Sociology Research Guide

1. Open Educational Resources (OER)

• OER Commons: A digital library offering a variety of open educational resources, including textbooks and course materials for sociology.
• Open Textbook Library: Provides free access to a variety of sociology textbooks.

2. Online Courses and Lectures

• Coursera: Offers free courses on sociology topics from top universities. Auditing courses is usually free.
• edX: Provides free courses on various sociology topics from institutions like Harvard, MIT, and others.
• FutureLearn: Offers free courses on sociology and related subjects.
• Saylor Academy: Provides free courses on sociology and social sciences.

3. Textbooks and Reference Materials

• Project Gutenberg: Offers free access to many classic texts on sociology.
• Google Books: Provides previews and free access to a range of books on sociology and related fields.

4. Research and Journals

• Google Scholar: A freely accessible web search engine that indexes scholarly articles across various disciplines, including sociology.
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): Contains free, full-text, quality-controlled scientific and scholarly journals, including those focused on sociology.
• SocArXiv: A free open archive of preprints for the social sciences, providing early access to research in sociology.

5. Professional Organizations and Resources

• American Sociological Association (ASA): Offers a range of free resources, articles, and research updates for sociology students and professionals.
• International Sociological Association (ISA): Provides resources and publications related to various fields of sociology.

6. Podcasts and Webinars

• The Sociology Show: A podcast that discusses various sociology topics and interviews experts in the field.
• New Books in Sociology: A podcast that features interviews with sociologists about their latest research.
• Sociocast: Provides podcasts and interviews on contemporary sociology topics.

7. Interactive Learning Tools and Videos

• CrashCourse - Sociology: Offers engaging video tutorials on various topics in sociology.
• TED Talks: Provides numerous talks on social issues, inequality, and other sociology-related topics.

8. Online Communities and Forums

• Reddit - r/sociology: A community for discussing sociology topics and sharing resources.
• Sociology Stack Exchange: A Q&A site for asking and answering questions related to sociology.

9. Additional Educational Websites

• Simply Sociology: Offers articles and resources on a wide range of sociology topics.
• Verywell Mind: Provides articles and resources on various social issues and psychology topics relevant to sociology.
• MindTools: Offers resources on communication and interpersonal skills, which are crucial for sociology.

10. Libraries and Archives

• Internet Archive: Provides access to a vast collection of free books, including many on sociology.
• Library of Congress: Offers access to a vast collection of documents and resources, including many relevant to sociology.