News Reporting & Writing Research Resources

This Web site is geared toward the information needs of CSUN Journalism students taking JOUR 110, 210, 310 and 410. See also Journalism Research Resources, Public Relations Research Resources, Researching Ethnic and Cultural Groups in Los Angeles, Spanish Language Journalism, and Mass Communication Research Resources for related information.

Sources Overview

Choosing the best sources to use for background material involves several factors, including topic under investigation, currency of the information needed, and the depth of coverage required.
Why not use Wikipedia? View this video (Flash) from the Rutgers University Libraries on why Wikipedia is not the best source to use.

Finding Articles

Overview | News Sources | General Periodical Sources

Overview of Periodical Indexes/Databases

Periodicals (magazines, newspapers, trade publications, and scholarly journals) are excellent sources of current and/or specific information for research projects. Often, they are considered primary sources for research.
It's a good idea to formulate a search strategy before using a periodical database.
The following databases use Boolean Logic (AND, OR, NOT) and truncation/wildcards symbols (*, ?, etc.) for combining keywords and phrases to locate articles on specific topics.
For a complete list of available databases, see Databases A-Z.
FYI, you can also connect to the Library's databases and full-text periodicals from off campus

News Sources

ABYZ Newspapers & News Media Guide: Exhaustive directory of links to newspapers and news media web sites arranged by region and country. Indicates the type of media (newspaper, broadcast, internet, magazine, press agency) and the media focus (business, general, sport, miscellaneous), as well as the language.
Daily News (Los Angeles): The Oviatt Library subscribes to the Daily News online from 1989 to present in various databases, and in microfilm from 1981 to present. Under it's former titles: Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet, the Library has it on microfilm from 1911-1976 and as the Valley News and Greensheet from 1976-1981.
Ethnic NewsWatch + Ethnic NewsWatch: A History (ProQuest): Full-text collection of the ethnic, minority, and native press, including Latino/Hispanic publications. Over 270 titles, 1960- present.
LA Beez: "LA Beez is an online collaboration of ethnic media organizations featuring hyperlocal news content covering the metropolitan Los Angeles area."
LexisNexis Academic: LexisNexis Academic is a full-text database containing news, legal, biographical, and business information from over 12,000 publications. 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. The Power Search or News options 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)," "blogs," "TV and radio broadcast transcripts" (news broadcasts, political campaigns), and legal or business information in Easy Search, the Power Search or News options include "U.S. Newspapers and Wires," "magazine stories,'" and topical news sources (business, legal, university, and healthcare) among others. For tips on searching for editorials in LexisNexis Academic, see News Search: Find An Editorial Or Opinion Piece. 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. NOTE: Due to publisher restrictions, Lexis Nexis Academic users may only access the latest 6 months of the Los Angeles Times. Use Proquest Newspapers for complete coverage of the Los Angeles Times online.
Los Angeles Times: The Oviatt Library subscribes to the online version of the Los Angeles Times from 1886 to the present via Proquest Newspapers. To search the current file from 1986 to present, select Proquest Newspapers, enter search terms and any relevant date limits, click the "more search options" tab, and enter "Los Angeles Times" in the publication title search box, then click "search." The Los Angeles Times Historical database provides cover-to-cover access from 1881-1986, including the advertisements and classifieds, in .PDF format.
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, including the Daily News. 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.
Truveo--News Videos: Free Web service showing up-to-the minute and older clips of news videos from a variety of U.S. and foreign sources.

General Periodical Sources

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.
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.
Gale Power Search: Simultaneously access 11 Gale databases to locate magazine articles, academic journal articles, news, reference books, Web sites, and multimedia resources. Includes "Viewpoint" (pro/con) essays and topic overviews on controversial issues from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center in the "books" results.
Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega: Cross searching of Art Full Text, Business Full Text, Education Full Text, General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Library Literature & Information Science Full Text, Readers' Guide Retrospective, Readers' Guide Full Text, and Social Sciences Full Text; plus Applied Science & Technology Full Text, Biological & Agricultural Index Plus, Index to Legal Periodicals Full Text.

Locating Periodicals

How to Locate Articles Online or in the Library
For periodicals not held by the Oviatt Library, request an Interlibrary Loan or search WorldCat to see if other local libraries have the periodicals you need.

Finding Books, Media, and Government Documents

Search 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.

Facts, Opinions & Statistics

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

American Factfinder (Population, housing, economic, and geographic data from the U.S. Census. Use their tutorials to learn more.)
Community Information by Zip Code (links to sources of demographic data by zip code, which is useful for finding information about the San Fernando Valley)
Electronic Reference Books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, etc.)
FedStats.gov (Gateway to federal sources of statistics.)
Gale Virtual Reference Library (encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources)
Government Information: Federal, State, Local, International
Government Reference Sources (Links to federal sources of statistics and other information on crime, legal, business, education, etc. topics)
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
News on the Web
NewsBank Special Reports (Focus on topics of current interest, including current and background information, statistics, maps, images, web sites, and suggested search terms. Updated daily.)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (Focus on controversial topics. In addition to periodical articles, includes primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Web sites. Note: Only two users can search this database at the same time! However, Gale Power Search contains content from Opposing Viewpoints. After searching a topic in Gale Power Search, click on the "Books" result tab to find "viewpoint articles" and "topic overviews"; click on the "Multimedia" tab to link to Web sites and Podcasts.)
Public Opinion Polls and Surveys
Public Records Directory
RefDesk.com--Reference, Facts, News
San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center: Census Data (Provides Census 2000 and American Community Survey data updates for 2005-2007 on the regions and/or zip codes of the Valley)
San Fernando Valley Statistics & Facts
Statistical Data Sources

Government, Political, and Legal Web Sites

General

Legal Research Sources (Links to federal, state, and local sources of legislative, judicial, and administrative law.)
League of Women Voters
Yahoo--Public Policy Institutes (Links to various "think tanks" and other public policy research institutes.)

California and Local

State of California
California and Los Angeles Government Web Links
California Courts
California Department of Finance (has downloadable statistics on population, households, etc. by counties, cities, etc. )
California Secretary of State
California State Senate
California State Assembly
California State University
California Voter Foundation
Legislative Analyst's Office ("California's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor.")
Los Angeles Government Sources
Rough & Tumble ("A Daily Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics")
University of California

United States

Business and Industry Sources

The following web sites will lead you to sources of information about companies and industries.

Advertising
Business + Economics Databases
Listing of business periodical, company, and statistical databases offered by the Library.
Company / Investment Information
Industry Information

Citing Your Sources

MLA, APA, & Other Citation Style Guides
Citation Machine - (Provides an interactive tool to help create reference citations for research papers. Includes various print and electronic resources. Note web site disclaimer before using.)
EndNote Web - (Service to manage citations and produce a works cited or references list. Import or manually enter citations from a variety of sources and choose from several citation styles to create a works cited/references list, including APA and MLA. EBSCOHost databases, including Communication and Mass Media Complete, allow the direct import of saved citations into EndNote Web. Detailed instructions for setting up and using EndNote Web are available.)

Avoiding Plagiarism

Why Cite? Avoiding Plagiarism
Interactive Tutorial on How to Avoid Plagiarism (Flash) from Rutgers University

Prepared by Kathy Dabbour Communication Studies & Journalism Librarian

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

Last updated: 19-Oct-2009
Library Webmaster

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