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Develop a Search Strategy
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
Also Useful
ACM Digital Library
Collection of almost 200,000 articles published by the Association of Computing Machinery, including over 50 years of archives. Includes journal and newsletter articles and conference proceedings.
|
 |
current |
all |
Blackwell
Blackwell includes over 800 journals in Arts, Business, Health Sciences Humanities, Social Behavioral Sciences, and Science and Technology.
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current |
all |
Sage Journals Online
Sage Journals Online includes over 460 journals in Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine.
|
 |
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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Books
To search for books, you need to use a library catalog. Depending on how much time you have, you have a couple of options:
Websites
- Federal Communications Commission
- FCC Media Bureau "develops, recommends and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to electronic media, including cable television, broadcast television, and radio in the United States and its territories."
- US Patent and Trademark Office Search by keyword for a patent.
- National Telecommunications & Information Adminstration "is the President's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy issues, and in this role frequently works with other Executive Branch agencies to develop and present the Administration's position on these issues."
- Electronic Frontier Foundation "is a nonprofit group of passionate people — lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — working to protect your digital rights."
- USC Annenberg Center "supports active research that addresses practical problems in the convergence of content and digital technology."
- HowStuffWorks.com - "leading source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works."
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. If you would like help writing or reviewing your citations, please email me for an appointment.
KnightCite is an online citation creator which will save you a lot of time writing your citations. Be sure to double-check that the citations generated are correct.
 |
APA: Publication manual
of the American Psychological Association.
5th ed. Washington, DC : American
Psychological Association, 2001.
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