URBAN STUDIES RESEARCH
Choose a topic that is interesting to you and which will work within your assignment's parameters. Your research goal is to locate published scholarship (books and journal articles) to read on your topic.
First, read a good summary of an urban studies topic in a sociology or urban studies encyclopedia, like those listed in the Books section.
Once you know the basics on your topic, then search for more published scholarship - books in the CUNY+ Library Catalog and journal articles in Sociological Abstracts or other library databases.
You can also find data and statistics from websites, or from databases like *InfoShare and *Social Explorer that may help support your thesis.
Reports or studies written by advocacy groups, government agencies, or non-profit think tanks can also be useful. The urban studies Web Gateways can lead you to many quality websites of this kind.
Remember to
evaluate the accuracy of your resources, and think critically about their
arguments. When in doubt, check with your instructor.
TUTORIAL: Introduction to Library Research for the Social Sciences
ASSIGNMENT: Finding Books and Journal Articles
*FOR HOME USE of databases, the Proxy Service must be used; see Off-Campus Access for instructions.
Created: 8 June 2006 / Last updated: 5 February 2008 / JTMellone