Wyatt's Tips for Efficient Literature Searches in Mass Communication
Last updated 02/13/04
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The social sciences, like all other sciences, are cumulative in their knowledge. Therefore, it is far more efficient to search backwards from later sources to earlier ones. When you find articles or books that are directly related to your topic, look at their notes and bibliographies for guidance to earlier research. Reference librarians are always excellent sources for advice on any search.
START WITH COMMUNICATION ABSTRACTS (IN THE LIBRARY)
v The first place to start a literature search is in the University Library. This is because the best reference tool in our field, Communication Abstracts, is only partially available in an electronic version (since 1999). Communication Abstracts is issued six times a year and covers journals in communication, related social sciences, law, history, cultural studies, etc. Each volume contains a subject index in the back with references to major theories and areas of research. Each page contains detailed abstracts of two recent articles in the field. For access since 1999, go to the MTSU Library Research Gateway's electronic journal page and click on EBSCO Online Journals. After specifying the country you are searching from (United States, of course), you can then search the database for journals, in this case for Communication Abstracts. Once the journal is retrieved, you can search it by keyword by clicking on the "ARTICLESearch" icon.
OTHER LIBRARY RESOURCES
v
The University Library's Research Gateway gives you
access to many other important online bibliographic sources, including
electronic journals and bibliographic sources. Bibliographic resources PsycINFO
(the on-line versions of Psychological Abstracts), Historical
Abstracts, ERIC (an index of academic papers), EBSCO Online Journals
(including Communication Research since 1998, Mass Communication and
Society since 2000, and Media, Culture & Society since 1999),
JSTOR (full text of many important journals, including Public Opinion
Quarterly), Sociological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts.
A complete list of
full-text journals available in electronic form is available on Research
Gateway, as well as a complete list
of electronic databases. Some library databases can only be accessed
through terminals in the library proper; others are searchable through the any
web connection; you must sign in when asked.
A particularly useful resource available through the Library is The Communication Institute for Online Scholarship, of which
MTSU's Office of Communication Research is a member. To take full advantage of
the parts of this service available only by subscription, you should log-in
through the Journalism
Information Sources page of the Library's Research Gateway. CIOS has
publicly searchable periodical indexes, a growing abstract database, and
information about joining a number of communication mailing lists (called
"hotlines" by CIOS and "on-line conferences," "mailing
lists" or "listservs" by other Internet users). At the initial
screen, you will see a link to a section "Especially for Students,"
which contains tips about effective use of CIOS resources.
v The University Library's card catalog can be searched on-line by several methods. The most convenient is through the World Wide Web Web-based catalog, Voyager. For a broader search -- including MTSU, other area university libraries, and the Nashville Public Library -- use Project Athena. Project Athena allows users to search all affiliated libraries through a single process. You might also search the on-line catalogs of other major libraries. You can also search Vanderbilt's Acorn catalog directly as well as through Project Athena,
v
If you need quick publication data about a book (author,
publisher, year) or just want to browse for relevant new or old books, the
major on-line booksellers provide excellent resources. These include Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. They'll also sell
you the books and deliver them quickly.
LEXIS-NEXIS DATABASE IN
THE MASS COMM COMPUTER LAB
v For legal topics, the Lexis database is essential and is available on terminals in the computer lab on the first floor of the Bragg Mass Communication Building. Lexis also contains searchable indexes for many major newspapers and magazines and the database of the Roper Center for Public Opinion at the University of Connecticut (RPOLL under the MARKET section). An abbreviated version of Lexis, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, is also available off-campus through the Library's Web site. Though the abbreviated version is not as complete or powerful as the full version, it is adequate for most tasks; it includes the Roper Center database under "Polls & Surveys" in the "Reference" section.
USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCES
v The Pennsylvania State University Communication Articles Database. A great resource.
v Survey Research Resources has pointers to many excellent sources of information on polls.
v The American Communication Association page is particularly valuable for freedom of expression issues and contains other pointers to excellent sources.
v For pointers to about every imaginable resource in professional journalism, try the WWW Virtual Library: Journalim, maintained by free-lance writer John Makulowich.
v For pointers to everything that Makulowich missed, try The Gunaratne Home Page, maintained by a journalism faculty member at Minnesota's Moorhead State University.
v For legal information, a wealth of resources are available at the Cornell University Legal Information Institute.
HELP WITH APA STYLE
v There are a number of style guides and help sheets for American Psychological Association style on the Internet. A good place to start is with Pysch Web's APA Style Resources.
v For help with writing in general, Strunk and White's classic, The Elements of Style, is now on-line at http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html.
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