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Communication Research
- Communication Science Resources
- Rhetoric and Public Speaking Resources
- Mass Media and Film Resources
- Communication Organizations
- Citing Your Sources
- Need Help?
Also...
Introduction
Communication research spans many different disciplines and types of resources. This page is divided into help sections on Communication Science, Rhetoric and Mass Media and Film Resources. If you cannot find what you are looking for on this page, please contact the Communication Librarian Rosalind Tedford at tedforrl@wfu.edu, x5910 or AIM: rozteelib.
Back to topCommunication Science Resources
Books
To find books in our library, use the Online Catalog. Call numbers for Communication Science resources are in P87 - P90s. These are on the 5th floor of the Reynolds wing. Some books on communication may be shelved with other disciplines. Books on women in communication, for example, may be with the Womens' Studies books, etc.
Communication Science materials have P call numbers and are concentrated on Reynolds 5. This section is divided:
- P87-96 - Communication. Mass media
- P94.7 - Interpersonal communication
- P95-95.6 - Oral communication. Speech
- P98-98.5 - Computational linguistics.
- P99-99.4 - Semiotics. Signs and symbols
- P99.5-99.6 - Nonverbal communication
- P302-302.87 - Discourse analysis
Databases
To find academic articles, citations to books, articles, dissertations, and theses, check the following databases:
- Communication and Mass Media Complete
- ComAbstracts
- ERIC (Education Resources)
- PsycInfo
- Sociological Abstracts
- ProQuest
Tips on Finding Survey or Research Instruments
When resrearching in Communication you will often come across articles that use certain survey instruments or other measurement scales, etc. and want to locate them. Here are some tips for doing that.
- Look in the appendix of that article.
- Determine whether the authors of the study developed the instrument or were using one from an earlier study.
- If they were using an earlier one, check the bibliography and locate the original study that used the instrument and check the appendix of that article.
- If the authors developed the instrument but did not put it in the appendix, you have several options:
- Search in relevant databases for the exact name of the instrument (i.e "Social Anxiety Scale" to see if you can find other studies that may have used it an put it in their appendix. Google Scholar can also be a good place to search for the title of the instrument. NOTE: If you don't find any other articles that use that scale, it might be better to search for another one that has been more widely used.
- If it looks like it is a very well-known test (like the Myers-Briggs) then you can check Mental Measurement Yearbook or Tests in Print (located in Reference. Call number: Ref Z5814.E9 T47 2002) to see who you need to contact to use and/or purchase the test.
- As a last resort you may need to contact the original authors of the study to see if they will send it to you. Check their institution affiliation from the article and begin there, but you may need to Google them use or The National Faculty Directory (Located in Reference. Call number: L901 N34).
Rhetoric and Public Speaking Resources
Books
To find books in our library, use the Online Catalog. Call numbers for Rhetoric and Public Speaking resources are in various places including P301s, PN170 - 190 and elsewhere. These are on the 5th floor of the Reynolds wing. Public Speaking books are in the PN4100s. Some books on rhetoric may be shelved with other disciplines. Books on womens' rhetoric, for example, may be with the Womens' Studies books, etc.
Encyclopedia of Rhetoric is a reference book available online.
Rhetoric and Public Speaking materials have P call numbers and are concentrated on Reynolds 5. This section is divided:
- P95-95.6 - Oral communication. Speech
- P302-302.87 - Discourse analysis
- PE1400 - Rhetoric and Persuasion
Databases
To find academic articles, citations to books, articles, dissertations, and theses, check the following databases:
- Communication and Mass Media Complete
- America: History and Life
- Historical Abstracts
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
- ComAbstracts
- MLA Bibliography
- ProQuest
- Academic Search Premier
Dr. Zulick also has a page listing the primary journals in Rhetoric in the Library including name changes and including elctronic holding information.
Finding Texts of Speeches
Books containing speeches can best be found doing a catalog search for a subject or name and adding 'Speech?' into the search phrase. We have the following Reference Books on Speeches:
- Ripples of hope : great American civil rights speeches Ref E184.A1 R53 2003
- Speeches of the American presidents Ref J81 .C88 2001
- In our own words : extraordinary speeches of the American century Ref PS661 .I53 1999
- The Penguin book of twentieth-century speeches Ref D411 .P46 1999
- African American voices Ref E185 .A2524 1996
- Contemporary American voices : significant speeches in American history, 1945-present Ref E173 A786 1992
- Lend me your ears : great speeches in history Ref PN6122 .L4 1992
Audio/Video/Web Resources
- American Rhetoric
- Great Speeches Video/DVD Series in the ZSR Media Collection (Mostly Political but not all) Do a catalog search for "Great Speeches" -- each record lists the speakers included under the Author field.
