Welcome to the Communications Subject Guide!

This subject guide is intended to be a starting point for your research on communication topics.  Recommended databases, journals, reference tools, and websites are listed (and linked when it is an electronic resource) from the menu above.  You can also find guides for specific courses within the Communications department.

This Subject Guide was compiled by the library liaison to the Communications Department,
Krista Knapp.  If you have questions, please use the information below to contact Krista!


Last updated 04/14/09.

JUMP TO:  Books in Blackwell                                     Search Tips       
                 Books from other USMAI Libraries               Books through Interlibrary Loan

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Books in Blackwell Library

Search the online Library Catalog for books in Blackwell Library.  You can search by Title, Author, Subject or Keyword, or you can do a browse search.   The books you can check out say "Stacks" before the call number and are located on the second floor of the library.  If you feel like browsing, here is a website that explains Library of Congress Classification, which is how books are organized in our library.

Click here for a list of recently added books!

These are call number ranges you might want to browse:

• HE6000-7500 Postal service. Stamps.

• HE7601-8700.9 Telecommunication industry. Telegraph

• HE8660-8688 Wireless telegraph. Radiotelegraphy

• HE8689-8700.95 Radio and television broadcasting

• HE8701-9680.7 Telephone industry

• HE9713-9715 Cellular telephone services industry. Wireless telephone industry

• HE9719-9721 Artificial satellite telecommunications

• HF5717-5734.7 Business communication

• HF5801-6182 Advertising

• HM786-806  Organizational sociology

• HM1106-1171   Interpersonal relations

• HQ1-2044 – Marriage, Family, Sexuality

• P87-96 Communication. Mass media

• P94.7 Interpersonal communication

• P95-95.6 Oral communication. Speech

• P99.5-99.6 Nonverbal communication

• PN1990-1992.92  Broadcasting

• PN1991-1991.9  Radio broadcasts

• PN1992-1992.92  Television broadcasts

• PN1992.93-19 92.95   Nonbroadcast video recordings

• PN1993-1999  Motion pictures

• PN4699-5650  Journalism. The periodical press

• Z551-656 Copyright

• Z657-659 Freedom of the press. Censorship

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Search Tips

Keyword Searching

It's very important to remember that our catalog and databases do not search like Google searches!  It will not work to type in a long phrase with lots of articles and prepositions.  So,
here are some helpful keyword hints:

• Identify simple one or two-word concepts in your topic.
         Example Topic: How are race relations impacted by rap or hip hop music?
         Simple concepts: race, relations, rap, hip hop, music

• Search your simple concepts with the word AND.  Example: Race AND rap music, race
         AND hip hop.  It's often best to start simply and see the results!

• Think of synonyms for your concepts.  Example: Instead of race relations, you might try
          racism, minorities, African Americans, social aspects.

• Try lots of different combinations of your search terms!  You are unlikely to find exactly
         what you want just by doing one search!

• Come to the Research Services desk for help if you get stuck!

Subject Searching

Why would you want to do a subject search?  Well, let's say you were interested in finding all the books in the library about cats.  You might find books about cats under "Cats," "Kittens," Felines," or a variety of other keywords.  When you search by subject, then all of the synonyms are accounted for, so "Cats" as a subject would include all the books about "Kittens" and "Felines" as well.   Subjects can also serve to narrow your search.  A keyword search of "cats" would retrieve all the books that just have a few pages about cats, whereas a search of the subject "Cats" would retrieve books where the main focus were those cute, furry creatures!   This website from MIT might do a better job of explaining it than I did!

Come on, get creative!  You can combine subjects or subjects and keywords.  Remember, joining terms with "OR" will get you "MORE" results and joining terms with "AND" will narrow your results.  Savvy researchers try lots of different combinations of terms and discover what yields the best results.  Happy searching!

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Books from Other USMAI Libraries

If you are a student, faculty, or staff member of Salisbury University, you have access to the library collections of all of the University of Maryland affiliated universities through our shared library catalog.  To borrow a book from another campus, follow these steps:

• Select "Choose Campus" from the menu at the top

• Choose a campus or USMAI for all the campuses

• Perform the search

• When you find a book you want that is not at SU, click on the location link

• Click the request button if the item is available

• Log in with the information from your Gull Card and complete the request

• The book will be available for you to pick up in Blackwell in 3-5 business days

View a short tutorial that shows this process in action!

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Books from Interlibrary Loan/Worldcat

Interlibrary Loan is a great tool that allows you to borrow a book from libraries outside the USMAI system.  Before you submit a request, make sure that we don't own the book here at SU or at one of the other USMAI institutions.  If not, you can submit a request through ILL Express. 

You can also search Worldcat, which is a huge catalog of materials from libraries all over the world.  If the book you want is in a library, chances are pretty good you will find it in Worldcat!  If you find the book you want and you know it is not available at SU or any USMAI campus, then you can click the Find It button and then request the book through Interlibrary Loan.  The advantage of doing it this way is that you don't have to fill in all the information about the book!

