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Whether you're already familiar with your topic or not, encyclopedia's give a great overview and can help you identify major issues, history of social movements and/or diverse perspectives on an issue.
- Sage Reference This link opens in a new window
Search and read entries from over one hundred social science and science specialized reference encyclopedias published by Sage.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
Search hundreds of scholarly, subject-specific reference titles in many topic areas, including the arts, business, education, history, the sciences, technology, literature, and the social sciences. Excellent for in-depth overviews of terms or concepts. Search individual e-books or whole collections.
- Sage encyclopedia of LGBTQ studiesOverview of LGBTQ issues. Check our A-Z entries list.
- WSU CatalogLooking for books? See what we have in the library by searching our catalog.
- OhioLINKRequest books from college and university libraries all over Ohio.
- Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Organized by topic this resource provides an issue overview, background facts, point and counterpoint representing different points of view. Includes a critical analysis to assist the reader to evaluate controversial topics. Also includes essays, leading political magazine articles from all sides of the political spectrum, newspapers, radio & TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books.
Developing your topic
- Picking Your Topic is Research - VideoThis video from NC State Libraries explains the process through which you might develop your topic. It's a short (about 3 minutes) overview that is helpful in thinking about how to approach topic development.
Finding the right level of research is an important first step. Consider whether your topic is too broad (you're getting too many results or they're not relevant enough to your topic) or too narrow (you're finding too few results).
If your topic is too narrow, you might not find enough information. You can broaden it by exploring related issues, comparing it with a related issue, increasing the time span or population covered. You might also find that your topic is too recent to be covered in academic journals.
If your topic is too broad, you might find too much information. You can narrow your focus by limiting the population or time period covered or by looking at a smaller piece or specific angle of the topic.
Use these handouts to help you narrow or broaden your topic:
- Tips for Narrowing a Topic - HandoutUse this handout if you are getting too many results when searching.
- Tips for Broadening a Topic - HandoutUse this handout if you are getting too few results when searching.
- Library of Congress Subject Headings for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) TopicsGreat list of subject terms from Indiana University Libraries - Click on the S and check out the sexuality-related subject terms.
Using the Information You Find
Learning how to read scholarly articles and incorporate them into your work will improve the quality of your research and writing, and has the potential to save you time and reduce stress.
Articles: best databases to use
- QuickSearch This link opens in a new window
QuickSearch combines results from many search tools for you to review in one list. Results come from the Wright State catalog and hundreds of library databases including all of our Ebscohost databases, JSTOR, the Web of Science, and others.
- Gender Studies Database This link opens in a new window
GSD covers the full spectrum of gender-engaged scholarship inside and outside academia. Links to free and subscription based full-text articles. Includes professional journals, conference papers, books, government reports, discussion papers, theses and dissertations.
- LGBTQ+ Source This link opens in a new window
LGBTQ+ Source contains literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Indexes LGBTQ+ specific journals, magazines, regional newspapers, books, and reference works.
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
Discover literature from core disciplines in women's studies and the latest scholarship in feminist research. Search womens literature and selected bulletins, reports, dissertations, NGO studies, and grey literature. NISC produces the index.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Indexes research literature across a wide range of disciplines and formats. Use the library connection to gScholar to get more attached full-text articles.
- Web of Science All Databases This link opens in a new window
This option will search a combination of all the available science databases produced by this publisher. The search will include familiar citation, biology, medicine, and patent databases. Once connected, review the "select a database" option for a complete list. Use this option if you are not sure which Clarivate database may offer the best results.
- SocINDEX This link opens in a new window
Search extensively indexed books, monographs, and conference papers. This index features citations with subject headings from a sociology-specific thesaurus designed by expert lexicographers. SocINDEX covers all subdisciplines of sociology such as anthropology, criminology, demography, ethnic, racial, and gender studies, marriage, family, and social structures, and social work.
Primary Sources
- Women and Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new window
Study the history of US women and their role in social change between 1600 and 2000. Search primary documents, reviews, archive notes, and teaching tools. Includes local, state, and federal level commission reports. The resource will be useful to anyone studying women's issues and curriculum developers.
- Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Read from this digitized collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals produced from the 1960's through the 1980's. The collection includes small literary magazines, underground newspapers, LGBT periodicals, feminist journals, and minority, GI, and right-wing press publications.
Questions? Ask your librarian!
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- How-To VideosLearn how to navigate and use library resources, including searching, citing, saving, and requesting materials.
- Research ToolkitResearch Toolkit workshops are designed to address the most common challenges students face in doing college-level research, including navigating databases, locating relevant sources, and making sense of information once it is found.
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- Subject LibrariansLearn which librarian specializes in your area of research.