One of the principal places where sociologists share their work is in sociology journals. Iowa State offers on-line access to many of these journals.
To find articles that interest you, consider starting from one of these on-line indices:
Sociological Abstracts is a searchable index of sociology journals from 1963-present. It indexes over 1,800 periodicals. Click on "advanced search" to search for keywords, authors, titles, and so on. Some of your search results may include a link to an on-line copy of the article ("full-text linking"). If not, click on "links to holdings," to see whether the ISU library provides access to the article.
Web of Science provides access to the Social Sciences Citation Index. In addition to being a searchable index of social science journals, this index also provides information about where particular articles are cited. Select "Web of Science" and then check "Social Sciences Citation Index." The "general search" option provides the ability to search for topics and authors.
Many sociology articles can be found on JSTOR (short for journal storage), which provides access to over 30 sociology journals. (JSTOR also provides access to journals in other disciplines including African American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Latin American Studies, Middle East Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Polulation Studies, Slavic Studies, and Statistics.)
To search only sociology journals, choose "Search" on the home page, then select "advanced search." On the advanced search page, you can check "sociology" and/or whatever other disciplines you want to search.
Many journal articles don't appear in JSTOR until several years after they are published. However, they may be available immediately on their publisher's site or another web site.
Here are some of the journals you can access as an ISU student:
AJS, ASR and Social Forces are generally considered the three leading journals in sociology.They publish articles on a variety of topics. ASR is the flagship journal of the American Sociological Assocition. AJS, published by the University of Chicago, is the oldest U.S. sociology journal. Annual Review of Sociology publishes review articles that summarize and synthesize research on a single topic. AJS and Social Forces both include reviews of recent sociology books.
These journals publish articles on a variety of sociological topics. Most of them are sponsored by one of the regional sociological associations, like the Midwest Sociological Society, which publishes The Sociological Quarterly. Social Problems is the official journal of the Society for the Study of Social Problems; it publishes articles that examine contemporary social issues, often from a constructionist perspective. Annals and American Behavioral Scientist are both interdisciplinary journals that publishes theme issues, each of which includes several articles on the same topic.
In addition to the American Sociological Review, the American Sociological Association puts out these specialty journals, each of which focuses on a specific topic. Contemporary Sociology consists entirely of book reviews of new sociology books.
Some journals take a specific approach to sociological research. Some focus on particular methods, such as JCE (ethnography), Qualitative Sociology (qualitative methods), and SSR (quantitative methods). Some publish work using a specific sociological perspective, such as Critical Sociology and Symbolic Interaction, which is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
The American Sociologist publishes articles focusing on sociology and sociologists.
Each of these journals focuses on one particular area of the social sciences. Many of them are interdisciplinary journals, meaning they may publish work related to their topic from sociologists, anthropologists, economists, political scientists and other social scientists. All of the interdisciplinary journals listed here are those "that consistently address topics of sociological relevance, and in which sociologists regularly publish" (Sociological Abstracts).
The journals listed above include many of the most respected journals in sociology. The ISU library also provides access to many others. Consult this list of 2,000+ social science journals from the library or this list of 500+ sociology-related journals accessable through the Academic Search Elite database.
A number of other sociology journals are not accessible on-line through the ISU library. The ASA provides a list of 400+ journals on its web site and Sociological Abstracts provides this list of nearly 2,000 journals that publish sociological articles.
If a journal article you want is not available through the Iowa State library (either in print or on-line), you can order it using the library's interlibrary loan form. An PDF of the article is usually delivered to you within a few days.
The American Sociological Association is the national organization for sociologists in the United States. It sponsors a large (6,000+ participants) conference each summer, publishes leading sociology journals, and sponsors 44 sections focusing on sociological specialties (see below). Its members subscribe to its code of ethics.
The ASA web site includes information on "Sociology Major - Preparation for Careers" and "Careers in Sociology."
The Midwest Sociological Society is the regional sociologicial association for our region of the country. (There are either other regional associations.) Its annual meeting, held each spring, includes undergraduate paper sesssions and an award for best undergraduate paper. If you are considering a sociological career, attending MSS is a great way to sample a wide range of sociology and meet many friendly sociologists. The 2007 meeting will be held April 4-7 in Chicago.
Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction
Society for the Study of Social Problems
Association for the Sociology of Religion
Sociologists for Women in Society
Association of Black Sociologists
Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology
Association of Christians Teaching Sociology (ACTS)
Association for Humanist Sociology
The Christian Sociological Society
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport
International Sociological Association
American Society of Criminology
Population Association of America
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
International Society for Justice Research
The American Association sponsors sections, each of which consists of sociologists who share interest in a sociological subfield. The web pages maintained by these sections are often good places to start learning about one of these sociological specialties. The following sections have web pages:
Section on Aging and the Life Course
Section on Animals and Society
Section on Asian and Asian American
Section on Collective Behavior/Social Movements
Section on Communication and Information Technologies
Section on Community and Urban Sociology
Section on Crime, Law and Deviance
Section on Environment and Technology
Section on Sociology of the Family
Section on History of Sociology
Section on International Migration
Section on Labor and Labor Movements
Section on Latino/Latina Sociology
Section on Mathematical Sociology
Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work
Section on Peace, War and Social Conflict
Section on Political Economy of the World System
Section on Political Sociology
Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Section on Rationality and Society
Section on Science, Knowledge and Technology
Section on Sociological Practice