Research Guides: Communication in Media Organizations: MSP 4696: Find Scholarly Sources

Why Use Scholarly Sources?

Question: What value lies in using scholarly sources, such as peer-reviewed journal articles or books published by university presses? Why, for example, would a researcher choose a scholarly source over a news story or blog post?

Answer: Scholarly sources have a different level of authority and credibility because they have been approved by a group with recognized expertise in the field under discussion. That approval process includes many steps for verifying facts, reducing bias, and for identifying conflicts of interest. To help aid that process, authors organize and structure their scholarly work differently in order to document evidence that either supports or negates claims and conclusions.

Find Scholarly Articles

Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text articles on all aspects of Communication & Mass Media Studies, including advertising, broadcasting, journalism, mass media, and more.
Try starting with this database.
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Contains articles focused on film, video, and television. This database is a good choice if you're interested in examining the communication patterns in television broadcasting and cinema.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text articles on all aspects of business, like management, company histories, industry information, etc.
This database is a good choice if you're interested in the business side of media.
APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Contains some full-text articles on all aspects of psychology and behavior.
This database is a good choice if you're interested in the psychological impact of media on people. Especially good for topics such as perception, identity, imagination, fear, violence, sexuality, cognitive sciences, etc.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Contains some full-text articles on all aspects of sociology.
This database is a good choice if you're interested in examining media from a sociological point of view. Especially good for topics like audience, race, class, gender, groups, etc.

How to Determine if the Article is Relevant

When choosing scholarly articles, consider some of the following:

Read the abstract, if it has one

Skim the introduction and conclusion, or if they are not marked off by headings, skim the first six or seven paragraphs and the last four or five

Skim for section headings, and read the first and last paragraph of those sections

Check the bibliography for titles relevant to your topic

Find the Full-Text

Can't Locate Your Article Online?

Use the link found in the Library Search or the button available from most other databases to locate the entire article online.
If your article is not available in print or via another research database, request it via ILLiad (interlibrary loan).