Fletcher Library at the West Campus

SOC 341: Modern Social Problems

Professor: Dr. Carol Mueller
Librarian: Lisa Kammerlocher

Statistics
Media Attention
Social Claims Arenas	Citing the Internet and Electronic Resources

Locating Statistics

Your assignment is to find annual statistics on a social problem spanning the time frame 1980 - present. You may find statistics in a print, electronic or microfiche format. The formats and dates available for each source are indicated below.

START HERE: Quick tables

Statistical Abstract of the United States (1959 - )
HA202 .A388 West Ref, most recent at Reference Desk
Provides current and older tables of data on social, political, economic, health and other topics. Great starting place -- some students are able to find ALL of their data here! (catalog record)

Lexis Nexis Statistical (1996 - )
Use the Power Tables option. Provides quick tables of data from Statistical Abstract of the United States and other sources. Some students may have to use the print edition to get data from previous years.

FedStats
http://www.fedstats.gov/
A gateway to federal agency statistics by topic and by agency.

ASU West Statistics Page
http://www.west.asu.edu/refguides/quick/statistics.html
Provides links to statistical sources available via the Web. Arranged by general topic.

NEXT STEP: Subject specific print resources

HINT: Click on (catalog record) to determine the number of years owned by Fletcher Library.

Children and Women

American Women: Who They Are and Where They Live (2002)
HQ1421 .A486 West Ref
(catalog record)

Trends in the Well Being of America's Children and Youth
HQ792 .U5 T73 2002 West Ref
(catalog record)

Youth Indicators
HQ799.7 .Y6x West Ref
(catalog record)

Crime

Crime in the United States / Uniform crime reports for the United States
HV6787 .A3 West Ref
(catalog record)

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
HV7245 .N376 West Ref
(catalog record)

Education

Condition of Education
L 11 .C695x West Ref
(catalog record)

Digest of Education Statistics
LA 209.2 .D5x
(catalog record)

Health

Health in the United States: A Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
RA407.3 .U57a West Ref
(catalog record)

World Health Statistics Annual
RA651 .A4852x West Ref
(catalog record)

Immigration and Migration

World Refugee Survey
HV640. W63 West Ref
(catalog record)

LAST RESORT: Try an index to HUGE collections of statistics on microfiche

Lexis Nexis Statistical (1996 + )

Connect
"Search Abstracts" should be selected to the left by default
Use web link, or if not available...
Use "Record Number" to locate microfiche

Assignment 2: Media Attention

For this assignment you will be using one of the following sources to identify the number of articles written on your topic during a 20 year period

Newsbank Full-Text Newspapers
Access to the full-text of a wide range of American newspapers.

HINTS:

1. Use "more options" menu for easy searching
2. Enter your search terms in the appropriate boxes
3. Choose to search full-text or headline and lead paragraph
4. Type in your search words using the best strategy (and, or)
5. Type in date ranges

Atlanta Journal Constitution, (1985 - )
Boston Globe, (1980 - )
Chicago Tribune, (1985 - )
Houston Chronicle, (1985 - )
Los Angeles Times, (1985 - )
Miami Herald, (1983 - )
Philadelphia Inquirer, (1981 - )
San Francisco Chronicle, (1985 - )
Washington Post, (1977 - )

Lexis Nexis Academic News - New York Times

1. Click on Sources
2. Type in New York Times
3. Click on "search this title" - a guided search form will appear to assist you
4. Enter your search wordsvin the appropriate boxes - use truncation as needed
5. Decide what you want to count:

a) articles with your search terms anywhere in the article (fulltext), or
b) articles with your search terms in the title and first paragraph

6. Decide on the best way for your terms to be combined (and, or, and not, w/p)

and - retrieves articles in which both terms are present ex. legaliz! and drug
or - retrieves articles in which either term is present ex. drug or narcotic or cocaine
w/p - retreives articles in which both terms are in the same paragraph

7. Specify the dates you want to search. If you there are more than 1000 hits, you may have to split the year and add your results together.

Assignment 3: Social Claims Arenas

For this assignment you will be using a wide range of information sources to identify participants in the social claims arenas for your topic. Use the strategies and sources below to identify social claims arena participants: A. Government Agencies, B. Special Interest Groups, C. Individuals.

Step 1: Identify organizations using Web search engines, directories and selected activism sites.

Search Engines and Directories

Political Advocacy Groups: A Directory of United States Lobbyists
http://www.csuchico.edu/~kcfount
"Whether you want to understand the actions of an organization or a politician, find a journalistic source, lend your support to a cause, or find an internship or job, this project will provide a starting point to acquaint you with the variety of advocacy groups in the United States."

Yahoo Directory: Society and Culture - Issues and Causes
http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/

Google Directory: Society - Issues
http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/

Google Advanced Search
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
Put your keywords in one of the following fields: "with all of the words" or "with the exact phrase."
For the domain - type in .org

Selected Activism Web Sites

Multi-Issue Movement Sites
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~amerstu/smc/multi.html
Small selected list of social movements sites. Includes some unique links.

One World
http://www.oneworld.org/
Access to over 350 social justice organizations, including some current news information.

Protest.Net
http://www.Protest.Net/
A calendar of protests, meetings, and conferences worldwide.

SocioSite: Society, Social Problems and Solutions
http://www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/TOPICS/Activism.html#SPECIAL
Links to categories of Activism, Collective Action, Social Movements, Utopianism

Yahoo: Society and Culture - Issues and Causes
http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/
Wide-ranging and comprehensive list of topics.

Step 2: Identify individuals or government agencies using News and Congressional hearings.

News

Mainstream

Washington Post via Lexis Nexis Academic Universe
- news - general news for reporting on issues and Congress.

Specialized

Ethnic Newswatch
Ethnic and native press from across the U.S.

Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/

Alt-Press Watch
A full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press.

Congressional Hearings - to identify those who testify during the legislative process

Lexis-Nexis Congressional Universe
Testimony

Scholarly Journal and Popular Magazine Articles

Academic Search Elite (EBSCO Host)

Periodical Index Online

Books

ASU Libraries Catalog

Step 3: Identify number of members and the budget of organizations using the following:

Directories of Associations

Encyclopedia of Associations - (includes a State and Regional volume) AS22 .E5 West Ref
Associations Unlimited (electronic version of Encyclopedia of Associations)

Important Notice: Most of the software, indexes, databases and other electronic resources available through the Arizona State University Libraries are owned by various persons and entities and are licensed to ASU. The products are protected by copyright and other laws. Use is limited to ASU students, faculty, staff and library users.Unauthorized reproduction, transfer, alteration and/or use of the resources is prohibited. ASU makes no representation or warranty as to the electronic resources. ASU is not responsible for the content, format, accuracy or availability of the resources. ASU will have no responsibility or liability relating to the resources.

Modified: October 16, 2007,