SYG 2000: Introductory Sociology

The American Sociological Review is the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association (ASA). The ASA founded this journal in 1936 (volume 1) with the mission to publish original works of interest to the sociology discipline in general, new theoretical developments, results of research that advance our understanding of fundamental social processes, and important methodological innovations. All areas of sociology are welcome in the American Sociological Review. Emphasis is on exceptional quality and general interest. The ASA publishes the American Sociological Review bimonthly (February, April, June, August, October, December).

Established in 1895 as the first U.S. scholarly journal in its field, American Journal of Sociology remains a leading voice for analysis and research in the social sciences. The journal presents pathbreaking work from all areas of sociology, with an emphasis on theory building and innovative methods. AJS strives to speak to the general sociological reader and is open to sociologically informed contributions from anthropologists, statisticians, economists, educators, historians, and political scientists. AJS prizes research that offers new ways of understanding the social; for example, a project currently under way seeks to compile a special issue organized around genetic influences on social interaction.

AJS offers a substantial book review section that identifies the most salient work of both emerging and enduring scholars of social science. Commissioned review essays appear two or three times a year, offering the journal's readers a comparative, in-depth examination of prominent titles.

Although AJS publishes a very small percentage of the papers submitted to it, a double-blind review process is available to all qualified submissions, making the journal a center for exchange and debate "behind" the printed page and contributing to the robustness of social science research in general.

The American Sociologist publishes papers, comments, and other writings on topics of professional and disciplinary concern to sociologists. The contents examine intellectual, practical, and ethical issues affecting the work, careers, and perspectives of sociologists. In addition, the journal encourages research and reporting on ways in which sociological knowledge and skill relate to issues of broad public concern, past, present, and future.

Topics in The American Sociologist include the uses of sociology in academic and nonacademic settings; training, placement, and career paths of sociologists; structural and ideological dimensions affecting the development of new perspectives in the discipline; the ethics of research, teaching, and practice; the application of sociological knowledge and methods in practical problems; the historical and interdisciplinary roots of sociological knowledge; and the contributions of sociologists to professional and public issues.

For more than 50 years The British Journal of Sociology has represented the mainstream of sociological thinking and research. Consistently ranked highly by the ISI in Sociology, this prestigious international journal publishes sociological scholarship of the highest quality on all aspects of the discipline, by academics from all over the world. The British Journal of Sociology is distinguished by the commitment to excellence and scholarship one associates with its home at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The journal Qualitative Sociology is dedicated to the qualitative interpretation and analysis of social life. The journal offers both theoretical and analytical research, and publishes manuscripts based on research methods such as interviewing, participant observation, ethnography, historical analysis, content analysis and others which do not rely primarily on numerical data. All papers are reviewed.

Published quarterly for the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Social Problems tackles the most difficult of contemporary society's issues and brings to the fore influential sociological findings and theories enabling readers to gain a better understanding of the complex social environment. Areas covered by the journal include: conflict and social action; crime and juvenile delinquency; drinking, drugs, and addiction; health policy and services; race and ethnicity; and sexual behavior and politics. One of the most respected and widely read professional journals in today's social sciences, Social Problems presents accessible, relevant, and innovative articles that maintain critical perspectives of the highest quality.

The Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF), published by the National Council on Family Relations, has been the leading research journal in the family field for more than 70 years and is consistently the most highly cited journal in family science. JMF features original research and theory using the variety of methods reflective of the full range of social sciences, including quantitative, qualitative, and multi-method designs; research interpretation; integrative review; reports on methodological and statistical advances; and critical discussion concerning all aspects of marriage, other forms of close relationships, and families.

Family Relations is a publication of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). Since 1951, the journal has published basic and applied articles that are original, innovative and interdisciplinary and that focus on diverse family forms and issues. Audiences include educators in academic and community settings, researchers with an applied or evaluation focus, family practitioners, and family policy specialists. Appropriate articles include empirically based applied research, educational philosophies or practices, critical syntheses of relevant substantive areas, program evaluations, curriculum development and assessment, issues in the discipline, professional development, and basic research with clearly articulated implications for practice and policy.