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GERONTOLOGY
SUBJECT GUIDE
Gerontology
is the study of aging and what it means in/for society.
Geriatrics, which is much more to do with the biological aging of the
body, is a part of it but is not the same subject. Gerontology is
also closely related to Sociology.
DATABASES/JOURNALS
ULM has access to fantastic databases contain information you can't get
on your own. This is a great entry point for finding journals and
articles. These links should work on campus, but for accessing them at
home you will need to connect with a login.
Annual
Reviews
Another databases that provide access to scholarly literature in the
sciences, including the Social Sciences, but only of the specific
publisher Annual Reviews (all the titles begin with "Annual Review
of"). It can make articles available in html full
text and/or .pdf.
EBSCO
As ever, EBSCO is a great way to do research. It is actually an
aggregator, and that means that it searches lots of different databases
at the same time. For Gerontology, one might want to select these
particular ones (to avoid getting irrelevant hits):
Academic Search Premier
Alt HealthWatch
CINAHL Plus with Full Text
Legal Collection
Newspaper Source
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
SocINDEX with Full Text
MEDLINE
PsycINFO
Academic Search Complete
LexisNexis
Academic Search
This is best known for its excellent news searches and worldwide scope,
but don't forget the "legal research" option and "legal news."
Since the law is a reflection of society in many ways, how your topic
is being handled by the legal community is worth consideration.
(This is not the same LexisNexis that lawyers use, however)
JSTOR - The scholarly journal archive
There are many journals on JSTOR-- it means "Journal storage."
You can search by issues and genres, and inside the article text
itself. JSTOR brings you journal pages just as they appear in
print-- and just as usefully, as they are in .pdf format and you can't
select text.
ProQuest
(through LOUIS Statewide Databases)
Proquest is an aggregator similar to EBSCO, so its content depends on
which databases the University has bought. At ULM, it allows
access to two potentially useful databases, "Dissertations &
Theses" and "ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source."
GOVERNMENTAL
WEBSITES
AgingStats.gov
"The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics (Forum) was
initially established in 1986, with the goal of bringing together
Federal agencies that share a common interest in improving
aging-related data." This site has current data sets specifically
about older Americans across other subjects.
Dept. of Health & Human Services
Administration on Aging
The Dept. of Health & Human Services has an administration
specifically about aging, which covers many aspects of aging and
especially ones useful to people, such as laws, information, and
programs which they may benefit from.
Senior Citizens'
Resources at USA.gov
Usa.gov (once known as firstgov.gov) has collected some useful links
about and for seniors in America. Relevant issues and services
are listed, and other articles, statistics and more are linked at the
right. Usa.gov itself is a portal to sundry government websites
and more information, and thus can be useful
Senate Special Committee on Aging
Senate committees are a part of the law making process in the
government, and this is the website of the one made to discuss matters
related to aging. It lists committee members, its rules, issues,
hearings (complete with video), news, and more.
Office of Elderly Affairs
This is not in fact a federal government resource, but a resource from
the state of Louisiana. It explains services available to the
Louisiana elderly and provides useful links.
GENERAL
INTERNET RESOURCES
The American Geriatrics
Society (AGS)
"The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a not-for-profit organization
of over 6,700 health professionals devoted to improving the health,
independence and quality of life of all older people." The
website has employment information, some listings of its publications,
news, and various resources under the link "public
education.”
The Merck Manual Of
Geriatrics
This is full text and browse able in html and can be searched. It
contains information on a variety of disorders associated with the
elderly.
The Gerontological Society of America
The website of the GSA has information on meetings, programs,
employment, and more. You can search their publications at http://www.gerontologyjournals.org/, and astonishingly, you can get
full text articles (that's important enough to warrant highlighting) if
you log in from campus and the site can recognize your IP address as
such.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
AND HANDBOOKS
The
Encyclopedia of Aging
Author:
Maddox, George L.
Publisher:
Springer Pub.
Pub
date: 2001
Call:
HQ1061 .E53 2001
(This
one is on the 1st floor in reference)
This is two
volumes long and covers both Gerontology and Geriatrics. Articles
are typically large and are divided into smaller paragraphs with
headings in bold, for easy perusal. It has a subject index and an
author index and references.
Encyclopedia
of Financial Gerontology
Author:
Vitt, Lois A.
Publisher:
Greenwood Press
Pub
date: 1996
Call:
HQ1061 .E54 1996
(This
one is on the 1st floor in reference)
Finance is a big
part of getting older. This resource reads a lot like a handbook
or dictionary, its entries in alphabetical order. It has an
index, references, "see also" referrals to find other relevant entries,
and some table throughout. It covers income, employment,
benefits, health care, and more. Oddly enough, it can also be
useful to anyone of any age who plans on aging.
Handbook
of Aging and the Social Sciences
Author:
Binstock, Robert H.
Publisher:
Academic Press
Pub
date: 2001
Call:
HQ1061 .H336 2001
This is the social
sciences portion of a 3 volume series on aging (the other two being on
psychology and biology). Its contents page is detailed and it has
long references pages and an index. Its text is arranged in Roman
numerals and letters (much like traditional note-taking), which is
boring but organizes everything rather well, as each chapter is broken
down into smaller and smaller topics.
