LibGuides: H S Honors Thesis: Background Information

Books and Encyclopedias

Try searching in the library catalog for books about health and social issues using broad terms first, then narrow down your results.

For example, you may want to try multiple combinations to find the best terms, as every combo will result different results:

school lunch and health

school lunch and nutrition

school lunch and obesity

Or try an encyclopedia:

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology This link opens in a new window
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Offers concise, expert definitions and explanations of the key concepts written by leading scholars in the field, including several faculty from the University of Texas at Austin. Provides a comprehensive survey of 33 editorial areas, each of which represents a major area of inquiry within sociology. Entries range from short definitions of key terms to extended explorations of major topics. Covers both classical sociology and contemporary developments in the field, with introductions to sociological theories and research that have developed outside of the United States and Western Europe.
SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
Selected titles. Unlimited users.
Platform for Sage book and reference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, and more. Only select book titles purchased by the UT Libraries are fully accessible.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide

Use a scoped Google search to limit your results to .org/.gov/.edu websites.

For example, to find governmental websites about alternative medicine, try searching:

alternative medicine site:gov

To find statistics from think tanks about the Affordable Care Act, try searching:

affordable care act statistics site:org