Search these catalogs for books on your research topic.
This list, originally compiled by San Jose State University librarian Kathryn Blackmer-Reyes, includes common topics within social science. These make useful keywords when searching our databases. One way to help create your topic or research inquiry is to choose an approach from the first column and link it to one or two topics in the remaining columns.
| Approaches | Topics | ||
| An analysis of... | Abortion | Gang violence | Racial profiling |
| A comparison between... | Affirmative action | Gay rights | Racism |
| The consequences of... | Age discrimination | Genetically modified food | Rape |
| The effectiveness of.... | Addiction and substance abuse | Gentrification | Retail profiling |
| The efficacy of.... | Animal rights | Global warming | Recycling and conservation |
| The impact of.... | Birth control | Gun control | Right to work |
| Findings from.... | Bulimia nervosa/Anorexia nervosa | Gun rights | Same-sex marriage |
| The relationship between... | Bullying | Hate crimes | Sex trade |
| A review of.... | Campus crime | Hazing | Sexism |
| Capital punishment/Death penalty | Health care | Sexual harassment | |
| Child abuse | Home foreclosures | Shopping while black | |
| Child labor | Human trafficking | Single parenting | |
| Classism | Hunger | Social media and privacy | |
| Climate change | Immigration/immigrants | Spousal abuse/Intimate partner abuse | |
| Cloning | Illiteracy | Steroid use in sports | |
| Corporal punishment | Legalization of marijuana | Suicide | |
| Cyber bullying | Mass murder | Sweat shops | |
| Date rape | Mental health | Teen pregnancy | |
| Debt | Minimum wage | Terrorism | |
| Disaster relief | Obesity | Unemployment | |
| Domestic violence | Opiods | Union busting | |
| Driving while black | Outsourcing jobs | Vigilantism | |
| Eating disorders | Police brutality | Violence in schools | |
| Education/Charter schools | Pollution | Voter disenfranchisement | |
| Environmental pollution | Population growth | Voting rights restrictions | |
| Environmental racism | Pornography | War | |
| Equal pay | Poverty | Workplace violence | |
| Euthanasia/Mercy killing/Assisted suicide | Prayer in school | ||
| Excessive force by law enforcement | Prisons/Sentencing | ||
| Felony disenfranchisement | Prostitution |
Interlibrary Services (ILS) is available to request books, articles, and other items. Often the Rapido link is provided directly in the database and is the easiest way to submit a request. Follow the "Get it from another library" link or visit the InterLibrary Loan Services Page and click "Submit InterLibrary Loan Request" button. Use the form to complete your request.
To learn more about the Rapido and ILS services, view the ILS library news announcement .
