Library

Communications

Below are suggested resources to use when researching a Communications topic. For research strategies and techniques, visit the resources linked from the menu at the left.

Getting Started | Finding Articles | Getting Fulltext | Demographics

 

Getting Started

Before jumping in and looking for research, it is a good idea to have a refined topic and to know a little about it. Start with broad resources like encyclopedias, bibliographies, and handbooks to start to get a sense of what is available on your topic in the universe of information.

Finding Articles

Search the following indexes to find articles on the topic of Communications.

Communications and Mass Media: Info Communication & Mass Media Complete offers cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for over 300 journals, and selected coverage of over 100 more, for a combined coverage of over 400 titles. 200 of these are in full text. Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!

    • Type in search terms in the Find search box
      • group similar concepts in ( ) linked with "or"
        For example:         (women or female or gender)
      • truncate word variants with *
        For example:         instead of typing (manage or management or managing or manager) just type manag*
      • link separate concepts with "and"
        For example:         (women or female or gender) and (manag* or executiv*)
    • Consider selecting a specific "Field" to limit the search. The most specific and generally most accurate is a SU Subject Heading search. Also common TI title, AB abstract, CO company.
    • Refine your search with Limits such as: Full Text only, from a specific Journal, Peer Reviewed (more scholarly), Date Published.
    • Refine your search with Expanders To search within the entire fulltext of an article, check the "search within full text articles". To take advantage of the built in thesaurus, check the box "also search for related words"

Business Source Premier A comprehensive business periodical database that includes scholarly journals and business periodicals covering topics such as management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and more.  BSP provides almost 10,000 full text scholarly publications, some as far back as 1922, such as the Harvard Business Review. Same interface as Communications and Mass Media (EBSCO).

ABI/Inform Find in-depth coverage of business conditions, trends, corporate strategies and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product information, and a wide variety of other topics from more than 1,800 leading business and management publications, most of which are fulltext or page-image. Primarily academic, theoretical articles. Includes fulltext Wall Street Journal. Less content than Business Source Premier, but more powerful searching. Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!

  • Type in a word or phrase in the search box (use the * to truncate; and to link separate concepts;or to group similar concepts)
  • Consider selecting a search field name in the drop down menu, or accept "Citation and Abstract" as the default. The most specific search would use the "Subject" field. Other Search Fields include article title, author, company name, personal name, source, SIC code, ticker
  • Click an operator (AND, OR, AND NOT, WITHIN 3, PRE/1) to link your search terms
  • Specify limits such as Date, full text only, or scholarly/peer reviewed
  • Results are available as: citation, full text, text and graphics and/or page image (like a photocopy of article). Articles can be emailed to you

Lexis-Nexis Academic Provides more current news and press releases than any other source. Good for facts and events related to companies and industries. 1970- present for many periodicals, all fulltext.  Includes PR Newswire and many other sources for comapny press releases.

  • Choose Guided News Search tab
  • Choose Business News
  • Choose Business & Finance, Industry, or Mergers
  • Enter at least one search term.
  • Choose index in which to search for the keyword, such as: headline, lead paragraph, full text, caption, author, company, SIC, location, ticker
  • Search tips:
    • use AND / OR grouped in parentheses ( )
    • ! for truncation and * for wildcard
    • w/# for within a certain number of words - especially good for authors. Also W/S for within sentence and W/P for within paragraph

 

Getting Fulltext

Because not all indexes are fulltext--or 100% fulltext--you may have to elsewhere to find an article for which you have a citation. Consult the resources below to find out how to get access to the articles you need.

Demographics and Statistics

Statistics and demographics are important to many research projects, but they can be hard to find. Try some of the resources below when looking for statistics. If you still cannot find what you need, contact a librarian.

Page updated: April 17, 2007

 

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