Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Chapter FourReading 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?

Scholarly Trade PopularWritten by Scholars Practitioners Journalists

Frequency Quarterly

Monthly

Monthly

Weekly

Weekly

Daily

Articles reviewed by -

Peer review Editor Editor

Citations, method details

Yes Maybe No

Title Journal of . . . “. . . News” Variable

Publisher Academic Trade Assn. News media

Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Some Communication Search Terms

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 - ANDExample - Hits

▫Communication 112619▫Feminist 1245

▫Communication OR feminist 113232▫Communication NOT feminist 111987▫Communication AND feminist 632

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

Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications

Web Resources

•American Psychological Association - www.apa.org.

•Library of Congress Subject Headings - www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco

•Evaluating Web Sites - www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html

Introducing Communication Research 2e © 2014 SAGE Publications