ENGL 127 Research Writing: Social Sciences (Pittser)

This research guide is for students enrolled in Lina Pittser's English 127: Research Writing with a focus on Family, Gender, and Sexuality

Find Books

Books & Book Chapters

Search the Holman Library catalog (our collection) with One Search to find books (and other resources) owned by our library. 

  • You can use and cite just one relevant chapter from a book.
  • Be sure to limit to books.
  • You may also set a date limit, as shown in the example below.

(Click on image to enlarge)

One Search for Books


You may search directly in library ebook collections: 

Holman Library Catalog

Wondering what to type in the search box?

Try searching the following as Subject:
  • sex role
  • family
  • work and family
  • family--United States--Psychological aspects
  • marriage
  • social classes
  • mass media
  • multicultural education -- case studies
  • criminal justice 
  • children and violence 
Or use keywords and keyword combinations to find books on your topic. For example:
  • women AND work
  • gender AND "parenting roles"
  • ("gender nonconformity" OR "nonbinary gender")
  • masculin* AND sports

Beyond our collection: Interlibrary Loan

Using the Interlibrary Loan Service

InterLibrary Loan: No library has it all! But the InterLibrary Loan (or ILL) is a service offered by Holman Library for borrowing books and articles from other libraries. InterLibrary Loan requests are free to current GRC students, faculty and staff.

For your research, it is important to search many places.
  • First, start with the books and articles available through the Holman Library.

  • Then, If you find books and articles that the Library does NOT have access to, just request them through Interlibrary Loan.

  • Using Interlibrary Loan increases the amount of resources available to you and helps you become a more thorough researcher.

Note:
  • Books and other items that require mailing may take 1-2 weeks.

  • Articles and other digital items may arrive within 2-5 days. Use your email as your contact info and the article will be sent directly to you.

If you need help filling out this form, call the library reference desk at (253) 931-6480.

Other places you can search...

Use the links below to look for books, articles and more beyond our collection:

Why Books?

Why Use Books?

Books...
  • can get you a historical perspective on your topic to see how it has evolved over time
  • often are written by authors who are experts or have taken the time to do research on a particular subject
  • help you understand the complexity your topic
When you find a book...
  • you do not have to read the whole book! Instead look at the table of contents in the front to find which chapters will be most helpful to you
  • look in the back of the book.  Often there is a list of sources that the author consulted when he or she wrote the book.  You might want to use these sources for your research, too!

Is a "good" book for your research? Be sure you evaluate it!

Sample books in Holman Library