Sociological Abstracts is the premier online resource for researchers, professionals and students in sociology and related disciplines. Sociological Abstracts includes the following subfiles:
Sociofile is a subset of Sociological Abstracts, distinguished only by dates of coverage: 1974 to the present. The coverage for SOPODA is current through 1999.
The following areas are covered in SOCA and SOCI:
activism and action research gerontology case work media community organization policy sciences demographics political science family studies social security programs feminist studies sociology
Thesaurus:
When a searcher enters a natural language subject term it is automatically converted to the appropriate Sociological Abstracts Subject Heading. The Ovid thesaurus provides a graphical display; browsing of broader and narrower terms as well as related terms; and displays important postings information.
Ovid Mapping:
Natural language terms are matched to the appropriate Thesaurus of Sociological Abstracts Subject Headings. Access to the Thesaurus is also available from the Mapping screen.
Extensive On-Screen Support:
Context-sensitive Help, Scope Notes, definitions and task descriptions are all available on screen to guide users through successful and thorough searches.
The following alphabetical list provides the two-letter label, the relevant alias, and an example for each Sociological Abstracts/sociofile field.
===== ============ Label Name/Example ===== ============ ab Abstract [Word Indexed] example 1: mental illness.ab. example 2: israel.ab. The Abstract (AB) field summarizes the content of the document and generally describes the background, methods, results, and conclusions. Once a record has been included in the database with a full abstract, subsequently published versions selected for coverage are entered with complete citations, indexing, and a reference in the abstract to the accession number of the original record. am Association Name [Word Indexed] example 1: sssp.as. example 2: social problems.am. The Assocation Name (AM) field indicates which association is responsible for publishing an association paper. This field includes the full name of the assocation as well as the Assocation Abbreviation (AS), and displays as part of the Source [SO] field. an Accession Number [Phrase Indexed] example: 9507689.an. The Accession Number (AN) field contains an alphanumeric code which uniquely identifies each record. The first two digits of the accession number represent the year of publication in the database; this is followed by a five-digit number assigned sequentially beginning with 00001 each year. Prior to 1993, the first two digits were followed by an alphabetic character and a four-digit sequential number. Six alphabetic characters are reserved for specific document types. For records originating from Sociological Abstracts: "a" designates book reviews, "c" for book abstracts, and "S" for association papers. For records originating from SOPODA, three letters are used to identify the general classification section into which the record fits: "D" for Social Development, "P" for Social Planning/Policy, and "W" for Social Welfare. as Association Abbreviation [Phrase Indexed] example: sssp.as. The Association Abbreviation (AS) field indicates which association is responsible for publishing an association paper. This field includes only the association abbreviation; the Association Name (AM) field contains the full name of the association. au Author [Phrase Indexed] example 1: huff c ronald ed.ra. example 2: huff c ronald.ra. The Author (AU) field contains all of the authors of an article or publication. The author names are indexed in the format of last name followed by first and middle names or up to two initials, as they appeared in the original article. Thus, a person named James Charles Smith may appear as Smith James C, Smith J. Charles, Smith JC, or Smith J. cc Classification Codes [Phrase Indexed] example: 0410.cc. Classification Codes (CC) are 4-digit numbers representing broad subject categories within Sociological Abstracts. Both the 4-digit numbers and the subject categories which they represent are displayed. Documents having more than one major focus are classified into all appropriate areas; prior to 1985, each document was assigned one classification code representing the primary focus of the article. cd CODEN [Phrase Indexed] example: aslqar.cd. The CODEN (CD) field contains the standard 6-letter CODEN for the journal in which the document was published. CODENS are assigned by the International Standards Organization (ISO). cp Country of Publication [Phrase Indexed] example: united states.cp. The Country of Publication (CP) field designates the country in which the source document was originally published. em Entry Month [Phrase Indexed] example: 9601.em. 9601.up. The Entry Month (EM) field contains a four-digit number in the format YYMM, representing the year and month in which an item was entered into the database. This field may also be searched with the UP [update] label. ev Review Evaluation [Phrase Indexed] example: very favorable.ev. The Review Evaluation (EV) field, in review records, indicates whether the review is favorable or unfavorable. The evaluations assigned are: very favorable review, favorable review, neutral review, unfavorable review, and very unfavorable review. ey Edition Year [Phrase Indexed] example: 1990.ey. The Edition Year (EY) field contains the year of publication for monographs. If previous editions of the monograph exist, the original edition year is included. Both the edition year and original edition year are indexed in the Edition Year index. Searching for "1994" will retrieve both monographs originally published in 1994 and monographs published in later years for which the original publication was in 1994. hw Heading Word [Word Indexed] example: homelessness.hw. The Heading Word (HW) field allows you to search using all Subject Headings (SH) containing a particular word. The postings for a particular Heading Word will include all postings which would be obtained by searching every Subject Heading containing that word. The old field label, DE, is an alias for HW. ib ISBN [Phrase Indexed] example: 968-6233-04-0.ib. The ISBN (IB) field contains the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for monographs. id Key Phrase Identifiers [Word Indexed] example: homeless population.id. The Key Phrase Identifiers (ID) field contains an "abstract of the abstract," indicating, as appropriate, the dependent and independent