Library class for CMN102

Learning Outcomes Identify useful sources for finding information CATALOGUE JOURNAL ARTICLES Understand search strategies Learn how to identify peer reviewed sources Evaluate your results

Start with the Library Guide @ http://libguides. usc. edu

Communication library guide

…or in other words 1. Understand your topic This is critical- use books for this 2. Develop search strategies Based on search terms from your reading of articles and books 3. Choose resources Use Discover – Journal Articles and the Catalogue So what is the research process? How do you go about finding information? Put simply, the research process is made up of 3 different parts. What is this topic/assignment about? What type of assignment is involved? What do you need to do (essay, report, comparison)? How are you going to do your search? What are you physically going to type in? What are some alternative terms that could be used? What type of resources should you use? Let’s go through your assignment & see how this works.

Finding different types of information sources For: Books, use the Catalogue For: journal articles use Discover – Journal articles

Don’t start you research with Google or social media These can stimulate and inform your thinking and understanding – but don’t cite them as research information!

Your turn Turn to the person next to you. Choose your topic You need to explain what your topic means to the other person

Topics 1. Using structuralism as a framework and drawing on the concept of hegemony, analyse Mean Girls   2. Concentrating on discourses of race and ethnicity and the concept of ‘the Other’, analyse Season One of the podcast Serial (available to download or stream for free anywhere podcasts are available).

Topics 3. Focusing on discourses of masculinity and the concept of hegemony, analyse the Four Corners episode ‘Bringing the War Home’ 4. Using postmodernism and feminism as frameworks, analyse Beyonce’s music video Hold Up  

Topics 5. Using poststructuralism and queer theory as frameworks, analyse the GetUp! Australia ‘It's Time’ marriage equality advertisement

Choosing Terms Do background reading to identify key terms and concepts, but be aware of: Synonyms – alternative terms e.g. equality recognition status Broader subjects - gender Narrower & related topics e.g gay lesbian lgbtiq Alternative spellings organi?ation

Background reading Sometimes books are the best source for theory Use Discover – Course Reserve CMN102 - will find a useful book

Course Reserve CMN102

Useful book

Two versions of the book – ebook and hardcopy For the Ebook - You will be prompted to another login screen.

More details – search options You could use the words Mass media as keywords or searching ideas

CMN102 Suggested books Go to the Communication Library Guide Left hand tab – CMN102 Suggested books for CMN102 Search for them on the catalogue

Useful searching techniques Use AND, OR, NOT to join topic words/phrases Use quotation marks to find exact phrases e.g. “internet regulation” will find those words in that exact order Use truncation and wildcards to find variants of word e.g. adolesce* will find adolescent, adolescents, adolescence e.g. wom?n will find women or woman (note - this symbol may change for different databases) Use the Help section for specific hints/instructions

Advanced Search on Discover - Catalogue Combination searches are possible Multiple Keyword “Queer theory” AND media

Advanced Searching

Why use books Books are great for theory Provide you with a good grounding Can limit to books in Discover – use Catalogue Can use basic search eg. structuralism

Journal articles Academic sources Regularly updated Current research Narrower than books

Evaluation-What is “peer review”? Peer review is a quality control system used by most scholarly journals. Journal articles are sent to people who are experts in their area – meaning their peers An article must meet a certain standard If not, the article may not be published

Advanced searching Journal articles Search in Subject Limit to Peer Review Masculinity AND hegemony

There might be some relevant journal articles.

Hint You don’t have to use journal articles Sometimes books are going to work better Could use a journal article as a case study Use your judgement for this

Books- how can I tell? In-text referencing Bibliography at the end

Use the Library Guide

Getting Help Ask a Librarian: In Person at the Library Help Desk By Telephone 5430 2803 Using the Library Chat Email InfoDesk@usc.edu.au Come to Library Drop In Try the USC Library’s Communication Guide