Click here to go to the Interlibrary Loan webpage  For more information, view a
short tutorial about Interlibrary Loan.

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• CMAT 100 - Foundations of Communication

• CMAT 101 - Introduction to Human Communication Studies

• CMAT 101 - Introduction to Human Communication Studies - ONLINE EDITION

• CMAT 205 - Interpersonal Communication

• CMAT 218 - Rhetoric and Public Presentation

• CMAT 234 - Beginning Audio  Production

• CMAT 246 - Journalism

• CMAT 260 - Organizational Communication

• CMAT297 - Communication Research

• CMAT 301 - Research Methods

• CMAT 304 - Communication: Gender and Culture

• CMAT 332 - Media Criticism and Analysis

• CMAT 334 - Mass Media in Society

• CMAT 340 - Public Relations Writing

• CMAT 394 - Studies in Journalism/Public Relations - Persuasive Campaigns

• CMAT490 - Senior Seminar (Photo Finish: How the Visual Image Shapes...)

• CMAT490 - Senior Seminar (The Human-Animal Bond)

• CMAT490 - Senior Seminar (Identity, Disclosure & Privacy)

• CMAT490 - Senior Seminar (Gay, Lesbian and Queer Communication Studies)

• CMAT490 - Senior Seminar (Speaking of Spirituality)

• CMAT 490 - Senior Seminar (Darker Side of Communication)

• CMAT 490 - Senior Seminar (First Amendment)

• CMAT 490 - Senior Seminar (Leadership)

• CMAT 490 - Senior Seminar (Film Noir)

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JUMP TO:    About Databases    Multidisciplinary Databases    Subject Specific Databases
                   The Find-It Button      Understanding Scholarly Communication

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About databases:

Use databases to find articles on your topic.  Some databases will have the full text of the entire article available within the database, others will only have a citation for the article.  Use the Find-It button to determine how to access the full article when there is no electronic full-text.  Read more about the Find-It Button and Understanding Scholarly Communication below, after the list of databases!

NOTE: These links will only work from on campus.  From OFF CAMPUS, log into Research Port using the barcode on the back of your Gull Card.  Watch this tutorial to see how!

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Here are some databases that may be useful for communications topics:

Multidisciplinary/Newspapers:

• Academic Search Complete - a multidisciplinary database containing both scholarly and popular sources, many of which have full-text available.  ASP is a good place to start your research.  Use the FindIt button to locate articles that are not available full-text.
   
• Lexis-Nexis Academic - a great source for full-text world news and legal information.
   
• National Newspapers - a source of U.S. news from major papers including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
   
• JSTOR  - a huge, wonderful database of scholarly communication from a wide variety of disciplines.  All of these sources are full-text, but the newest documents are 3-5 years old.

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Subject-Specific:

• America: History and Life - covers United States and Canadian history, both full text articles and citations for others with Find-It buttons.

• Business Source Premier - company, industry, business information with the familiar EBSCO interface. 

• Columbia International Affairs Online - full text theory, research, and case studies on international affairs.

• Com Abstracts - citations to articles in Communications Journals.  From this page, choose Com Abstracts in the top right-hand corner to search the database.

• Communication & Mass Media Complete - Full-text and citations for many journals and magazine articles about communication and media topics. 

• CQ Weekly - Congressional Quarterly Weekly -  your opportunity to find out what's going on in Congress!

• Contemporary Women's Issues - would be good for topics relating to women.

• ERIC - "Education Resources Information Center," a database with full text education articles and ERIC documents as well as Find It links to non-full text resources.

• Humanities International Complete - database covering the Humanities with quite a few Communications journals included.

• PsycINFO - the gold standard database for psychology and related fields.

• Social Sciences Abstracts - articles and citations for interdisciplinary fields such as addiction studies, anthropology, corrections, economics, gender studies, gerontology, minority studies, political sciences, psychology, sociology, and more.

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The Find-It Button

It's a bit like magic, really.  The Find It button does three things:

• Looks in all of our databases to see if the document you want is available full-text in another of our databases.  If so, it links you to it!

• Links you to the library catalog when we have the item you want in print or microform.

• Links you to ILLiad (interlibrary loan) so you can borrow the item from another library if we don't have access electronically or in print.

The Find It button is YOUR FRIEND!!!  Click here to see the Find It button starring in a short tutorial!

You can also use the Citation Linker, another fabulously cool tool.   It is useful when you are reading an article and it cites another article that looks like it would be super useful for your research.   You plug in the citation information for that article and can find out how to access it, whether it be electronically, physically in the library, or through Interlibrary Loan.  It works the same way as Find It, but you don't have to be in a database.

