Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications Chapter Four Reading Research: To Boldly Go Where Others Have Gone Before

Key Concepts Relevance vs. quality. Primary vs. secondary sources. Scholarly vs. trade vs. popular publications. Search engines vs. databases. Boolean search terms. Literature review. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Bibliographic Research: Why? Build a foundation for your research. Get help with methods. Anticipate ethical issues. See standards for language, style and format. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

What We Want From a Literature Search Relevant information - ▫For insight on your research interest. and Quality information - ▫Credible ▫Reliable, ▫Written to scholarly standards. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

How Do We Find Quality Information? Prefer databases to search engines. Database example - ▫Communication and Mass Media Complete (access through academic library) Search engine examples – ▫Dogpile, Google, Ask (access through Web) Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Primary vs. Secondary Sources Primary ▫What the author originally wrote. ▫Has references and method detail. Secondary ▫How someone else interpreted the author. ▫Lacks the original detail. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Scholarly, Trade, Popular Publications: What’s the Difference? ScholarlyTradePopular Written by ScholarsPractitionersJournalists Frequency Quarterly Monthly Weekly Daily Articles reviewed by - Peer reviewEditor Citations, method details YesMaybeNo Title Journal of...“... News”Variable Publisher AcademicTrade Assn.News media Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Some Communication Search Terms Advertising Advocacy Analysis Attitude Audio-visual Behavior Body language Broadcasting Cable Cognition Culture Diffusion Gender Groups Image Influence Interaction International Internet Interpersonal Journalism Management Mass media Measurement Opinion Organization Persuasion Public opinion Motion pictures Newspaper Persuasion Political Press Public opinion Public relations Radio Relationship Rhetoric Social media Social space Symbol Technology Theory Television Web Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Bibliographic Resources Catalogs Dictionaries Encyclopedias Indexes Annuals, yearbooks Handbooks Abstracts Census.gov Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Assessing Quality of Publications Author credentials - Prof., Dr., Ph.D. Author affiliation - university, corporation, “think tank”. Date of publication. Edition. Publisher. Title. Intended audience. Objectivity – subjectivity. Coverage – comprehensive or selective. Citations. Writing Style – popular, technical, scholarly. Reviews - if any. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Assessing Quality of Websites In addition to publication criteria – URL -.gov,.edu,.org,.com. Site explains why content is accepted or rejected? What people or organization wrote the page? What contact information is provided? Can you verify information on the site? How old are documents on the site? If you search for similar sites, what type of information do you get? Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Boolean Searches OR - NOT - AND Example - Hits ▫Communication ▫Feminist1245 ▫Communication OR feminist ▫Communication NOT feminist ▫Communication AND feminist632 Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Saving and Reporting Information Source Information – ▫Book – author, title, date, edition, publisher. ▫Journal Article –  article title, journal title, date, volume, issue number, page numbers. ▫For any direct quotes needed  page numbers from book or journal. For websites, above plus – ▫URL (web address). ▫Date you downloaded the information. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Saving and Reporting Study Details Participants – ▫Who or what was studied. Method – ▫How research was conducted. Results – ▫What have you discovered? Conclusions – ▫So what? Unique aspects – ▫what is so special about the study? Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

The Literature Review Narrative that pulls together research you have read into a rationale for YOUR study. Structure – chronological or pro/con. Format – introduction-body-conclusion. Cites all work you have read using a scholarly style such as APA, MLA or Chicago. Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Vocabulary Review APA Bibliographic Boolean operators Chicago Citations Databases doi MLA Peer review Popular articles Primary source Refereeing Scholarly articles Search engines Search field Search term Secondary source Trade publications Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Web Resources American Psychological Association - Library of Congress Subject Headings - Evaluating Web Sites - webeval.html Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications