MCOM 305: Mass Media History

Introduction

Databases are tools to help you find information and are organized by discipline, format, or both. Subject specific databases contain resources relating to subject areas like like Communication & Mass Media Complete contains resources relating to Communication Studies and Mass Communication. Multidisciplinary databases like Academic Search Premier have a variety of resources on several disciplines. Read the descriptions to learn more about what is in each individual database. 

Keywords

Resource Sharing

Resource sharing, sometimes referred to as Interlibrary Loan (ILL), allows you to get books, book chapters, DVDs, and articles that aren't available in Krueger Library.

Physical items, like books and DVDs, can take a week or longer to arrive. Online articles or book chapter scans often arrive faster and are sent directly to your email.

To learn more about resource sharing including how to make a request, check out the Borrow and Renew section of the library's website.

Mass Communication Databases

Advanced Search Techniques

  • Boolean Searching = using the AND, OR, and NOT operators to broaden or narrow a search
    • OR = includes either or both terms in your results
    • AND = retrieves results with both terms
    • NOT = excludes search word or phrase
  • Phrase Searching = telling the database to search a string of words as a phrase rather than individually
    • “communication privacy management theory” retrieves fewer, more relevant results than searching without “”
  • Truncation =  using an * to find alternate endings to root words
    • Self-disclos* will retrieve results containing self-disclose, self-disclosed, self-disclosure, self-disclosures
  • Subject Linking = using the hyperlinked subject terms to find relevant information
    • Subjects are assigned to a source to classify what it's about
    • Searching or using the hyperlinked subject terms retrieves more relevant results

Use in combination across several searches!

Ask a Librarian

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Allison Quam
she/her
Contact:
Krueger Library 130A
aquam@winona.edu
507-457-2644