SOC 381 Course Guide (Immigration Research: Food and Healing)
For excellent background reading material use the reference resources listed below.
Remember to evaluate the accuracy of your resources, and think critically about their arguments. When in doubt, check with your instructor.
Bibliographer for SociologyEncyclopedias & Guides
When beginning research, specialized encyclopedias and other reference guides can often provide good background information on a topic. Many reference books are in printed format, while others are available in electronic resource collections such as:
Social Sciences (Call Number: Reference E, F, G, GN, H, HM)
- Encyclopedia of Anthropology (Ref. GN11. E63 2005, 5 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of Community (Ref. HM756 .E53 2003, 4 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (Ref. F1406 .E53 1996, 5 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife
- Encyclopedia of World Cultures (Ref. GN307 .E53 1991, 10 vols.)
- Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
- International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
- International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (Ref. H40 .A2 .I5 2008, 9 vols., 2nd edition)
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States (Ref. E184 .S75 .O97 2005, 4 vols.)
- Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (Ref. GN333 .W67 1998, 4 vols.)
Food (Call Number: Reference GT 2850s, TX341 - TX840)
- Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (Ref. GT2850 .E53 2003, 3 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of North American Eating & Drinking Traditions, Customs & Rituals (Ref. GT2853.U5 G39 1996)
- Foodways and Folklore: A Handbook
- Gale Encyclopedia of Diets
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (Ref. TX349 .E45 2004, 2 vols.)
Medicine (Call Number: Reference R723 - R733)
- Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine: Old World and New World Traditions (Ref. R733 .H376 2004)
- Encyclopedia of Global Health
- Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior (Ref. R726.5 .E53 2004, 2 vols.)
Books
Once you know the basics on your topic, search for more published scholarship, such as books, in the CUNY Catalog or other library catalogs. In addition to searching by keyword try searching by Subject Headings like those listed below:
- CUNY Catalog
- Search for books at the Queens College libraries, as well as other CUNY libraries. Request books from other CUNY libraries using the CUNY Book Delivery system, CLICS.
- WorldCat
- Search for books in the national catalog for the United States and Canada. Includes holdings from libraries in other parts of the world, primarily European or English-speaking. Request books from non-CUNY libraries through Interlibrary Loan using their ILLiad system.
Subject Headings
- Immigrants
- Emigration and immigration; Immigrants; Folklore; Asian Americans; Hispanic Americans; Mexican Americans; Dominican Americans;
- Food
- Food; Food Habits; Cooking; Gastronomy; Diet; Dinners and dining; Drinking behavior; Drinking customs; Nutrition; Ethnobotany;
- Medicine
- Alternative medicine; Complementary therapies; Traditional medicine; Folk medicine; Ethnomedicine; Healing; Mental healing; Medicinal plants; Herbs - Therapeutic use;
Articles (Search Databases)
A journal article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. It is written in the specialized language of a scholarly discipline (such as Sociology). It documents the resources the writer used by providing bibliographic citations such as footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography so a reader can check or repeat the research the scholar has completed.
A scholarly journal is edited by scholars, and any article published in the journal has usually been approved by the author's peers or by referees (other scholars expert in the subject who serve as editors or readers and critique the article before it is accepted for publication). This is why most scholarly journals are referred to as a Peer-Reviewed or Refereed journals. Here is a comparison between popular and scholarly periodicals. Use the following databases to search for journal articles on a topic. You can use other Databases depending what topic you are researching.
Many of the articles are available to read in full-text through our Databases or Electronic Journals. Articles not available at QC may be requested through Interlibrary Loan using their ILLiad system.
- Abstracts in Anthropology
- Articles in all subdisciplines of anthropology, 2001—Also print, Queens College Library, Reference Index, Table 14, 1970–2008.
- America: History and Life
- Abstracts of scholarly journal articles on United States and Canadian history.
- Anthropological Index
- From the Royal Anthropological Institute, Journals of the British Museum, many international, from 1957.
- Annual Review of Anthropology
- Review articles on all subdisciplines of anthropology, lengthy reference lists, from 1970.
- Annual Review of Sociology
- Full-text of scholarly journal articles which are definitive critical reviews of the recent sociological research literature.
- Culinary Arts Collection
- Citations to trade publication articles and scholarly journal articles in the culinary arts, cooking, nutrition, etc.
- Ethnic Newswatch
- Full-text of English and Spanish newspaper articles and magazine articles from the ethnic minority and native press.
- HAPI Online (Hispanic American Periodicals Index)
- Citations to scholarly journal articles on Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, U. S. Hispanics/Latinos; includes international publications.
- Health Reference Center Academic
- Allied health journals, as well as personal health information sources.
- Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
- Scholarly journals in many medical disciplines, including nursing and allied health.
- JSTOR
- Multidisciplinary: Searchable full text journals in anthropology, history, latin american studies, sociology, etc. Retrospective, with most recent (usually 3–5 years) absent. Use other databases to retrieve current publications.
- Social Sciences Full Text
- Abstracts of scholarly journal articles and social commentary magazine articles; citations to book reviews; a former Wilson index.
- SocINDEX
- Abstracts of scholarly journal articles, magazine articles, conference papers, book chapters, and book reviews.
- Sociological Abstracts
- Abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers; citations to book reviews; includes international publications.
Tutorials
Introduction to Library Research for the Social Sciences
