Research Guides: Interpersonal Communication: AOD 0836: Home

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APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
APA PsycInfo contains citations and summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books and technical reports, as well as citations to dissertations, all in the field of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines, such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC) contains databases in the fields of communication and mass media studies. It includes CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Note: Follow these instructions to link Google Scholar with Temple's resources.
Google Scholar provides search for scholarly literature. It covers disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
ProQuest Social Science Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
Social Science Premium Collection contains international literature in social sciences, including politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, library science, and education.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection includes full-text journals covering topics in emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods.
Sage Journals Online This link opens in a new window
Sage Journals Online provides access to journals in the social sciences, humanities, medicine, engineering, and physical and life sciences from Sage Publications.

Literature Reviews

Provides comprehensive discussion of the scholarly research that has already been done on a topic.
Includes some summary of important articles on a topic.
Includes comparison: between how different authors discuss the same topic and how the topic has been handled over time.
Synthesizes previous ideas on a topic, but also looks for gaps in the literature: what needs to be investigated further

Once you've gathered sources, you want to assess how your sources relate to one another and group sources by theme, topic, or methodology. See the handouts below for examples of literature reviews and advice on the process of writing them.

How to Write a Literature Review
Guidance on writing a literature review from TU's Student Success Center.
Literature Reviews
A visual layout of the steps of doing a literature review

Synthesizing Your Sources

What is Synthesis?

From the Temple University Student Success Center

Synthesis writing is a form of analysis related to comparison and contrast, classification and division. On a basic level, synthesis requires the writer to pull together two or more summaries, looking for themes in each text. In synthesis, you search for the links between various materials in order to make your point. Most advanced academic writing, including literature reviews, relies heavily on synthesis.

Synthesizing Sources
Handout from TU's Student Success Center on how to synthesize sources.
How to Read a Scholarly Journal Article
Use the chart on pages 2 and 3 to devise a reading strategy that allows you to maximize your time and effort. From the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). Also check out Anatomy of a Scholarly Article to the right.