InfoGuides: Media Comm: Journalism: Find Articles

Research Process

The research process can look different for everyone, and may look different from project to project, but most will have a few common features:

Begin with a question you want answered. What are you most interested in learning?
Decide what type of information you need: do you need newspapers, books, or scholarly articles?
Gather and evaluate information: are your sources current, reliable, applicable, and unbiased?
Is your question answered? Do you need more (or different) information? Do you need to change your question?
Repeat 1-4 until you're ready to use the information: make a decision, write a paper, present, etc.

Don't forget to ask a librarian for help!

Start Here

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Full-text, searchable access to more than 175 specific encyclopedias in many subjects, including business, social sciences, history, biography, religion, popular culture, and much more.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: 1993-2007 publication dates, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ? Or !, Search Tips: Search by title, keyword, author, subject, ISBN, full-text, and image caption. Limit by date, document type, or audience type. You can also drill down through a subject classification list from general to specific.

Important Databases

Communication Source This link opens in a new window
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The most comprehensive research database in the field of communications, this resource results from a merger of EBSCO’s Communication and Mass Media Complete with SAGE's Communications Abstracts. It indexes and abstracts over 1000 core journals, nearly 400 more than in CMMC, and its active full text for more than 600 journals includes 150 full-text titles not available in CMMC.

It also has a subject-specific, browsable thesaurus featuring 4,528 preferred and 8,528 non-preferred terms and coverage dating back to 1915.

Coverage includes advertising, rhetoric, communication disorders and much more.
Coverage: Varies, mostly mid-1990s forward, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ?, Search Tips: Use quotation marks to phrase search. Allows Boolean AND, OR and NOT searching. May limit to full-text.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
** Expanded access continues as we work to implement a new contract for JSTOR's new all-access model, which will provide access to all archival journals and primary source content. **

Back volumes for 2,890 journals from the very first issue but usually excluding the most current 2-5 years, though almost 100 with coverage through the most recent issue. General subject areas include art & architecture, Asian studies, botany, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, language & literature, mathematics, music, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology and statistics.
Format: Majority full-text; some additional full-text via link resolver, Coverage: Dates vary with beginning date of journal., Truncation and Wildcard: + and ----, Search Tips: Boolean commands are supported. Use quotation marks to search keywords as a phrase.
APA PsycArticles This link opens in a new window
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Full-text of 77 journals published by the American Psychological Association APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association, and Hogrefe Publishing Group. Almost all titles are from volume 1, issue 1 through the most recent issue. Initial coverage begins in 1894 for Psychological Review.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: Volume 1, Issue 1 to present for each title, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ?, Search Tips: Boolean command searching. Browsable index of search terms for author/editor, journal name, language, document type, and subject term.
APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
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Behavioral sciences database containing full-text and abstracts for journals, books, and book chapters. International coverage for psychology, medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education and pharmacology. Index is created by the American Psychological Association. More than 1.8 million entries. Entries are searchable by language, format, special population groups, classification codes, content type, intended audience, and special features.
Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: 1887-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and *, Search Tips: Use quotation marks to phrase search. Allows Boolean AND, OR and NOT searching. May limit to full-text, scholarly journals, date, length, publication name and type. HELP link on each screen, which includes Citation information. Can print, save, or email results. Some full-text publications may have the most current 3-12 months in abstract only, due to publisher restrictions.

Sage Journals Online This link opens in a new window
Full-text from 860+ scholarly journals, with excellent coverage for criminology, psychology, sociology, health sciences and the humanities. Numerous journals also cover education, general and international business, and management.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: 1999-present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and *, Search Tips: Search results may include material earlier than our subscription. DO NOT pay for articles: use our Interlibrary Loan
SpringerLink This link opens in a new window
Primarily scientific journals, with particular emphasis on mathematics, physics and engineering. Publisher is European, so some journals are not in English. Contains about 1,200 peer-reviewed journals.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies, mid 1990s - present., Truncation and Wildcard: No and No, Search Tips: Default choice in advanced search is citation, so switch to articles by text tab to keyword search. Dropdown menu allows searching by All Words, AExact Phrase or Boolean Search. Search is by Author, Title, Abstract (including title), or Full-text (including title and abstract). Select Recency or Relevancy to sort results. To search by publication dates, or specific publication names, click the button labeled Show Advanced Options. Also browseable by publication, by publisher, or by online library (broad subjects such as chemical sciences, computer science, economics, etc.)
Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary full-text database with an international perspective. Numerous specialized journals especially in education, social and behavioral sciences, communication, and business, but also otherwise across the arts and humanities, physical and life sciences, health sciences, and engineering, More than 1400 journals are available.
Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies by title, many are 1997 to present, Truncation and Wildcard: Select 'stemming' and n/a, Search Tips: Be sure to check 'Only content I have full access to' to limit to items immediately available in full-text.

Search Tips

Try lots of different search terms.

Search terms in "subject list" in the catalog, or title search.

Combine Search Terms:

Instead of just searching Culture, also try:

Religion and Culture
Identity and Culture
Politics and Culture
Society
Sociological Issues
(your topic) and Culture, etc.

Put phrases in quotes:

i.e. Instead of Asian American Identity,

try "Asian American Identity"

Interlibrary Loan

If you need a book or article that we don't have, you can get it via Interlibrary Loan Details (ILL).

Request a book or article.
Most articles are emailed within 1-2 weeks. Books may take longer.