Open Educational Resources and Sociology

The curated collection of OER provided below was developed by the ASCCC OERI Sociology Discipline Lead. If you are interested in seeing how available OER might be used to develop a sociology associate degree for transfer that is a zero textbook cost (“ZTC”) degree, please see OER and the Sociology TMC.

Archived Sociology Webinars

Introduction to Sociology (C-ID SOCI 110)

Social Problems (C-ID SOCI 115)

Two resources uploaded that are virtually the same. Content is good.

Introduction to Research Methods (C-ID SOCI 120)

Two of the three resources uploaded are virtually the same. Content is good.

Introduction to Statistics in Sociology (C-ID SOCI 125)

  • Introductory Statistics (OpenStax) – LibreTexts (CC BY 4.0)

    Introductory Statistics (OpenStax) (CC BY)
    This text follows the scope and sequence requirements of a one-semester introduction to statistics course and is geared toward students majoring in fields other than math or engineering. The text assumes some knowledge of intermediate algebra and focuses on statistics application over theory. Introductory Statistics includes innovative practical applications that make the text relevant and accessible, as well as collaborative exercises, technology integration problems, and statistics labs.

  • Statistics for the Social Sciences (Pelz, Lumen Learning) (License varies)

    This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.

  • PSPP (CC BY-NC-SA)

    Free software for statistical analysis

Introduction to Marriage and Family (C-ID SOCI 130) 

Introduction to Gender (C-ID SOCI 140)

Introduction to Race and Ethnicity (C-ID SOCI 150)

  • Immigrant and Refugee Families (Ballard et al.) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC)

    Immigrant and Refugee Families: Global Perspectives on Displacement and Resettlement Experiences offers an interdisciplinary perspective on immigrant and refugee families’ challenges and resilience across multiple domains, including economic, political, health, and human rights. This text uses a family systems lens to discuss the challenges and strengths of immigrant and refugee families in the United States. Chapters address immigration policy, human rights issues, economic stress, mental health and traumatic stress, domestic violence, substance abuse, family resilience, and methods of integratio

  • Minority Studies (Dunn) – LibreTexts (CC BY)
  • Race and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.: An Intersectional Approach (2021) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

    Supported by the ASCCC-OERI, this open text was compiled by six diverse, community college sociology faculty from Long Beach City College, Cerritos College, and Santiago Canyon College. With an eye on social justice and intersectionality, the text provides a sociological analysis of the history, demographics, and contemporary experiences of the following race-ethnic groups: African Americans, Asian American Pacific Islanders, Euro Americans, Latinx, Native Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, and immigrants. This text is suitable for a sociology course on race and ethnic relations or a social justice studies introductory course.

  • Beyond Race: Cultural Influences on Human Social Life (Kennedy, 2018) (CC BY-NC-SA)

    This brief (5 chapter) text is not a complete text and focuses relevant theory and research in cultural sociology.

Introduction to Crime (C-ID SOCI 160)

Additional Sociology Courses

Introduction to Social Psychology

  • Principles of Social Psychology (Author not attributed) (CC BY-NC-SA)
  • Principles of Social Psychology (2015) (CC BY-NC-SA)
    Have you ever had trouble teaching the various topics of social psychology and fitting them together to form a coherent field? Unnamed Author felt like he was presenting a laundry list of ideas, research studies, and phenomena, rather than an integrated set of principles and knowledge. He wondered how his students could be expected to remember and understand the many phenomena that social psychologists study? How could they tell what was most important? It was then that he realized a fresh approach to a Social Psychology textbook was needed to structure and integrate student learning; thus, Principles of Social Psychology was born.
  • Together: The Science of Social Psychology (NOBA) (CC BY-NC-SA)
    This textbook presents core concepts common to introductory social psychology courses. The 8 units include 27 modules covering key social psych topics such as research methods, group processes, social influence, and relationships. This book can be modified: feel free to add or remove modules to better suit your specific needs.

Introduction to Social Work

  • Introduction to Social Work (Gladden et al.) – LibreTexts (CC BY)
    This book was written by MSW students as their final project for their Capstone class. Students were each assigned a chapter of the book to write to show that they had achieved competency as a Master’s level social worker. Chapters were assigned based on student interest and experience in certain areas of the field. The 2017 MSW class was excited to be able to contribute to the learning of their peers by writing this book! The book was written to the specifications of the SCWK 110 instructors at Ferris State University in the summer of 2017.
  • Careers in Sociology (Vera Kennedy- West Hills College) (CC BY-NC-SA) Last updated 2/19/2021

Related to other Discipline OER

  • Sociology of Sport (Georgia Highlands College, 2022) (CC-BY-NC-SA)
    An open textbook comprised of 16 chapters with videos and Powerpoint presentations. Chapters include youth sports, high school and college sports, race/ethnicity, age & disability, religion, and more.

Using an OER resource that is missing from the list above? If so, please let us know. 

This page last updated on October 28th, 2022.