Mass Media 306 : Media Distribution
Getting Started
The best way to get started on any research is to find 1 or 2 good books that will provide background and context for a broad literature search. For additional help see the Marketing Subject Guide.
Books
To search for books, you need to use a library catalog. A good strategy is to:
- enter a keyword or two
- scan the list for one good item of interest
- click on the subject headings for that item
- scan the list of subject headings for ones that are of interest
- click on another subject heading to search for more items
Depending on how much time you have, you have a couple of options:
Books at Cal State San Marcos
Library Catalog
Search our local collection of about 250,000 books.
Other Options
Circuit (1-3 day delivery)
Search the collections of other San Diego area libraries -- about 3,000,000 books. Find and request books directly online; pick them up at our Library in 1-3 days.
WorldCat (5-10 day delivery)
Search the collections of libraries world-wide -- about 52,000,000 books. Find a book in this database, and fill-out an Interlibrary Loan delivery request. Book will be delivered to Library for pickup.
Journal Articles
Journals include some of the latest research in the field. To find scholarly or popular articles, you need to start with a research database.They allow you to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at once.
- Communication & Mass Media Complete
Provides abstracts and full-text for more than200 communication journals. Includes the following publications: MediaWeek
Coverage: 1950-current - ABI Inform Global
Abstracts to articles for more than 1,000 leading business and management publications, with full-text for most popular sources.
Coverage: 1971-current - Academic Search Premier
This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies and many more. Includes the following publications: Billboard,
Coverage: 1975-current - LexisNexis Academic
Provides access to a wide range of news, business, legal and reference information. Includes the following publications: Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, and Shoot.
Coverage: 1975-current
Possible journals to browse include:
- Adweek online :: via the library
- Billboard online :: via the library
- Current Research In Film
- EMediaweekly
- The Hollywood Reporter
- MediaWeek online :: via the library
- Variety online :: via the library
- Res
- Screen Digest
- Shoot
Websites
- Clickz has some excellent articles in the EXPERTS tab.
- The Electronic Journal of Communication is a searchable full text of the journal published by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship
- Entertainment Law Resources
- Fathom.com
- FMQB
- Garageband.com
- Indiewire
- The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute in Japan has an English-language web site that includes research articles on several issues of broadcasting (not confined to Japan only), e.g. an "Evaluation of Public Broadcasting by Country: Results of an International Comparative Survey by Japan, Britain, and the United States." Its research archive goes back until fall 1997, the first issue of its publication.
- RadioandRecords.com
- TVWeek.com
- Video Games Magazines, from Yahoo Directory
- Wired.com
- The World Advertising Research Center Select "Research" and then dig deeper for interesting journal articles. The drawback of this web site is that you have to register in order to view the articles. You may register for a 7-day trial period which lets you view all abstracts as well as download 25 articles for free.
Style Guides
Sites with examples of in-text citations and works cited pages.
APA Quick Reference
Guide 
In-text citing and works cites examples.
Using APA Style 5th edition
The OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue
University provides a myriad of example
of works cited and in-text citations.
Bookmark this page!
apastyle.org
Produced by the APA, this site contains
a wealth of information about APA citation
style. It is not a replacement for owning
the Publication Manual, though.
It is highly recommended that you have your own copy of the APA Manual, as the library's copies are often checked out.
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Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, 2001. |