BOOKS (located
in the stacks)
Aging
& Ethnicity
Author:
Markides, Kyriakos S.
Publisher:
Sage Publications
Pub
date: 1987
Call:
HQ1064.U5 M38 1987
A bit older than
what we may prefer, but still useful. This covers ethnic
minorities in America and is organized into chapters by aspects of
aging rather than ethnic group. There is a large reference
section, some tables, and an index.
Aging
and the life course : an introduction to social gerontology
Author:
Quadagno, Jill S.
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill College
Pub
date: 2002
Call:
HQ1061 .Q33 2002
A textbook,
although geared towards beginners. It has numerous illustrations and
graphs, and chapters are divided by aspects of society and how age is
related to them. Typical of texts, there are many questions posed
of the reader for comprehension, clear division of paragraphs, and bold
terms. There are also two indices (or "indexes," one for names
and one for subjects), glossary, and a references section.
Aging
for the Twenty-First Century: readings in social gerontology
Author:
Quadagno, Jill S.
Publisher:
St. Martin's Press
Pub
date: 1996
Call:
HQ1064.U5 A63 1996
This is entitled
"readings in social gerontology." Books that contain "reading in"
or "on" are useful (in many disciplines) because they usually contain
diverse authors of authority and are often organized by subject.
The perspectives of the dialogues are helpful for forming ideas.
This book contains references for each article, but sadly no index.
The
Elderly : Opposing Viewpoints
Author:
Swisher, Karin
Publisher:
Greenhaven Press
Pub
date: 1990
Call:
HQ1061 .E375 1990
(This
one is on the 1st floor in reference)
The opposing
viewpoints series provides what the title says it does. Different
views on the same topics can be helpful when you are trying to form an
argument by giving you support for your ideas and fodder to attack
others (or even changing your mind). There are critical thinking
exercises, a bibliography, an index, and a list of relevant
organizations with contact information (which may or may not currently
accurate).
Everybody's
Studying Us: the ironies of aging in the Pepsi generation
Author:
Bülbül.
Publisher:
California Assn. for Older Americans ;
distributed by Glide Publications
Pub
date: 1976
Call:
HQ1061 .B84S C.1
A slim picture
book of sorts with some text on the problems of getting older in
society and lots of cartoons on the same subject (some amusing, many
serious and bitter). What's so interesting about this is that for
being made in 1976, it sounds as relevant as ever and offers some
perspective (and is rather short). ULM has three copies of this
book.
Gerontology
in Higher Education : perspectives and issues
Author:
Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
Publisher:
Wadsworth
Pub
date: 1978
Call:
HQ1061 .A75 1978
What does it mean
to study Gerontology or to teach it? Older but relevant, this is
a several volume set on the subject of Gerontology itself as an
academic discipline, composed of papers written for presentation at an
Association for Gerontology in Higher Education in 1977. Most
articles have notes or references. Very unfortunately, there is
no index.
Other
cultures, Elder Years
Author:
Holmes, Ellen Rhoads
Publisher:
Sage
Pub
date: 1995
Call:
HQ1061 .H574 1995
This gives a
worldwide perspective on how humans age, and also covers ethnic
identities in America. There is a long reference section, index,
illustrations, and the bodies of text are structured with bold
headings.
Social
Forces and Aging : an introduction to social gerontology
Author:
Atchley, Robert C
Publisher:
Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Pub
date: 1994
Call:
HQ1061.A78 1994
This is a
textbook, and presents its information in a structured manner, although
it is particularly dry. It could be used as a place to begin or
to look for quick explanations of concepts. It has a bibliography
and index.
Social
problems of the Aging : Readings
Author:
Seltzer, Mildred M.
Publisher:
Wadsworth Pub. Co.
Pub
date: c1978
Call:
HQ1064.U5 S59
Another "reading"
book, older than one may prefer, but still fairly useful. Each
piece is ended with some follow-up questions that challenge the reader
while highlighting important points. It also contains small
articles from various non-academic sources and asks the reader to
analyze them. Has an index, references, important terms in the
text printed in bold, and a glossary as well.
Sociological
lives
Author:
Riley, Matilda White, 1911-
Publisher:
Sage
Pub
date: 1988.
Call:
HQ1061 .S6S 1988
This is from
members of the American Sociological Association, responding to the
theme of the "interplay between social structures and human
lives." This is volume two of a series and is specifically about
getting older. Has references and an index.
Also…
This
list doesn't represent everything available in the collection, of
course. While compiling this list, I tried to stay away from
particularly aged materials, although this doesn't mean that they can't
be potentially useful. Visiting the library and checking the
catalog (including those of other libraries, as they may loan those
materials) is still a good idea. Also, since aging is an
inescapable aspect of life, related articles may be found in materials
meant for psychology, sociology, philosophy, history, and more.
If
you are a faculty member and you know of any materials that should be
on this list (or in the collection period), please inform me at niemla@ulm.edu . If you
are a student, ask your instructor what she/he thinks.
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