• Are welfare mothers of small children better off since Congress passed the welfare reform law in 1996?
  • What is meant by "small children?"
  • Where does the person live?
  • Use quantitative and/or qualitative data?

• Separate the individual concepts
  • welfare mothers
  • small children
  • better off
  • welfare reform law
  • 1996

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Evaluating the Literature

• Who is the author?
  • Can the author be considered an authority?

• What is the author's affiliation?

• Which journal published the article?
  • Is the journal peer reviewed?

• When was the article published?

• Evaluate the content

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Other Questions

• Do you have a bias?

• Does the evidence you gather and cite confirm your bias?

• Are you including both supporting and contradictory evidence?

• Does your paper try to reconcile the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence?

• Are your findings true for all cultures?

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Social Sciences Research

Check CAMEO for additional resources.

• Developing Effective Research Proposals (2000)
  STACKS-2  H62 .P92 2000
  

• Dictionary of Social and Market Research (1996)
  REF-1  H62 .K67 1996
  
  
• Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods (1998)
  REF-1  H62 .H24534 1998
  
  
• Handbook of Research Design & Social Measurement (2002)
  REF-1  H62 .M44 2002
  

• Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms (1997)
  REF-1  H61 .S4435 1997
  
  
• Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences (2001)
  STACKS-2  H61 .B4715 2001

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Style Guides

• Chicago Manual of Style (2003)
  Hunt Reference Desk PE1408 .C5 15TH 2003

• Merriam-Webster's Manual for Writers & Editors (1998)
  REF-1  PN147 .M49 1998

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Citing Sources

• Print (Hunt Reference Desk)
  • A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (1996)
    REF-1 LB2369 .T8 2007
    AKA: Chicago Style or Turabian

  • MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003)
    REF-1 LB2369 .G53 2003

  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001)
    REF-1 BF76.7 .P83 2001

• Electronic
  • Citing Digital and Print Resources
    This provides online access to different citation guides.

• Another option is to choose a style preferred by a major policy journal and use it consistently.
  • Political Science Examples
    • American Political Science Review
    • American Journal of Political Science

  • Economics Examples
    • American Economic Review
    • Journal of Political Economy

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Afeworki Paulos, Social Sciences Librarian
apaulos2@andrew.cmu.edu
(412) 268-6116

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