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Communication Studies Research

http://library.csun.edu/kdabbour/comsresearch.html

The following library and Internet resources are geared toward the research needs of the CSUN Communication Studies major. Choosing the best resources to use for research involves several factors. Titles listed below with a "Location: Ref Rm" are shelved in the Reference Room of the Oviatt Library, main floor.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias | Directories | Research Guides | Periodical Indexes/Databases | Locating Periodicals | Books | Masters' Theses and Dissertations | Facts, Opinions & Statistics | Legal Research | Internet | Citation Style Guides | Avoiding Plagiarism

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Barnouw, Erik et al. (Eds.). (1989). International encyclopedia of communications. New York: Oxford University Press. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .I5 1989

Danesi, Marcel. (2000) Encyclopedic dictionary of semiotics, media, and communications. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .D36 2000

DeVito, Joseph A. (1986). The communication handbook : a dictionary. New York: Harper & Row. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .D46 1986

Gardner, Robert. (1997). From talking drums to the Internet : an encyclopedia of communications technology. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. Location: Ref Rm P96.T42 G374 1997

Johnston, Donald H. (Ed.). (2003). Encyclopedia of international media and communications. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .E532 2003

O'Sullivan, Tim. (1983). Key concepts in communication. New York: Methuen. Location: Floor3(ref) P90 .K457 1983

Schement, Jorge Reina (Ed.). (2002). Encyclopedia of communication and information. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, c2002. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .E53 2002 Also available online.

Seligman, Edwin R. A. & Johnson, Alvin (Eds.). (1954). Encyclopaedia of the social sciences. New York: Macmillan, 1954. Location: Ref Rm H41 .E6

Watson, James. (1997). A dictionary of communication and media studies. London ; New York : Arnold. Location: Ref Rm P87.5 .W38 1997

Weiner, Richard. (1996). Webster's New World dictionary of media and communications. New York : Macmillan. Location: Floor3 P87.5 .W45 1996

Directories

Encyclopedia of associations. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1961- present. Location: Ref Rm AS22 .E5

Dyer, Carolyn Stewart (Ed.). (2002--) The Iowa guide: scholarly journals in mass communication and related fields, 10th ed. Iowa City, IA: Iowa Center for Communication Study, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa.

The Iowa Guide helps scholars find appropriate Communication-related journals in which to publish their work and offers advice on how to prepare manuscripts for publication. It includes a searchable online directory of more than 125 English-language scholarly journals and lists manuscript requirements and review processes of those journals.

National Communication Association. (1998). National Communication Association directory. Annandale, VA: The Association. Location: Ref Rm PN4073 .N2534

Research Guides and Handbooks

Berger, Charles R. & Chaffee, Steven H. (Eds.). (1987). Handbook of communication science. Beverly Hills: Sage publications. Location: Floor3 P90 .H294 1987

Berger, Arthur Asa. (2000). Media and communication research methods: an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Location: Floor3 P91.3 .B385 2000

Block, Eleanor S. and James K. Bracken. (1991). Communication and the mass media: a guide to the reference literature. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. Location: Floor3(ref) P90 .B54 1991

Communication Studies Committee. (2007). Library Resources for Communication Studies. Chicago, IL: Education and Behavioral Sciences Section, Association of College & Research Libraries.

Covers core information resources including, associations and organizations, conferences, listservs, journal indexes and abstracts, lists of libraries with special collections, and research guides for key areas in communication studies. Check the Library Catalog or Databases A-Z to see if CSUN has the resource.

Engle, M., Blumenthal, A. and Cosgrave, T. (2004). How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography. Ithaca, NY: Olin & Uris Libraries, Cornell University.

Harner, James L. (2000). On compiling an annotated bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association of America. Location: Ref Rm Z1001 .H33 2000

Library Instruction Committee. (2005). Creating an Annotated Bibliography. Northridge, CA: Oviatt Library, California State University Northridge.

Rubin, Rebecca B. (2000). Communication research: strategies and sources. Belmont, CA : Wadsworth Thomson Learning. Location: Floor3 P91.3 .R83 1999

Rubin, Rebecca B. & Philip Palmgreen, et al. (Eds.). (2004) Communication research measures: a sourcebook. Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Location: Ref Rm P91.3 .C62 2004

Provides various questionnaires, tests, scales, and measures in communications. See also Library Resources for Individual and Group Assessment for more information about locating information about and/or actual tests.

