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Introduction
Welcome! This guide is designed to help you locate research resources relating to families. Use the tabs to the left to navigate between different types of resources.
If you need further assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to a URI librarian via the contact information on this page.
Articles & Databases
Looking to find the most current research relating to families, or to do historical research about it? The URI Libraries offer access to many databases that can be used to find those materials. To learn more about how to discover journal or newspaper articles through the URI Libraries, be sure to check out our Getting Started @ The Libraries guide.
Not sure which databases to use? Browse the selected list below.
- Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? The international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Citations and abstracts for journals, books, dissertations, and conference papers in areas such as social structure, inequality, social change, and social problems. Updated monthly.
- What dates are covered? 1952 - Present.
- APA PsycInfo (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Citations and abstracts of journal articles and books in psychology, including applied psychology, developmental psychology, and personality. Updated twice weekly.
- What dates are covered? 1597 - Present.
- Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Indexing of nearly 1,200 periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, including magazines and scholarly journals.
- What dates are covered? 1907-1984.
- ERIC (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Citations to and abstracts of journals and other materials in education. Updated monthly.
- What dates are covered? 1966 - Present.
- Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? News, law, and business information service. Includes news from national and international newspapers; wire services and articles from hundreds of periodicals; and a number of other reference sources. All sources are full-text. Updated daily.
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What's included? Citations to and full text of over 8,500 journals and magazines, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Covers a wide range of academic subjects including the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, technology, and more.
- What dates are covered? Coverage varies, but generally covers the mid 1990s - present. Updated daily.
General Families Reference
Just getting started with your research on families? These general reference resources will help you learn the terminology and basic concepts involved.
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies by Call Number: Online AccessISBN: 9780470658451Publication Date: 2016The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary collection of the key concepts, trends, and processes relating to the study of families and family patterns throughout the world.
The Social History of the American Family by Call Number: Carothers Library Reference - Non Circulating - HQ535 .S63 2014; Online AccessISBN: 9781452286167Publication Date: 2014Chronicles the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of American families from the colonial period to the present. Key themes include families and culture (including mass media), families and religion, families and the economy, families and social issues, families and social stratification and conflict, family structures (including marriage and divorce, gender roles, parenting and children, and mixed and non-modal family forms), and family law and policy.
Methods of Family Research by Call Number: Online AccessISBN: 9781412992831Publication Date: 2012Introduces the basic concepts of social science research methods without excessive technical details. Uses real-life examples to illustrate important concepts that family researchers encounter regularly, while covering traditional quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and the mixed-method approach.
Books
Looking to do more in-depth research about families? The URI Libraries offer many books which take a highly detailed look at many aspects of families and family life. To learn more about how to discover books at the URI Libraries, be sure to check out our Getting Started @ The Libraries guide.
To locate books specifically about families, conduct a subject search in the URI Libraries Search for any of the following subjects:
- families
- families -- United States
- families -- research
- families -- history
These subject headings can also be combined with keywords related to your topic for more specific results.
Not sure where to start? Browse the selected books presented below.
Families in America by Call Number: Carothers Library Stacks - HQ536 .B774 2017ISBN: 9780520285880Publication Date: 2017Employs ethnographic vignettes and demographic data to introduce students to twenty-first century perspectives on contemporary families. Includes coverage of the legalization of same-sex marriage and policy debates on welfare reform and work-family issues, as well as the rise in non-marital childbearing and single-mother families and the decline of “traditional” marriage.
LGBT Families by Call Number: Online AccessISBN: 9781452217383Publication Date: 2014Presents a comprehensive yet accessible understanding of LGBT families today by drawing upon and making sense of the burgeoning scholarly literature about them from recent years. Pays particular attention to how structures of race, class, gender, sexuality, and age shape LGBT families, and how members of such families negotiate the social landscapes within which they exist.
Random Families by Call Number: Online AccessISBN: 9780190888275Publication Date: 2018Discusses the concept of unprecedented families - networks of strangers linked by genes, medical technology, and the human desire for affinity and identity. Chronicles the chain of choices that couples and single mothers make: how to conceive, how to place sperm donors in their family tree, and what to do when it suddenly becomes clear that there are children out there that share half their child's DNA.
Same Family, Different Colors by Call Number: Carothers Library Stacks - E185.62 .T468 2016ISBN: 9780807076781Publication Date: 2016Explores the issue of colorism and color bias - the preference for or presumed superiority of people based on the color of their skin - in African American, Latino, Asian American, and mixed-race families and communities by weaving together personal stories, history, and analysis. Presents a snapshot of the myriad ways skin-color politics affect family dynamics in the United States.
Internet Resources
Still looking for more information about families? Below you'll find a list of internet resources related to the subject.
General:
- American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS)
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This organization's website is geared towards students and professionals in family related fields. Includes links on professional development, advocacy and other resources. - National Council on Family Relations
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This organization's website provides links to articles, blog posts and other online sources of family topics information. It also provides information on career development, grant writing, and other topics of interest for professionals. - National Parenting Center
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This site provides many useful links for parents and anyone who works with children. This includes information on toy and product recalls as well as reviews of recommended products. There are also many short articles written by doctors and other professionals covering a wide variety of topics from pregnancy to adolescence. - Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families
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Official website for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families. Offers information about and descriptions of the department’s programs and services.
Statistical:
- ChildStats.gov
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Annual monitoring report of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics which was established to foster coordination and collaboration in the collection and reporting of Federal data on children and families. - Kids Count
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Profiles, graphs, maps, and rankings of the educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of children in the U.S., state by state. - Statistical Abstract of the United States
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"The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web." Older print editions of the abstract are available through the catalog. Electronic version of the Statistical Abstract of the United States. All files in Adobe Acrobat format. -2012. For newer editions, see Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest).
- Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? The authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States.
- What dates are covered? 1878 - Present.
Created and Modified By
Created by Ida D. McGhee 9/05.
Modified by Erica Cataldi, 8/11; David Bernardo, 4/20.