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ENGW 1102 - Gender and Gender Roles: Home

Where to begin?


Research Sources

When conducting research it is usually best to use scholarly sources such as journals and books. Scholarly journals are written by experts in their field and have been reviewed by other experts to make sure they are accurate. Many books can be considered scholarly as well, especially those published by University Presses and other reputable publishers. Scholarly sources tend to be less current because of this review process.

Current Events

Finding resources on current events is often different than doing scholary research on past events or topics. Current event coverage is usually limited to news sources such as newspapers, magazines, and websites. Books and scholarly journals take longer to produce and are usually written after an event but some do exist. 



Keyword Searching

When conducting a KEYWORD search it is best to take a moment to analyze your topic and determine what keyword will help you find what you're looking for in your research. Remember to also think of synonyms to your keywords. In the example below you can see a list of possible keywords based on your class assignments. 


Sample Keywords

Gender Gender Behavior
Masculine/Feminine/Transgender Shaming
Heterosexual/Homosexual Media 
Stereotypes/Sexism Cultural or Social Norms
Popular Culture Race
Body Image Discrimination
Equity/Equality Work or Educational Experience
Upbringing vs. Environment Sex Roles


It is usually easiest to use the default "All Fields" option when searching for books by KEYWORD, however sometimes it can be useful to search by SUBJECT HEADINGS. Subject headings are a how books are classified in the system and are very specific so you can get poor results if you don't use the correct terms, however if you do know the correct subject headings it can be very useful. Below are a list of subject headings that could be useful for your search. 

Sample Subject Headings


Autonomy (Psychology)
Body image
Family Policy
Feminist Ethics
Feminist Theory
Gay men
Human body--Moral and ethical aspects
Power (Social sciences)
Psychosexual development
Sex differences--Moral and ethical aspects
Sex Role
Social Norms
Stereotypes (Social psychology) Transgender youth

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