Smith, Mary John. (1988). Contemporary communication research methods. Belmont, Calif. : Wadsworth Pub. Co. Location: Floor3 P91 .S55 1988

The Writing Center (2004) Annotated Bibliographies. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Periodical Indexes/Databases

ABI/INFORM and ProQuest Business Databases
Access to almost 3000 full- text business journals, many full text newspapers/newsletters and company reports, from 1971 to present. Good for articles on organizational communication, public relations, media business, and related areas.
Academic Search Elite (EBSCOHost)
Provides full text for nearly 1,850 periodicals, including more than 1,250 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to the full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for all 3,237 periodicals in the collection. This database offers information in nearly every area of academic study, including communication studies. Allows limiting search results to peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
L'Annee Philologique
Indexes 1,500 periodicals, books, and conferences in classical studies, covering the Greco-Roman world from 500 BCE to 800 CE, and is a good source for references to resources in classical rhetoric. Some references include abstracts. The online index is dated from 1969 to present. The Oviatt Library also has the print edition of L'Annee Philologique, 1924 to present. References are classified in a two-part system: Ancient authors and texts, and subjects and disciplines. A Help page explains how to search the database. Additional help can be found using this guide.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch2)
Indexes about 1,300 journals from 1980 to present in the arts and humanities, including core journals in speech, language, rhetoric, and performing arts.
Communication and Mass Media Complete (EBSCOhost)
Indexes and abstracts over 600 journals and trade publications; includes full text for over 240 journals. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State). Subjects covered include communication studies, journalism, mass media, speech, linguistics, communicative disorders, deaf studies, advertising, and related areas of interest to practitioners and educators in these fields. Dates of coverage vary by journal. A list of journal titles covered by CMMC is available.
Communication Studies Multisearch
Allows you to search up to 10 Library databases related to communication studies using a common interface. Includes many databases that access scholarly journal articles, which will be indicated by peer reviewed in the results list.
Computer Database (Gale)
Indexes 659 computer journals with full text articles for about half, 1980-present. Use this database to find computer-related product introductions, news, reviews, and research in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications, Internet, virtual reality, multimedia, and the application of technology.
Congressional Research Service Reports
Research and analysis on public policy issues prepared for the U.S. Congress by nationally recognized experts. "CRS is committed to providing the Congress, throughout the legislative process, comprehensive and reliable analysis, research and information services that are timely, objective, nonpartisan, and confidential, thereby contributing to an informed national legislature."
CQ Researcher
CQ Researcher full-text reports offer in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Each 12,000-word report is a unique work, investigated and written by a seasoned journalist, including sections on background and chronology; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; pro/con statements from representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources. Note: Since the reports are written by journalists, it is not considered a scholarly journal. Coverage is from 1991 to the present.
CQ Weekly
Online weekly magazine provides in-depth reports on issues before the U.S. Congress, plus a complete summary of the previous week's news, including the status of bills in play, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes. Good source of current events and social issues. Coverage is from 1983 to present.
eHRAF World Cultures
eHRAF World Cultures is produced by Human Relations Area Files, Inc. (HRAF) at Yale University. eHRAF is a cross-cultural database that contains over 350,000 pages of information on all aspects of cultural and social life for about 100 cultures. The annually-growing eHRAF database is unique in that the information is organized into cultures and ethnic groups and the full-text sources are subject-indexed at the paragraph level. There are over 300 cultures included in the print and microfiche copies of the Human Relations Area Files. The cultures covered in the microfiche collection as well as on the web are described at Human Relations Area Files--Cultures Covered. CSUN's microfiche collection is located on the 4th floor, East wing. There is a white binder at the Reference Desk in the Oviatt Library which lists the cultures available in microfiche or on the web.
ERIC (EBSCOHost)
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a digital library of education-related resources. It indexes and abstracts over 750 journal titles in education and related fields, including communication studies, and has recently begun to add full text articles. In addition, thousands of research reports and other non-journal documents ("ERIC Documents") such as conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books, curriculum guides, lesson plans, and test evaluation instruments are included. ERIC is also an excellent source for locating communication association conference papers. More than 107,000 of the ERIC Documents issued 1993-present are available online in full text for free. In addition, the CSUN Library owns most ERIC documents on microfiche from 1966-2004.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)
Full text articles from more than 270 ethnic, minority and native press publications, including newspapers, magazines and journals, 1960 to present.
Film & Television Literature Index (EBSCOHost)
Indexes over 350 U.S. and international film and television periodicals, including popular magazines, scholarly journals, and trade publications. In addition, selected content is chosen from thousands of additional publications that contain relevant content. Dates of coverage vary. Includes many foreign language journals; to limit to English language articles only, enter AND LA ENGLISH in one of the search boxes.
GenderWatch (ProQuest)
