Reference Materials
The following reference resources can help you get a basic overview of a topic and help you identify key terms to use when searching the Library Catalog and for articles. REMEMBER to choose a topic that interests you.

Selected Reference Resources:

A dictionary of communication and media studies - REF P87.5 .W38 1997

International encyclopedia of communications - REF P87.5 .I5 1989 v.1-v.4

Webster's New World dictionary of media and communications - REF P87.5 .W45 1996

Article Databases/Indexes
Online, and Print periodical indexes provide citations (e.g., author, title, a journal name, volume, issue, page numbers, etc.) to identify articles. Most indexes also include abstracts (summaries) and a small handful of online indexes provide selected full text of the actual article. The Library does not own every article cited in each index so remember to check the Library Catalog to verify if we own the journal the article was published in.

Online Indexes/Databases

Humanities International Index	Citations to items related to Communications, Folklore, Gender Studies, History, Journalism, Linguistics, Literary & Social Criticism Literature, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Religion and Theology, and other topics. (Indexing: 1984+)
Sociological Abstracts	Citations and abstracts to items within sociology and related disciplines. (Indexing: 1963+)
PsycInfo	Citations and abstracts items that are related to the field of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines, such as sociology, education, linguistics, anthropology, business, and law. (Indexing: 1887+)
MLA Bibliography	Citations to books, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies and articles related to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. (indexing: 1963+)
EbscoHost Masterfile Premier & Academic Search Premier	Citations, abstracts and selected full-text of articles covering the social sciences, humanities, education and more.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe	Provides access to a wide range of news, business, legal and reference information.

Print Index

Communication Abstracts

Citations to articles published in the primary professional literature of the communication(s) field. Location: Index Collection P87.C59733 (1979-current)

An alphabetical title listing of online databases/indexes can be found on the Library homepage by choosing "Databases and Articles " located in the left side of the page. A listing of databases broken down into general subject areas can be accessed by choosing "Research Guides" on the Library page.

TIPS for effective searching:

Once you have established your topic, write down research questions and from those questions, identify the keywords and use them in your search statement. You do not want to enter questions or full sentences into when searching electronic databases. Instead, you should break down your questions into major keywords or concepts

After you have identified keywords, think of synonyms for those words. You should also determine if it will be helpful for you to search for the singular and plural form of the word.

Next you should combine your keywords in a way the computer can understand. To do this you will be using what is called Boolean Logic. The most important aspect of Boolean Logic is using AND to specify exactly what you are looking for in your results. Example: distance education AND communication

Scholarly Articles
First and foremost: Accountability and content of the specific article are the key criteria used to determine if an article is scholarly.

The audience of the journal will be geared toward researchers and professionals in the field. There will be little or no advertisements.

The content of the journal will be research projects, methodology, and theory articles written by contributing authors. Articles are usually based on original research using established methodology that supports conclusions arrived at by the author.

Accountability, meaning that articles are peer reviewed or refereed and every article has an extensive bibliography.

Simple things to look at are the appearance of the journal: plain cover, plain paper, black/white graphics and illustrations, pages consecutive throughout each volume, and length of the article can be an indicator of type--longer articles (more than ten pages) will tend to be scholarly.

A Note about Peer Review: "Peer review" refers to the policy of having experts in the field examine journal articles before acceptance for publication. Peer review insures that the research described in a journal's articles is sound and of high quality. Sometimes the term "refereed" is used instead of peer review.

Evaluation of Websites
The reliability and quality of information from Web sources has created many debates in the academic world. Researchers must always remember that the Web is a vast, unregulated information resource that ANYONE with the proper tools and a little money can create a site on the Web. Much like scholarly articles, accountability and content of the webpage are the key criteria used to determine if a site When viewing a site for research purposes the three most important features to consider are:

Authority: Who's responsible for the page content? Are there any clues about that person's qualifications?
Content: Does it seem accurate? If you don't know much about the topic yet, consider these other questions. Are there citations to other works? Has the page been updated recently? Are there facts you could try to verify?
Audience/Objectivity: Who designed it? And for whom? Is there obvious (or not so obvious) bias? Is the page nothing more than a marketing tool? What level of audience is it designed for (e.g. children, adults, students, professionals)?
Last Update: March 29, 2006