Sociology Research Guide

Pre-research is the process of exploring and learning about your topic before you dive into in-depth research or start searching databases. It involves getting background information, understanding the basics, and refining your topic or research question. This step is essential for any research project—whether for a Sociology course or any other subject—because it lays the foundation for effective, focused research.

Why is Pre-Research Useful?

• Builds Background Knowledge: Pre-research helps you understand the key facts, context, and main issues related to your topic, answering basic questions like who, what, when, and where.
• Refines Your Topic: By learning more, you can narrow or adjust your topic, making it more manageable and relevant to your assignment
  • For example,
    • Social Problems: Social problems encompass a wide range of issues affecting society. You might narrow your research to a specific social problem, such as homelessness, and further focus on the impact of housing policies on youth homelessness.
    • Sociology of Deviance: The sociology of deviance examines behaviors that violate social norms. Instead of covering all forms of deviance, you could focus on the social construction of juvenile delinquency or analyze how labeling theory explains the stigmatization of certain groups.
    • Sociology of Race and Ethnicity: This area studies how race and ethnicity shape social experiences and structures. You could investigate racial disparities in educational attainment or explore the experiences of second-generation immigrants in urban environments.
• Saves Time: Early exploration ensures your topic is viable and enough sources are available, helping you avoid last-minute changes.
• Guides Your Research: Pre-research helps you develop a focused research question, which is crucial for finding relevant sources later.

How to Do Pre-Research:

1. Choose a Topic: Start with a general area of interest.
2. Gather Background Information: To learn the basics, use encyclopedias, Wikipedia (for an overview, not as a final source), or introductory books and articles.
3. Ask Questions: What are the main issues? Who are the key people or groups? What events or debates are important?
4. Refine Your Focus: Narrow your topic and create a research question based on what you learn.

Check for Sources: Make sure enough academic sources are available on your topic.

Online reference books (eBooks) are helpful for finding background information because they contain a lot of information about your topic all in one place. eBooks can be found in our library databases and are available at any time without a library card. Here are just a few of our eBook databases to get you started.

For more eBooks, please visit our A to Z Databases and sort the database Types by eBooks.