CSUDH Library and Information Resources for

COM 400: Communication Theory & Research Prepared by:Caroline Bordinaro, Librarian cbordinaro@csudh.edu (310)243-2084

Go to: Finding Books | Finding Websites | Library Guides | Finding Journal Articles | Search Tips

Concepts and questions for beginning research:

• Where to Start?
  • What's your research question?
  • What information do you need to find?
• Who cares about the same information? (e.g.: researchers, practitioners, government, etc.)
  • What kind of information do they need?
  • Where would they get it?
• Types of information available
  • Books
  • Articles from journals, magazines and newspapers
  • Websites
• Keywords - creating an effective search
  • Take your research question and circle the "action words"
  • Think of at least three synonyms for each action word
  • Use these words in various combination to get a good result (between 15-40 results is optimal)
  • Click here for more search tips
• What is a primary source? What is a secondary source? Click here to find out

Glossary

• DATABASE: An organized collection of electronic information, such as photographs, addresses, or journal articles.
• ONLINE JOURNAL INDEX: A database that contains magazine, newspaper and journal articles, e.g: Academic Search Premier. AKA Subscription Database.
• SCHOLARLY JOURNAL: Also called academic or refereed journal. Articles usually reviewed by experts in the field before publication, published for a research audience, narrow focus, e.g.; Molecular Endocrinology
• MAGAZINE: Publication of general interest: popular interest and broad subjects (e.g: Psychology Today)
• SUBJECT HEADINGS : Also called descriptors. Official terms used to classify items in a database.
• THESAURUS: List and finding aid for official controlled vocabulary terms. Also called Topic Index or Subject List.
• ABSTRACT: a brief summary of the main content of an article
• FULL TEXT: the complete article. Click on the   button to see if the Full Text is available.
• CITATION: The basic information you need to find the full text of an article. It includes the title of the article, the author, the name of the publication, the date, the volume and issue number and the page numbers.

 

Finding Journal Articles

NOTE: These indexes must be accessed through the library home page at library.csudh.edu. Select Journal Articles & Electronic Resources. You may either browse by subject area or go to your favorite resource using the alphabetical List .

• Communication & Mass Media Complete*: provides the best quality research, and is an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and educators interested in any and all aspects of communication and mass media. (scroll down on the EBSCO screen to log on to this database.)
• Humanities Full Text*: provides complete content - indexing, abstracts, and full text. Scroll down list to find database name.

These are databases are not specifically communication-related, but they are very good for general information on studies and current news :

• Academic Search Premier*
• ProQuest Databases*
• OmniFile Full Text Mega* : from Wilson, select specific discipline in subject box or search multiple subjects.
• JSTOR: Peer reviewed journal articles on a wide range of Humanities subjects.

*To limit search to peer-reviewed journals only, look for check box next to Peer-Reviewed, Scholarly Journals, or Academic Journals on database search screen (may be in Advanced Search)

Finding quality websites

These are indexes to quality web sites that have been reviewed by librarians. The sites have been checked for accuracy, timiliness, stabilty, and will generally conform to the standards of academic research. However, please be judicious in the use of websites in general, because anybody can put anything on the web.

• Infomine (infomine.ucr.edu): A project from the Univeristy of California and other universities, it is a searchable index of websites specifically appropriate for university research. Click on SocSci & Humanities to search their specialized index.
• Librarian's Index to the Internet (www.lii.org): Index of websites reviewed by librarians, geared toward the general public. Choose a topic from the index or use Advanced Search to search for keywords.
• CSUDH Humanities Internet Guide (library.csudh.edu/cyberlib/human.htm): Resource guide for humanities sites on the Internet compiled by CSUDH librarians.
• Evaluating Information on the Web: This is a very good checklist from the Pasadena City College Library for judging the quality of not only information on the Internet, but any information you may want to use for an assignment.

Search Tips:

• Combining keywords
  • 1. AND: broadcast AND media AND regulations
    2. OR: television OR radio OR newspaper
    3. NOT: New York NOT city
• Phrase searching"" ( "Noam Chomsky", "Federal Communications Commission")
• Advanced Search: Use this frequently to determine your search options. This will save you TIME and FRUSTRATION!
• Remember, the more words you use to search or the more limits you place on a search, the fewer results you will get. (How can you get more results?)
• Always use the Print and Save functions embedded within the screen. It is usually not a good idea to use the File-Print or File-Save As functions in the upper left hand corner of the browser.
• Use the online HELP screens - they really are helpful!

For more detailed help, download our LIBRARY GUIDES (.doc format) :

• Finding journal articles using Academic Search Premier (advanced search/retrieval methods, Interlibrary Loan)
• Accessing databases from off campus
• What is a Literature Review?
• Searching Google (advanced Internet search methods)
• OR click here to download ALL FOUR GUIDES with BONUS MATERIAL! (10pgs.)

Go to: Finding Books | Finding Websites | Starting Out | Finding Journal Articles | Search Tips

Created by C. Bordinaro, CSUDH librarian 2/19/08