureau. American Fact Finder. http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

Bureau of the Census. http://www.census.gov

Maryland State Data Center. http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/

USA.gov. Data and Statistics – General Reference Resources.
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Data.shtml
This page will point you to statistical agencies across the U.S. Government. Organized by topic.

General Reference Tools:
These may assist you in your search for material or in evaluating and citing material found.

Citation Styles
Guides to MLA, APA, and other citation styles.

APA Style: Electronic Reference
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html

Preparation Checklist for ASA Manuscripts
http://www.asanet.org/galleries/default-file/asaguidelinesnew.pdf

Citing Sources, APA Style (long version)
http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/howto/apastyle.htm

Other helpful information:

Accessing materials from home (Researchport)

Library barcodes and UB computer accounts

Interlibrary Loan

For more information, email langref@ubalt.edu or call (410) 837-4274.
10/07 TS (rev. 10/08 LBH)
soci312_finelli.htm