Use the dropdown menu to search by keyword, subject, author, title, or ISSN number:
Use the filters on the right-hand side of the results page to refine your results by:
Filters can be removed by clicking on the gold box under "Remove Filters" at the top of the column.
Tripod Articles is quite extensive, but not comprehensive. Searching in smaller and subject-specific databases can often yield a more manageable and pertinent set of results.
You can begin exploring your topic of interest by searching these larger databases. These databases contain articles from various academic disciplines (including anthropology and sociology), but they don't include everything you'll need for your thesis. It's important to follow-up your Google Scholar or JSTOR searches with subject-focused databases like Sociological Abstracts and AnthroSource.