- Dr. Louden's Political Speeches Page has links to many, many web sites and resources for speeches.
- Dr. Zulick's Page on primary sources in Rhetorical theory
- American Memory from the Library of Congress has audio recordings and texts of many, many speeches that were important in American History. Select your subtopic and then type in 'speech' as a search term.
Other Tips
- Dr. Zulick has wonderful bibliographies on Rhetorical Theory and Criticism.
- Presidential Speeches are always found with the Presidential Papers in Government Documents but also often are reprinted full-text in the New York Times. Search a database such as Proquest with "Bill Clinton" AND Speech AND Text and you will find many of his speeches. We now have the NY Times full-text back to 1857 in Proquest Historical Newspapers.
- Other speeches may be found in conference proceedings, on organizational web sites or now on personal web pages for the presenter. The more you know about the context of the speech the easier it is to locate.
Mass Media and Film Resources
Books
To find books in our library, use the Online Catalog. Call numbers for Film Studies are in the PN1900s. Call numbers for Mass Media Studies are P94 to P96, These are on the 5th floor of the Reynolds wing. Some books on film or mass media may be shelved with other disciplines. Books on women in film or the media, for example, may be with the Womens' Studies books, etc.
Media and Film materials have P and PN call numbers and are concentrated on Reynolds 5. This section is divided:
- P87-96 - Communication. Mass media
- PN1990-1992.92 - Broadcasting
- PN1991-1991.9 - Radio broadcasts
- PN1992-1992.92 - Television broadcasts
- PN1992.93-19 92.95 - Nonbroadcast video recordings
- PN1993-1999 - Motion pictures
Film Reviews
Keep in mind that for older movies, reviews may come out several weeks or months after the 'official' release of the film. Often films were released/reviewed in one or two cities and then traveled the country over the next few months or years. This means that movies that open in LA in May may not be reviews in New York until the next Spring.
- For New York Times Reviews or Chicago Tribune Reviews use Proquest Historical Newspapers. Click on Advanced Search and then on More Search Options below the date fields. In the Document Type box, you can select Review. Then put the Film title in the search box and click search.
-
Film Review Annual
Ref PN 1995 F463x
Critical reviews from multiple sources (1981-), but not the New York Times
-
Variety's Film Reviews
Ref PN1995 V341
24 Vols 1907 - 1996. After 1996, use Lexis Nexis Academic (coverage 1993 - present) or Proquest (coverage 2000-present)
- Film and Television Literature Index
-
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
For NY Times, Chicago Tribune and Wall St. Journal complete runs online.
NOTE: For more recent reviews, use our online databases.
Databases
To find academic articles, citations to books, articles, dissertations, and theses, check the following databases:
-
Communication and Mass Media Complete
(via Ebsco) Citations and Full-text for many scholarly film journals.
-
Film and Televisions Literature Index
(via Ebsco) Citations for many scholarly film and media journals with especially strong coverage of international sources.
-
IIPA International Index to the Performing Arts
(good for scholarly film reviews)
-
MLA Bibliography
(for textual criticism and genre studies.)
- ProQuest
Web Resources
- Internet Movie Database
-
Senses of Cinema
(good discussions of major directors and some critical evaluations as well)
-
Digital Librarian Movie Page
Great listing of web sites about film.
- Voice of the Shuttle's Film/Video Page
Communication Organizations
- American Communication Association
- Association for Educational Communications and Technology
- International Communication Association
- National Communication Assocation
- Southern States Communication Association
Citing Your Sources
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. and Publication Manual of the the American Psychological Association, 5th ed - copies are available at the Reference Desk. Also use our web guides for assistance:
Back to topNeed Help?
- Rosalind Tedford (Communication Liaison): tedforrl@wfu.edu or AIM: rozteelib
- Request a Personal Research Session
- Ask a Librarian