Library Guides: City, Culture &amp; Community Program Library Guide: Searching the Scholarly Literature

While most databases of scholarly journal literature specialize in a particular discipline, Urban Studies Abstracts indexes articles relating to urban issues from a range of disciplines. A good research strategy will include searches in more than one database; this ensures you will capture as much of the interdisciplinary literature as possible.

Urban Studies Abstracts This link opens in a new window
The bibliographic records in Urban Studies Abstracts cover urban affairs, community development, urban history, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline of urban studies.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database abstracts and indexes the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Cited references are included for many journal articles.
Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Covers current research focused on social work, human services and related areas, including social welfare, social policy and community development. The database abstracts and indexes serial publications and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations and citations to book reviews.

Looking for literature reviews in sociology? The Annual Review of Sociology specializes in providing articles on the state of the field. Also look for books reviews and other review literature in the major journals of your field.

TAKE NOTE: The Ph.D Area Exam Paper required of students in the 5th or 6th semester of the City, Culture, and Community Program is described as "a major paper akin to an Annual Review of Sociology article (typically on the order of 50 pages) that summarizes state of the area or subfield." (p. 3)

Start familiarizing yourself with this type of writing early!

Ph.D. Area Exam Papers
Required of all CCC Ph.D. candidates.

Annual Review of Sociology
In publication since 1975, covers the significant developments in the field of Sociology. Topics covered in the journal include major theoretical and methodological developments as well as current research in the major subfields.
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews (CS) publishes reviews and critical discussions of recent works in sociology and related disciplines that merit the attention of sociologists. Since not all sociological publications can be reviewed, a selection is made to reflect important trends and issues in the field. An official journal of the ASA, peer-reviewed and published bi-monthly.

EconLit This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts economic periodical literature. Citations and abstracts to economic research dating back to 1969 covering topics including accounting, capital markets, econometrics, economic forecasting, government regulations, labor economics, monetary theory, urban economics and much more.
ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related literature. Access 14,000+ documents and over 20,000+ journal articles per year. Coverage from 1966-present.
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
EBSCO’s Environment Complete database offers coverage in the areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, and affiliated areas of study. The resource includes more than 1,200 full-text journals and monographs, nearly 4 million records, indexing for more than 2,000 domestic and international journals dating back more than 100 years and more than 180 full-text monographs. Offering full text and indexing for these journals, books and monographs, it is an invaluable resource for students and scholars across all environmental disciplines.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Areas of public concern and potential legislation, including health conditions and policy; human rights; international relations; labor conditions and policy; law and ethics and more. Includes articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, and web content. 1914 - present.
Web of Science Core This link opens in a new window
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Interdisciplinary database includes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded, and Social Sciences Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports. Includes citation searching (see how many times a paper has been cited). Coverage: 1976 - present. NOTE: Use your Web of Science/Endnote username and password or create a new username and password to access InCites, Journal Citation Reports, and/or EndNotes from Web of Science.

Books Still Matter

Want to find a review of a scholarly book? Want to see what books a particular scholar has reviewed? You can often find a book review section in important journals of your field, but there is also a database that brings together book reviews from multiple sources.

Ready to expand your search beyond Howard-Tilton? Use the WorldCat database to search for books,audio, video, and other materials in libraries across the country and around the world. Use InterLibrary Loan (ILL) to borrow items from other libraries!

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
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WorldCat allows you to discover materials at Tulane University AND in libraries worldwide. View local holdings or borrow from U.S. libraries using Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Two different interfaces, the first a more in-depth option via subscription (FirstSearch, via the Tulane University icon link), and the second open-access (WorldCat Local, via the orange OA icon) offer unique user experiences.