variables, tests and measures, populations and locations, and additional information such as type of study. in Author Affiliation [Word Indexed] example: michigan state.in. The Institution (IN) field contains the complete address of the senior author when provided in the source journal or by the author in an author-written abstract. Beginning in 1987, if the senior author's affiliation is not given, the second (or third) author's affiliation is used (if available), preceded by the author's last name. is ISSN [Phrase Indexed] example: 1192-1854.is. The ISSN (IS) field contains the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the journal in which an article was published. jd Journal Description [Word Indexed] example: anthropology.jd. The Journal Description (JD) field contains the bibliographic information needed to find an article within the source publication. It includes year, month, volume, issue/part, and pagination. jn Journal Name [Phrase Indexed] example 1: journal of social issues.jn. example 2: addiction.jn. The Journal Name (JN) field contains the full name of the journal in which an article was published. This field usually displays as part of the Source (SO) field. jw Journal Word [Word Indexed] example: alcohol.jw. The Journal Word (JW) field contains individual words from every journal name in the database. Stopwords such as "the" or "of" are not included. This field is used to retrieve every occurance of a journal which includes a particular word, such as "society". lc Library of Congress Catalog Number [Phrase Indexed] example: 75-17289.lc. The Library of Congress Catalog Number (LC) contains the catalog number assigned by the Library of Congress when available for monographs. lg Language [Phrase Indexed] example: eng.lg. The Language (LG) field contains the language(s) of publication of an article or monograph. The language name is spelled out in full form. lr Reviewed Document Language [Phrase Indexed] example: fre.lr. The Reviewed Document Language (LR) field indicates the language of the document under review. The language name will appear in the index as a 3-letter code (such as fre for French); the codes are usually, but not always, the first three letters of the language name. The old field label, DL, may be used as an alias) nt General Notes [Word Indexed] example 1: available.nt. example 2: french translation.nt. example 3: comment#.nt. The Notes (NT) field contains additional notes relevant to the source document. The Notes field indicates either that the document being abstracted is followed by a short article or articles commenting on the original source document, the document is a translation, or the association paper is available from sociological abstracts' Document Delivery Service. In dissertation records for dissertations which are available from UMI, the Notes field supplies a UMI order number. The old field label, AV, is an alias for NT. ot Original Title [Word Indexed] example 1: quebec.ot. example 2: fetes feminines.ot. The Original Title (OT) field contains non-English titles in the original document language. If the original article title was in a non-Roman alphabet, the OT is transliterated. When searching for French titles, omit article prefixes, e.g., "etude" not "l'etude." pb Book Publisher [Word Indexed] example 1: sage publications.pb. example 2: london.pb. The Book Publisher (PB) field contains the publisher of the source document for monographs as well as bibliographic information, including page numbers when a record refers to a specific article or chapter. pr Book Price and Binding [Word Indexed] example 1: "1000".pr. (this searches for $10.00) example 2: paper.pr. The Book Price and Binding (PR) field contains the binding and format information for a book in addition to the approximate retail price associated with the item. pt Publication Type [Phrase Indexed] example 1: abstract of journal article.pt. example 2: book review.pt. The Publication Type (PT) field contains the type of article or monograph that the record describes. All records in the database are assigned one of the following publication type designations: Abstract of a Journal Article, Association Paper, Book Abstract, Book Chapter Abstracts, Book Review, Dissertation, Film Review, Game Review, Instructional Kit, Microforms, or Software Review. ra Reviewed Document Author [Phrase Indexed] example 1: huff c ronald ed.ra. example 2: huff c ronald.ra. The Reviewed Document Author (RA) field contains the author of a reviewed work. The author names are indexed in the format of last name followed by first and middle names or up to two initials, as they appeared in the original article. Thus, a person named James Charles Smith may appear as Smith James C, Smith J Charles, Smith JC, or Smith J. Note that the old field label, DA, is an alias for RA. sf Subfile [Phrase Indexed] example 2: 17-1-1995.sf. The Subfile (SF) field contains the subfile (Sociological Abstracts or Social Planning/Policy & Development Abstracts) that the record originates from as well as the edition (volume, issue, and year) of the subfile. sh Subject Headings [Phrase Indexed] example 1: sex differences.sh. example 2: prisons.sh. The Subject Headings (SH) field contains the Subject Headings (also known as "descriptors" or "index terms") used by indexers at Sociological Abstracts, Inc. to describe the content of a document. Since 1986, Subject Headings are assigned from the Thesaurus of Sociological Indexing Terms; prior to 1986, Subject Headings were assigned from a cumulative authority file. Since 1996, Subject Headings which describe the major focus of a document will appear preceded by an asterisk (*); prior to 1996, major focus was not assigned to Subject Headings. The old field label, DE, is an alias for SH. so Source [JD, JN, PB, YR fields] example 1: winter.so. example 2: 1990.so. example 3: "31-47".so. The Source (SO) field includes a display of all of the basic information needed to locate a citation, including the Journal Name or Monograph Publisher, the volume/issue, pagination, and year of publication. ti Title [Word Indexed] example 1: ethnic relations.ti. example 2: childrearing.ti. The Title (TI) field contains the title of an article as it appeared in the print publication. English-language translations are included for non-English titles; the Original Title (OT) field contains the title in the original document language. yr Year of Publication [Phrase Indexed] example: 1996.yr. The Year of Publication (YR) field contains the year in which an article or monograph was published.