Learn more about the Citation Linker!

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Understanding Scholarly Communication

Many times, instructors insist that you use scholarly sources for your papers.  What does that mean?  Check out this handy dandy chart for the details!

Here are the basics:

Popular Magazines:

• glossy, pretty pages with lots of advertisements and pictures

• written by hired reporters for a general audience

• short, easily read articles

Scholarly Journals:

• somewhat dull looking - very few pictures or advertisements

• written by experts in the field and reviewed by other scholars before publication

• long articles with citations and bibliographies at the end

Why should you use the library and not just use Google to find some good websites?

Most of the time, scholarly publications are not available to the general public, nor are they available for free on the internet.  Individuals or organizations (such as a library) subscribe to these publications.  Because subscriptions are expensive, many choose to access this content through libraries. 

Often, content from scholarly journals is indexed in databases that the library subscribes to.  The content is on the web, but it is not accessible unless you are affiliated with the institution who is subscribing.  It isn’t the same thing as just finding a website through a regular Google search.  Sometimes the full text of the article is available through the database; other times it is only a citation to the article and you will need to find the print version of the article in the library or order the article through interlibrary loan if we don’t subscribe to it.

So, basically what I'm saying is that the only way you can access this scholarly information for free is by using the library databases! 

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Communications Journals

This is a list of journals relevant to Communications that are available in print in the library or electronically through one of our databases.  Please be advised that this is not a comprehensive list of journal titles.  For complete records of all the journal holdings, search catalogUSMAI or the Periodical Holdings List in Blackwell Library Reference.  Because holdings and subscriptions change from time to time, this list may not be entirely current, but I will do my best to keep it updated.  If you have any questions or problems accessing the journals, please call or email your friendly Liaison, Krista Knapp, or stop by the Reference Desk.

* Indicates that full text is not available for the current year.

Journal Title

Dates

Broadcasting & Cable

CEA Magazine

Cinema Journal

Columbia Journalism Review

Communication Arts

Communication Education

Communication Monographs

Communication Studies

Communications of the ACM

Critical Studies in Media Communication

Editor and Publisher

Educational Technology Research and Development

Film Comment

Film-philosophy

Human Communication Research

The Journal of American Culture

Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media

Journal of Communication

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

The Journal of Religion and Film

Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly

Language in Society

Management Communication Quarterly

Rhetorica

Television Quarterly

Vital Speeches

Writer

Writer’s Digest

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Jump to:
What is a Reference Tool?           
Interpersonal/Group/Intercultural Communication
Mass Communication/Media

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What is a reference tool? 

• A reference tool is a resource that is used to uncover a specific fact or piece of information.  Reference tools are generally not intended to be read sequentially or cover-to-cover.
• Reference tools contain specific facts, definitions, overviews, background information and citations to other relevant resources.
• Reference tools are helpful in narrowing a topic.
• Reference tools provide definitions of concepts.
• Reference tools include encylopedias, dictionaries, biographies, bibliographies, handbooks, atlases, maps, and thesauri.
• Reference tools are a great place to start research!
• Reference books in Blackwell Library are located on the main floor and have call numbers that start with the letters REF.
   

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Interpersonal/Group/Intercultural Communication

• International Encyclopedia of Communication
  REF P87.5 .I5
• Encyclopedia of Psychology
  REF BF31 .E52 2000
• Encyclopedia of Sociology
  REF HM425 .E5 2000
• International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family
  REF HQ9 .E52 2003
• SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research
  REF H62 .S34 2004
• Countries and Their Cultures
  REF GN307 .C68 2001
• Older Americans
  REF HQ1064 .U5 O43 2004
• American Men
  REF HQ1090.3 .A457 2006
• American Women
  REF HQ1421 .A486 2006
   

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Mass Communication/Media

• Concise Encyclopedia of Advertising
  REF HF5803 .C59 2005
• Encyclopedia of Media & Politics
  REF P95.82 U6 E47 2007
• Swingin' On the Ether Waves
  REF PN1991.8 A35 S36 2005
• Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts
  REF PN1993.45 .H36 2000
• Film Review Annual
  REF PN1995 .F465
• The Motion Picture Guide
  REF PN1995 .N346
• Variety Film Reviews
  REF PN1995 .V34 1983
• International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
  REF PN1997.8 .I58

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Communication Bookmarks

You should evaluate websites very carefully before using them for academic research.  Although there is a lot of high quality information available on the internet, it is buried among the mire!  Use these websites to help you sort out the good from the bad!

• Duke U.'s Evaluating Websites Guide
• Evaluating Web Site Content (PDF) (SU's guide that you can print out)
• UC Berkeley's Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask
   

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Suggested websites for Communications:

JUMP TO:  General Sites         Family/Interpersonal    Business/Group
                   Public Speaking     Journalism                     Mass Media

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General Sites

 

Journalism

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