Resources for Sociology Research

[speechfan222]

I will be receiving my tax return soon and am planning to save most of it, but would also like to spend it wisely on items that will become an advantage to having for my career. 

Can anyone suggest resources such as books, software programs, office supplies, or anything else that I should invest in that would be a benefit to me as I enter the field of research? 

I am new to research and Sociology and don't plan to get my PhD right away (not even sure I will yet), but I am look for resources or any information I can get as I start research with a larger or privatext company. 

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks. 

Edited April 15, 2018 by speechfan222

[KevinJHa]

Hm, the only thing I could think of right now is getting yourself some professional society memberships in your area of interest. Ex. ASA, SWS, ESS, etc

As far as software, I don't think you really NEED anything, but it depends on what you want to learn/do. But these licenses are generally very expensive. I'm also curious to know what people think in terms of books. 

[rising_star]

The student versions of software licenses are usually much more affordable but, again, this entirely depends on what your research area is. In terms of figuring out software, I'd pay attention to what's being used in the methods section of articles in your research area and subfield. For key texts, I'd recommend anthologies with work by key thinkers and/or reading review papers to see which works are being cited most frequently.

[speechfan222]

4 hours ago, KevinJHa said:

Hm, the only thing I could think of right now is getting yourself some professional society memberships in your area of interest. Ex. ASA, SWS, ESS, etc

As far as software, I don't think you really NEED anything, but it depends on what you want to learn/do. But these licenses are generally very expensive. I'm also curious to know what people think in terms of books. 

I'm interested in what people have to say and recommend for books too. I actually had an assignment for one of my courses that required me to interview two individuals within my field of interest (research) and formulate a list of questions to ask them. I came up with some very good questions. One of them was recommending extra resources such as books, websites, blogs, journals, and other materials. I received websites and a few journal articles, but nothing for books.