The following alphabetical list contains the Ovid limits relevant to the Sociological Abstracts/sociofile databases. The command line options are outlined below; all available limits are also selectable from the limit list.
Abstracts command syntax: ..l/1 ab=y sentence syntax: limit 1 to abstracts Available from UMI sentence syntax: limit 1 to available from umi English command syntax: ..l/1 lg=eng sentence syntax: limit 1 to english Languages command syntax: ..l/1 lg=fre sentence sytnax: limit 1 to french Latest Update command syntax: ..l/1 up=y sentence syntax: limit to latest update Non-English Language sentence syntax: limit 1 to non english language Publication Type command syntax: ..l/1 pt=book review sentence syntax: limit 1 to book review Publication Year Command Syntax: ..l/1 yr=1994 Review Evaluation sentence syntax: limit 1 to very favorable review Subfile sentence syntax: limit 1 to soca command ayntax: ..l/1 sf=soca command syntax: ..l/1 sf=spda Update Code command syntax: ..l/1 up=9402
Sociological Abstracts Command Syntax: ..c/soca Sentence Syntax: use soca Sociofile Command Syntax: ..c/soci Sentence Syntax: use soci
<1> Accession Number Abstract of Journal Article: 97W25866. Author Suris, Joan-Carles; Parera, Nuria; Puig, Conxita. Institution Unitat Adolescents Instit U Dexeus, E-08017 Barcelona Spain. Title Chronic Illness and Emotional Distress in Adolescence. Source Journal of Adolescent Health, 1996, 19, 2, Aug, 153-156 Abstract Compares emotional distress & suicidal ideation among adolescents with & without chronic illness via 1993 survey data collected from 1,027 students in Spain. It was found that adolescents with chronic conditions were no more likely to visit a mental health professional than were healthier teenagers. However, females with chronic conditions exhibited more symptoms of emotional distress than did males or nonchronic females. 2 Tables, 36 References. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1997, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.) Key Phrase Identifiers emotional distress, non- vs chronically ill adolescents; 1993 survey data; Spain. Subject Headings *Psychological Distress *Chronic Illness *Adolescents *Suicide Spain Sex Differences Classification Codes social welfare -- illness & health care (6140). Language English. Country of Publication United States. Publication Type Abstract of Journal Article. CODEN JAHCD9. Subfile Social Planning/Policy & Development Abstracts: 19(1) 1997. ISSN 1054-139X. Entry Month 9701. <2> Accession Number Abstract of Journal Article: 83N0892. Author Bouillier, Veronique. Title When Women Have Festivals...Women's Festivals among High Caste Indo-Nepalese. [French]. Original Title Si les femmes faisaient la fete...A propos des fetes feminines dans les hautes castes indo-nepalaises. Source L'Homme, 1982, 22, 3, July-Sept, 91-118 Abstract Women are entirely excluded from some high-caste festivals of the Indo-Nepalese calendar. Other festivals, however, are exclusively or predominantly for women. Analysis of six festivals shows how certain mythic & ritual elements contain discourse about women's lives & roles. Within the annual cycle of these six festivals, the completed picture of the ideal woman's behavior is demonstrated, showing her functioning as perfect sister, wife, & mother. However, though these festivals are about women, they mirror the goals of the dominant masculine society, as well as the fundamental ambivalence of Hindu society toward women & sexuality (illustrated, eg, in the myth of Siva & Parvati). These festivals, reserved in character, are also informed by the social theme of a woman's status, in her family of origin & in her married state. Modified HA (Copyright 1983, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.) Key Phrase Identifiers women's festivals, high caste Indo-Nepalese, lives/roles presentation. Subject Headings Females Festivals Nepal India Caste Systems Classification Codes culture and social structure -- social anthropology (0514). Language French. Country of Publication France. Publication Type Abstract of Journal Article. CODEN HRFAAJ. Subfile Sociological Abstracts: 31(3) 1983. ISSN 0439-4216. Entry Month 8303.
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Last Revised 8 April, 1997