Sociology
Whether you're a new student starting your first assignment, further on in your studies, or starting a research project, this page will help you find and use the best information for your subject. You will also find resources to help develop your academic, study and digital skills.
If you can’t find what you need here, please contact your Academic Support Team: library-healthandsociety@salford.ac.uk
Key resources for sociology students
Databases
- Social Science Databases - ProQuest: this provides access to key UK and worldwide articles and research, including the Sociology Database.
- Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology Online: offers access to over 21,000 entries in the field of sociology.
- JSTOR: gives you access to a huge collection of journal articles on a wide range of subjects, including sociology.
- Newsstreams Newspapers: you can access local, regional and national newspapers from around the world.
Books and Journals
The first place to look for books and journals is your reading list – you will find a link to this in your Blackboard modules. It lists all the core texts for your subject as recommended by your lecturers. All our other books and journals can be found in Library Search. We've created a map to help you find sociology books in the library.
LinkedIn Learning
You have access to thousands of professionally produced online courses via LInkedIn Learning covering a wide range of technical, creative and professional skills.
You will find lots of courses including developing communication skills, managing professional relationships, fine tuning your digital skills or preparing for job interviews and so much more.
Access LinkedinLearning to have a look and take some courses.

Browse your Reading Lists

Your tutors select books, articles, videos and other resources for your reading lists and the Library buys them so you don't have to.
Find the lists for your modules in Blackboard, or in Library Search.
Referencing

APA 7th (Harvard) style is the main referencing style in use at the University. We've compiled an easy to follow list of guidebooks and examples to help you get to grips with complexities of referencing.
Newspapers

Newspapers are a valuable source of information. They provide insight into what interests and concerns people both now and in the past.
The Library provides some excellent newspaper sources that allow you to search simply and easily across many newspapers at once.
Dissertations and Theses

During the course of your studies, you may find that you need to search for dissertations or theses.
You can use Library Search to help you find them and there are a number of different ways to search, depending on what you want to find.
New Sociology Students
Book a one to one
If you’ve tried our eLearning and classroom sessions and need more help, you can request a one to one appointment for information finding, academic and writing or digital skills. Select your chosen time slot and book on through Advantage.
Book on a workshop
We offer a wide range of face-to-face skills training. If you need to improve your IT skills, learn how to find information for your assignments or improve your study skills this is a great place to start.
All workshops are bookable through Advantage by clicking on the workshop title. Where a session has no remaining spaces you can add yourself to the waiting list.
Constructing an Argument [Online]
Starts: 27 Jan 2023, 12:00 pmFinishes: 27 Jan 2023, 1:00 pmRemaining places: 1This session will explore the elements that make up an academic argument, how to write your own and to challenge ones you disagree with.Digital Notemaking [online]
Starts: 30 Jan 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 30 Jan 2023, 2:15 pmRemaining places: 20This course will teach you to:
-Organise your work (OneDrive + OneNote)
-Improve your critical analysis (matrix tables)
-Use speech-to-text for easier paraphrasing and writing
- Improve your reading (Office Lens, Immersive Reader and other tools)Returning to Learning [ONLINE]
Starts: 30 Jan 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 30 Jan 2023, 2:00 pmRemaining places: 26For students who have been out of education for some time
Digital Notemaking [online]
Starts: 30 Jan 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 30 Jan 2023, 2:15 pmRemaining places: 20This course will teach you to:
-Organise your work (OneDrive + OneNote)
-Improve your critical analysis (matrix tables)
-Use speech-to-text for easier paraphrasing and writing
- Improve your reading (Office Lens, Immersive Reader and other tools)Get IT qualifications with Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) [online]
Starts: 2 Feb 2023, 12:30 pmFinishes: 2 Feb 2023, 1:30 pmRemaining places: 36Want to prove your Microsoft Office IT skills? Join our programme and find out how to gain Microsoft certified IT qualifications in applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint...You choose which exams to sit to become a Microsoft Office Specialist.
This webinar is delivered online.Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Exam session [Available On campus & Online]
Starts: 9 Feb 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 9 Feb 2023, 2:00 pmVenue: Frederick Road Campus, Allerton, C811Remaining places: 7This is an EXAM SESSION for MOS certification. At the time of booking you must have scored over 70% in GMetrix's 'Testing' mode for your chosen application. Bookings not meeting this criteria will be cancelled. Candidates may also join this exam session remotely and take their exam off campus.
Finding and reading journal articles [online]
Starts: 30 Jan 2023, 5:00 pmFinishes: 30 Jan 2023, 6:30 pmRemaining places: 14In this workshop we will explore what journal articles are and why they are useful. We will learn how to find them, discuss how to read them and examine the parts that make an article up. This workshop includes advice on targeting your reading and using journal articles in your academic work.Making the most of eBooks [online]
Starts: 6 Feb 2023, 11:00 amFinishes: 6 Feb 2023, 12:00 pmRemaining places: 39This workshop will show you how to find and use electronic books (eBooks) in Library Search. This workshop will showcase eBooks and what they can do, and will include tips on using built-in tools to help save you time and advice on targeting your reading. This workshop is online.Finding information using Library Search [online]
Starts: 7 Feb 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 7 Feb 2023, 2:00 pmRemaining places: 46This online workshop is a live demo of how Library Search works and showcases what it can do to help you find information.
This session is designed for UK and international students to help you prepare for finding information at Salford.