Using Catalogs: Use the WSU online catalog to find the location and availability of books and other media in Stewart Library. Also use the catalog to determine whether or not the library subscribes to a particular journal or magazine in paper format. Some, but not all, of the magazines and journals which we have available electronically are listed in the catalog.
Interlibrary Loan: If we do not own a particular book or article you need, we will borrow it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.
Print: Reference resources include
encyclopedias, dictionaries and other materials you "refer"
to rather than read cover to cover. Use these resources for background
information on a topic. The Reference Collection is on the
Middle level. Some useful resources for the broad subject of Communication
include:
- The Associated Press
Guide to Internet Research and Reporting Reference ZA
4201 .B38 2001
- History of the Mass
Media in the United States Reference P 92
.U5 H55 1998
Keyguide to Information Sources in Media Ethics
Reference P 94 .M22 1998
- Encyclopedia of Communication and Information Reference P 87.5 .E53 2002
Online: Reference resources which are available online include:
ARTICLE DATABASES
Use article databases to find articles on your topic. Databases are arranged by broad subject categories. Search by subject or keyword in these databases. See Research Tips (below) for suggestions on effective search strategies. Some databases include the full-text of articles, just as they appeared in print.
- Use the library catalog to see if we own a particular journal in paper copy
- Use Ejournals to see if the library subscribes to a particular journal in electronic format or paper copy (print holdings)
- Use Interlibrary Loan to get copies of articles from journals unavailable in print or electronicaly
NOTE: Off-campus access to article databases listed in this guide is limited to WSU students, staff, and faculty. Login with your WSU username and password when prompted. If you have questions, chat with us online. Just click on the Live Assistance button at the top right of this page. Or call the Reference Desk 626-6415 or toll free 1-877-306-3140
The following databases are good starting places. Be sure to check for other databases in your subject area of research: for example, if you're reporting on athletes use SportsDiscus. If you're interested in business communications, check out our business databases.
- Academic Search Premier Over 8800 magazines and journals, many with full text articles, covering most topics
- CIS Congressional Universe - a companion database to Lexis/Nexis - the place to look for legistlative information.
- Communication and Mass Media Complete The best starting place for articles from communication journals
- ComAbstracts/ComIndex/CIOS A database devoted to articles and links to web sites on the broad topic of communication
- CQ Researcher - summaries of important current issues. A good place to begin and/or get background information - it includes statistics, pro and con views, etc.
- Education Full Text Indexing and some full text articles that are relevant to the field of communication
- ERIC A national database devoted to all aspects of education. Stewart Library has most ERIC documents (start with ED followed by six digits) on microfiche. ERIC documents from 1993-2004 may be available full text online. Articles in journals not owned by Stewart Library may be obtained on interlibrary loan. Another version of ERIC is available at www.eric.ed.gov
- Ethnic & Gender NewsWatch
Full text Articles from minority and ethnic newspapers, magazines, and journals in English and Spanish. 1960-present.
- MLA Bibliography Modern Language Association database with abstracts of articles in the fields of literature, language and linguistics.
- PsycInfo Indexing goes back to 1887 in some titles. Has links to some more recent full text articles
- Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection This database provides coverage of nearly 550 full text journals
- Sociological Abstracts Abstracts and indexing in a wide range of fields, including communication research
- Google Scholar - this is a good place to find "gray" literature such as conference proceedings and also articles on topics not covered by library databases. The cited reference feature is an easy way to expand your bibliography. Click on the Google Scholar link on the library's home page to see how to link to ejournals available at WSU.
SEARCHING NEWSPAPERS
- Article
Databases for News Indexing and full text articles for national
and international newspapers
- Ethnic & Gender News Cross search the Ethnic and Gender Newswatch Databases
- LexisNexis Academic Fulltext coverage of many news, legal, and business resources. Dates of coverage vary, many update daily.
- Newspaper Source Provides full-text for 128 regional U.S. newspapers, fifteen international newspapers, six newswires, and nine newspaper columns, The Christian Science Monitor and The Los Angeles Times, global coverage of full text newspapers and other sources.
- Proquest Newspapers Full-text of 300+ U.S. and international news sources, including the Wall Street Journal.
- Utah Digital Newspapers Digital versions of local Utah newspapers. Coverage varies with paper, but ranges from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries.
- Wall Street Journal Full-text access to the premier financial newspaper
- Google News Archive Search - a handy way to search news archives from multiple sources. Some are free, others are fee based. Fee based articles may be available through other databases or via ILL. Also provides a nifty timeline. Good way to track changes over time. Some coverage may go back several hundred years.
Finding
Government Resources
Start
at Stewart Library's Guide
for Government Information. Also use Stewart Library's
database Lexis-Nexis
to find full text public laws, state laws from all 50 states and
much more. Here are some selected sites:
Here are
some WWW sites to get you started. Most of these will take you to
other links, so explore!
- AmericanRhetoric.com
Audio and streaming video of thousands of public speeches, lectures,
sermons, etc.
- CyberJournalist.net The tips and tools here are just part of what's been called the mother of all journalism blogs
- Google groups Comprehensive
list of discussion groups
- Google Scholar
Find articles, conference reports and more
- Government Information
A good selection of links to U.S. and Utah government sites
- Investigative Reporters and Editors
IRE is a great starting place for those interested in investigative
journalism
- Journalismnet.com Billed as the investigative guide to Internet research, this site has lots of useful links
- New
York Times Navigator Selective guide to web sites
especially useful for journalists
- NewsPlace for News and
Sources This site by Northern Illinois University includes
links to journalism groups, lists, people locators, etc.
- Reporter.org Another
great selection of web sites for journalists, including links
to news sources, organizations, etc.
- Resourceshelf.com
Resources and news for information professionals compiled by Gary
Price. Arrow down on the left of the page for links to Direct
Search (Invisible Web resources), Price's List of Lists, Speech
and Transcript Center, and more
- RobertNiles.com
Useful web links for journalists
- Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification
Lots of Utah crime stats and info on availability of Utah criminal
history records.
- Virtual Gumshoe
Comprehensive list of links
- Use the Stewart Library's Research Tips guide
- Clearly identify your information need
- Identify key words and search terms to match your topic
- Develop search statements using advanced search techniques
- Boolean logic, adjacency searching and truncation
- Use the Online catalog to find books
- Use article databases to find journal articles
- If articles are not full text, search Ejournals to see if a particular journal is full text in another database
- If a journal is not available full text online, check the online catalog to see if the journal is owned by Stewart Library in paper copy. Materials are arranged by their call numbers.
- Use Interlibrary loan to get materials that are not available through Stewart Library
- Carefully evaluate the information you find for usefulness and quality
- Revise your search terms and strategy to expand or narrow your results.
- Use appropriate style to document and cite research
- Ask for HELP at Reference , via phone, chat, or email.
