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Getting Started
This is meant to provide a general research process to write your paper:
- Identify broad topic - Click here for help focusing your topic.
- Conduct pre-research to narrow your topic
- Write a thesis/argument - Keep in mind, this will change throughout the course of your research. You may have to revise your argument or thesis statement as you research and understand your topic better. Click here for help writing a thesis.
- Conduct a literature review - Your literature review should cover the scholarly research on your topic.
Be sure to start early - you may need to order articles through Interlibrary Loan, which can take up to two weeks.
- What is scholarly research?
- Write your paper
- Cite your sources - Using APA style, cite direct quotes, summaries and paraphrases in the text of your paper, and provide a bibliography or works cited list of all the materials used in your paper.
Why cite? Check out this tutorial from UCLA.
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Pre-Research
Pre-research is a stage of the research process that comes before narrowing your topic and starting your search for supporting information. You need to gather background information about your topic before you can select a focused topic to study in-depth. Pre-research is informal, and will not necessarily be used as supporting evidence in your paper. Suggested tools to use during pre-research:
- Library databases: Do a quick search for a broad topic to see what scholars are saying. You may find an article that you find fascinating... read through it and see if you can find a topic in it. Then follow the trail (works cited references) to other articles on that topic.
- Library catalog: Books can offer a broad view of a topic area. If you are interested in communication and aging, find a book on that topic and read through the table of contents. This could point you towards a chapter on media portrayls of the elderly, along with other books and articles on this topic.
- Encyclopedias: While encyclopedias aren't appropriate sources to use as supporting evidence in a paper, it is a great place to start your research. They offer basic background information and might offer ideas on a topic.
- International encyclopedia of communications, REF P87.5 .I5 1989
- Encyclopedia of communication and information
- Wikipedia - Wikipedia is a great source for pre-research. But as I stated above, you should NEVER list a wikipedia entry in your works cited page. If you like what you've found in Wikipedia, come see me and we'll find the same information from a source that your professor would approve of.
Focusing your topic
Once you have general background information about your topic, you may still need more focus before you can start your research. This is a quick way to focus your topic further.
Ask yourself these questions?
WHO? Is there are particular population (age, gender, ethnic group, etc.) that is affected by this topic?
WHAT? What do I want to know about this topic?
WHEN? What time period am I examining?
WHERE? What environment does this topic fall into? Workplace, schools, etc.
WHY? Is there methodology or theory that needs to be analyzed?
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Develop Language for
Searches
Vary the terms you use to search. Use synonyms
and AND and OR to develop search strategies.
Use the database thesaurus to change slang to
scholarly language.
- Be flexible with your searches.
- Review the
descriptors or subjects used in the articles you find.
- Use the tools for limiting or expanding your search.
- Read the HELP screens
Developing a Search Strategy
After you have focused your topic by writing your thesis
statement you want to develop a good search strategy. Select
the main concepts in your statement, find synonyms or
alternative terms, and use AND and OR to connect them
appropriately.
EXAMPLE:
| THESIS |
Even though most
people vote their gut rather than their brain,
political ads
should be about issues not emotions because we need
to know what the various
perspectives on the issues are and because emotional
ads can backfire. |
| MAIN CONCEPTS |
- political advertising
- emotional appeal
- electoral campaigns
|
| Alternative TERMS |
- Political
Advertising, Television in Politics
- Persuasion, Influence,
Political psychology
- Political campaigns,
Communications in politics, Elections
|
| SEARCHES |
- Political Advertising OR Television in Politics OR
Communications in politics
- Persuasion OR Influence OR Political psychology
- Political campaigns OR Elections
|
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Articles
Journal articles provide you with the latest research in your field. The research databases below will provide you with both scholarly and popular journal articles in communication.
 What's the difference between scholarly and popular articles?
Most Useful
| Database |
Full Text |
Coverage |
Scholarly |
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Provides abstracts and full text for more than 200 communication journals.
|
 +  |
1950→current |
some |
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
Provides abstracts of articles from about 2,000 journals (published worldwide), coverage of recent books, book review citations and dissertation listings.
|
 |
1973→current |
all |
Academic Search Elite (EbscoHost)
Our most popular database. Covers a wide array of subjects with full text for nearly 1,850 scholarly journals, including more than 1,250 peer-reviewed titles.
|
+ |
1984→current |
most |
|
Also Useful
| Database |
Full Text |
Coverage |
Scholarly |
ERIC
A national database of education literature, including reports and journal articles.
|
|
1966→current |
some |
PsycINFO
Available via EbscoHost: A comprehensive international database of psychology, covering the academic, research, and practice literature in psychology from over 45 countries in more than 30 languages.
|
+ |
1887→current |
all |
Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to the latest international findings in theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and political science.
|
|
1963→current |
all |
|
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Citing Sources
As you write your paper, you'll need
to cite passages and ideas from the sources
you've found. Use the guides below to write your citations in APA style.
 |
APA: Publication manual
of the American Psychological Association.
5th ed. Washington, DC : American
Psychological Association, 2001.
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