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COMM 1321: Business Communication

Introduction to library resources for business research and communication

Informative Presentation Assignment

Each person will choose a classroom-appropriate subject to research based on a career you are considering. You will need to find as much information as possible using at least 3 sources includind an interview with someone in the field, to develop a 3-5 minute extemporaneous presentation with a typed outline for this speech at the time of your delivery.

Persuasive Presentation Assignment

Each person will select a classroom-appropriate topic for the persuasive presentation. A persuasive presentation should provide some information about a topic but should mostly focus on prompting the audience to take action towards a topic, even if that action is simply consideration of an idea. The presentation is required to be 5-7 minutes in length, use some type of university-acceptable presentational aid, use a minimum of 3 sources, have a typed outline, and be persuasive in nature.

Article Sources

Business Source Complete is an excellent source for scholarly and trade articles about marketing, management, accounting, finance, corporate history and much more.

Communications & Mass Media Complete is a good place to look for articles about oratory, small group presentations, nonverbal communication, advertising, and other communciation specific topics.

You may search both simultaneously, as we purchase them from the same vendor.

Types of Periodicals

In general, there are three types of periodicals: popular magazines, trade or professional sources and scholarly, professional, or refereed journals. The type of periodical you use will depend on the type of information you need.

The following chart lists the typical characteristics that differentiate these three kinds of periodicals. Keep in mind, however, that some periodicals defy easy categories.

Characteristic Popular Trade/Professional Scholarly (refereed or peer-reviewed)
Publisher commercial firm commercial firm or association university or association
(large scientific & academic publishers)
Frequency of Publication weekly, biweekly or monthly weekly, biweekly or monthly Quarterly
Intended Audience general readers special readers
(persons employed in that field)
special readers
(academics and researchers)
Appearance colorful, illustrated colorful, illustrated plain, mostly text
Article Type short, nontechnical
with photos and graphics
short, technical
with photos and graphics
long, research style
with tables and charts
Writing Style informal, journalistic informal, journalistic formal and/or scientific
Authors staff writers staff writers and persons employed in that field academics and researchers
News Content covers broad issues and popular and/or business affairs covers narrow trade or professional issues no news coverage
Advertising ads for business or consumer products ads for specialized trade/professional products and services ads for books, if any
Research Apparatus none none extensive bibliographies and advanced statistics
Examples Sports Illustrated, People, Newsweek, National Geographic Advertising Age, Variety, Lapidary Journal, Women's Wear Daily Animation Journal, American Art Journal, Burlington

Interlibrary Loan

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