Contains unique and diverse publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. With archival material dating back to 1970, GenderWatch is a repository of an important historical perspective on the evolution of both the women's movement and major changes in gender roles.
General OneFile (Gale)
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access over 9,000 scholarly journals, and general interest news magazines and newspapers - over half contain full text and images. Search specific keywords using the Advanced Search or browse subjects using the Subject Guide. Coverage is from 1980 to the present. Allows limiting search results to scholarly journals ("peer-reviewed publications").
International Political Science Abstracts (EBSCOHost)
Includes current indexing and abstracts of the nearly 900 journals in political science, from 1989 to the present.
JStor
JStor provides electronic access to the full text of back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Includes 12 classical studies journals, which is good for classical rhetoric research, and other journals of interest to communication studies researchers.
LexisNexis Academic About LexisNexis
LexisNexis Academic is a full-text database containing news, legal, biographical, and business information. Click on Easy Search (default) or Power Search from the General toolbar, or News from the toolbar to search newspapers and other sources. Easy Search does not use Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) operators and searches large groups of the most popular sources. Power Search and News allow Boolean logic, searching within specific parts of a document (headline, byline, lead paragraph, etc.), and the ability to search more specific sources. In addition to sources such as "Major U.S. and World Publications," "Major World Publications (non-English)," "web blogs" (mostly business related), "TV and radio brodcast transcripts" (news broadcasts, political campaigns), and legal or business information in Easy Search, Power Search or News include "U.S. Newspapers and Wires," "magazine stories,'" and topical news sources (business, legal, university, and healthcare) among others. Click Legal to search law reviews, federal and state laws and court cases; click Business to search company information and other related sources; and click People for biographical information. Dates of coverage in LexisNexis vary by publication.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (EBSCOHost)
Issues such as freedom of speech, censorship, Internet filtering, and technology's effect on communication are covered in the library and information science journals, which are indexed and abstracted in LISTA.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (CSA)
LLBA covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is also given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics. In addition, major areas of coverage include interpersonal behavior and communication, nonverbal communication, semiotics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics. Over 1,200 periodicals and serials are covered since 1973.
MLA International Bibliography (Gale)
MLA International Bibliography, which is a publication of the Modern Language Association of America, covers literatures, languages, linguistics, and folklore. From 1926 to present, it provides author and subject indexing to over 4,000 journals, as well as books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies.
Project MUSE
Project Muse includes full-text scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, including journals in film, theatre, and performing arts; classics, language, and music. A list of the journals covered by Project MUSE is available.
ProQuest Newspapers
Full text for 500+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage of 150+ major U.S. newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires. Click the More Search Options link from the main search screen to reveal choices for limiting by Document Type, such as editorial, speech, and review.
PsycARTICLES (EBSCOHost)
PsycARTICLES, from the American Psychological Association (APA), is a definitive source of full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The PsycARTICLES database covers general psychology as well as specialized, applied, clinical and theoretical research. The database contains more than 100,000 articles from 59 journals - 48 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 11 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor, and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1894 to present, and most APA journals are available from Volume 1, Issue 1.
PsycINFO (EBSCOHost)
PsycINFO or Psychological Abstracts, from the American Psychological Association (APA), contains nearly 2.3 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. Ninety-seven percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Journal coverage, which spans 1887 to present, includes international material selected from approximately 2,050 periodicals in more than 25 languages.
Sage Journals Online
Full text access to journals in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences, including almost 20 communication and media studies journals.
Sociological Abstracts (CSA)
Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences from 1963 to present. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 1,700 serials publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Records added after 1974 contain in-depth and non-evaluative abstracts of journal articles.

Locating Periodicals

Books

Books may be searched in the Library Catalog by author, title, Library of Congress Subject Heading or keyword. For books not held by the Oviatt Library, request an Interlibrary Loan or search WorldCat to see if other local libraries have the books you need. Relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings include, but are not limited to:

Theses and Dissertations

Facts, Opinions & Statistics

The following web sites can lead you to facts, opinions, statistics, and background information to support your research.

Legal Research

In addition to using Lexis Nexis Academic, for help with locating primary sources of court cases, laws, and regulations, as well as secondary sources of information on legal terms and explanations of the law, see the following:

Internet

In addition to the databases and Web sites listed above, the Internet can be a valuable source of information. However, remember to think critically about the authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage of the information you find.

Citation Style Guides

Avoiding Plagiarism


Prepared by Katherine Dabbour, Communication Studies Librarian

18111 Nordhoff St. Northridge CA 91330 (818) 677-2285
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