Assignment Calculators/Planners & Understanding Your Assignment
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Concept (or Mind) Mapping Tools
For topic ideas try looking at:
Relevant current events
Class discussions or readings
Presentations at relevant conferences
Articles in discipline related journals or trade publications
The following electronic resources are useful for topic ideas and getting background information on topics of interest.
Browse by topic or conduct a "Quick search" for a broad term. The results should give you related issues to consider focusing your research on, and you can link to reports on these issues that include overviews, outlook, chronology, maps/graphs, etc.
Included in its "Social Science" section, this database provides us with the Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice 2nd Ed, the Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society, and the Encyclopedia of Population. Featured in "Multicultural Studies" is the Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Included in its "History" section you can find the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture and more.
Provides the following reference resources: Dictionary of the Social Sciences; Science, Technology and Society; and A Dictionary of Sociology. Click on "Subjects & Books" for a complete listing.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center *
Try a "Subject Guide" search for a broad topic like "Social class." You'll get a list of related subjects and subdivisions of the topic that include links to resources in the database.
Includes reference titles covering the following subjects: African American Studies; Aging & Gerontology; Anthropology; Criminology & Criminal Justice; Family Studies; Gender & Sexuality Studies; Health & Social Welfare; Social Issues; Sociology; Urban Studies & Planning; and more!
What you need... | Resource to go to... |
Basic facts, names, dates, definitions, topic overview |
Reference resources like encyclopedias; reliable websites |
Current information, written for the general public | Newspapers; Magazines |
In depth info on a topic | Books |
Original materials created at same time as event | Primary sources (diaries; speech; interviews; news footage, etc.) |
Detailed analysis of a topic/question/problem written for professionals in a particular field | Scholarly journal articles |