About | Collections | News & Events | - Search & Find - | Services

Research

COMM 200: Research in Communication

Fall 2007

Amanda Gunn

Reference Materials

plato.jpg

Reference books give you a general overview of a person or topic. They can be a good starting point, since many of the entries are written by leading scholars in the field, and entries often include bibliographies.

    General (all topics):

  • Reference Universe Electronic Index to reference works.
  • Dictionary of Communication & Media Studies / DEN Ref P87.5 .W38 1997
  • Webster's New World Dictionary of Media & Communications / DEN Ref P87.5 .W45 1996

    • Rhetoric:

  • Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies / DEN Ref PN172 .J37 2001
  • Encyclopedia of Rhetoric / DEN Ref PN172 .E52 2001
  • Twentieth-Century Rhetorics & Rhetoricians: Critical Studies & Sources / DEN Ref P301 .T89 2000
  • Encyclopedia of Propaganda / DEN Ref HM263 .E53 1998
  • Dictionary of Historical & Comparative Linguistics / DEN Ref P143 .T727 2000

    • Internal/Organizational Communication:

  • From Talking Drums to the Internet: An Encyclopedia of Communications Technology / DEN Ref P96 .T42 G374 1997 or Connect to this title online
  • Talking About People: A Guide to Fair & Accurate Language / DEN Ref P301 .M33 1997
  • Dictionary of Cognitive Science / DEN Ref BF311 .V56713 2004
  • Encyclopedia of International Media & Communications / DEN Ref P87.5 .E532 2003

    • Media Studies:

  • History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia / DEN Ref P92 .U5 H55 1998
  • Encyclopedic Dictionary of Semiotics, Media & Communications / DEN Ref P87.5 .D36 2000
  • Encyclopedia of International Media & Communication / DEN Ref P87.5 .E532 2003
  • Encyclopedia of Television / DEN Ref PN1992.18 .E53 2004

    • Communication Law:

  • Freedom of the Press: Decisions of the Supreme Court / DEN Ref KF4774 .A52 F73 1996
  • Censorship: A World Encyclopedia / DEN Ref Z657 .C393 2001
  • Press & Speech Freedoms in the World, from Antiquity to 1998: A Chronology / DEN Ref Z657 .I525 1998
  • Major Acts of Congress / DEN Ref KF154 .M35 2004
  • Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage / DEN Ref KF156 .G367 1995


Finding Books

  1. Use the OhioLINK Central Catalog in one of the following ways:

      Subject Search
    • A specific topic (ex. "Organizational Communication")
    • A broad topic (ex. Law--United States or mass media)
    • A person's name (ex. Cronkite, Walter)
    • A corporation's name (ex. National Broadcasting Company)
    • An agency name (ex. FCC)

      • Keyword Search Options
    • AND (fewer results)
    • OR (expanded results)
    • NOT (eliminates words)
    • * truncation symbol
    • "quotation marks" to search a phrase
    • (parentheses) to make one portion of search string function first
    • Use the "Modify Search" button to weed materials you don't want.

  2. Print out the items you are interested in by following these steps:
    • Add items to your "Saved List" by clicking "Save for Export."
    • To get to the Saved List, click "View Saved Records."
    • To print the list, click "Screen" under "Send List To." Make sure "Full Display" is selected under "Format of List."
    • A new printer-formatted screen should appear with all the items you saved.

  3. Check the OhioLINK Catalog record to see if there is a copy available in CONSORT.
    • If there IS a copy in CONSORT, use the CONSORT Catalog to find a local copy. (You may have to have the book sent to you from OWU, WOO, or KEN.)

    • If there is NO copy in CONSORT, request the book within the OhioLINK Catalog by clicking "Request This Item." You will be prompted for your location. Enter "CONSORT Colleges." Then, enter your name and ID. Finally, choose "Denison University" as your pickup location.

Finding Articles

Databases help you find relevant articles from journals and magazines. After you find a good article, use the CONSORT Catalog to obtain the journal issue (if the article is not in full text online). If Denison does not own the journal issue you need, simply place an InterLibrary Loan request.

Web Resources

Going to "Google" it? BE AWARE that not all web sites contain high-quality information. To help you decide what constitutes a "good" or "bad" web site, you can consult WWW Site Evaluation Criteria from the New Mexico State University Library.

You can increase your chances of retrieving scholary materials from Google by using Google Scholar