This pages lists resources that we used in our research. Some can be accessed by only PSU students, but others can be accessed by anyone.
Finding Scholarly Articles
Scholarly journal articles are peer-reviewed studies in which a scholar (usually a professor) presents their research. Scholarly articles differ from the popular magazines and newspapers we read each day. For a warm-up activity on scholarly vs. popular articles, try the “WordShoot” game .
Please download the Scholarly vs Trade vs Popular–Criminal Justice chart. Are the following articles scholarly, professional, or popular?
Scholarly Journal Article Databases (only Penn State students can access)
- LionSearch–searches all majors, all fields.
- Criminal Justice Abstracts–the best database for crime-related research.
- Sociological Abstracts–a specialty database for sociology.
- PsychInfo–a database of psychology articles. The advanced searhc lets you limit to specific research methodologies such as quantitative or qualitative.
General Resources on Reading and Berks County (anyone can access)
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Berks County Official Website–start Berks-related research here.
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Berks County Latino Chamber of Commerce–excellent news source for Latino economic issues.
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Berks County Census Data–data on the general population, specific groups, more. Check out the “American Community Survey” for educational attainment, poverty stats, and more.
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City of Reading Official Website–click under “Government” for city council minutes that might record discussions related to your topic.
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Reading Eagle–largest newspaper for Reading.
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WFMZ–Berks Regional News–videos and more.
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Reading–Open Data–a treasure chest of statistics about Reading schools, economic development, and more.
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Reading PA Tops Poverty List–a New York Times article with powerful descriptions of poverty in Reading.
- Hispanic Center of Reading and Berks Reading–“The mission of the Hispanic Center is to support and enhance the acculturation of the Latino population in the Greater Reading area.”
GIS Mapping Tools (only Penn State students can access)
- Maps & Geospatial: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Library Guide–“resources to discover GIS data, learn about GIS, and provide references for research.”
- Social Explorer–“provides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to present. It allows you to easily create visual maps and reports for a variety of variables.”