Communication Databases
Below you'll find the databases most often used in Communication research, but the resources you need will vary depending on your topic. Ask me if you're not sure where to begin your search. I'm glad to help you!
- Communication Source This link opens in a new window
This resource offers worldwide full-text content pertaining to communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology, media studies and related fields and includes many unique sources previously not available.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers several disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, finance and economics.
- Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
This is a scholarly and popular sources collection; it spans the entire spectrum of film and television studies.
- SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to many journals in sociology, as well as indexing of books, conference papers, and other sources.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
A resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Produced by the American Psychological Association, it is an indispensable tool for the discovery of global scholarly research.
Search by Subject
Use subject headings to create narrowly tailored search queries.
Subject headings constitute a controlled vocabulary that can help you find sources by their primary subjects. The Library of Congress maintains this vocabulary, making it standard across many different databases and catalogs.
For example, imagine you're developing a topic on theme parks. Searching that term in LC's subject heading thesaurus reveals the preferred subject heading, "amusement parks." Using the advanced search interface in a given database, you can change the search field from keyword to subject as pictured below. Searching "amusement parks" in the subject field returns all results tagged with that heading. Now cross-reference your subject search with keywords specific to your interest in amusement parks, such as the way they're marketed.
Caveat searcher! Narrow queries of this kind may inadvertently filter relevant results. It's often best to begin with broad, keyword-based searches before moving to subject headings.