LibGuides: Journalism and Media Studies: Welcome New Journalism & Media Studies Grad Students!

Need Additional Help? Schedule a Consultation!

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UNLV Libraries
Lied Library
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Box 457014
Las Vegas, NV 89154-7014
susie.skarl@unlv.edu

702-895-2141

Subjects: Communication Studies, Couple & Family Therapy, Criminal Justice, Crisis & Emergency Management, Government Information, Journalism & Media Studies, Public Administration, Social Work, Urban Studies

Welcome JMS Grad Students!

Welcome to the Journalism & Media Studies Grad Student Library Research Guide!

Welcome from UNLV Libraries!

In order to access the online resources through the UNLV Libraries, please log on with your Ace Account.

To begin, view the UNLV Libraries video tutorials.

Need more help? Contact your librarian, Susie Skarl at susie.skarl@unlv.edu

To Get You Started on the Road to Research & the Inquiry Process

The Inquiry Process, Step By Step - By Tina Barseghian

Use Time-Saving Library Services

Use Time-saving Library Services

UNLV Interlibrary Loan: Use this account to get articles, books, and other resources from our interlibrary loan system that are not available through UNLV Libraries for free by clicking HERE to set up an account.

RefWorks: Software that will allow you to store, organize and format your research citations via the Internet automatically.

Google Scholar is a subset of Google that is designed to search for academic and scholarly articles and books online.

Research Consultations: If you would like to schedule a time that is convenient for your schedule to discuss your research, please contact me at susie.skarl@unlv.edu. Or--click on my calendar to make a virtual appointment.

Journalism-Related Research Databases

Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
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1900-
Journal articles in the fields of communication and mass media studies .
Update frequency: weekly
Communication & Mass Media Complete contains journal articles in the fields of communication and mass media studies. It merges CommSearch (formerly produced by the NCA, National Communication Association) and the Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Pennsylvania State University). Communication & Mass Media Complete provides current issues and backfiles of in the fields of communication and mass media.
Communication and Media Studies This link opens in a new window
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1950-
Full text of 16 communications journals published by Sage.
This communication collection includes the full text of journals published by Sage and participating societies. It covers such subjects as journalism, public opinion, political communication, mass communication, interpersonal communication, cultural studies, intercultural communication, television & film studies, media studies, business communication, organizational & management communication, written communication, rhetoric, and literacy studies.

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
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1880-2015
Music, film, broadcasting and theater industry trade publications published before 2015 including Variety, Billboard, Spin, The Hollywood Reporter, American Cinematographer, American Film, Picturegoer and more.
Popular Culture in Britain and America This link opens in a new window
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1950-1975
Primary sources documenting music and popular culture in the US and Britain, 1950-1975, including manuscripts, video, photos, underground magazines and more.
Part of Americana combined search portal
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
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- Good for: Researching fashion and culture, including specific garments, accessories or brands.
- Contains: Images and text from Vogue Magazine.
- Dates covered: 1892-present.
Women's Wear Daily Archive This link opens in a new window
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1910-
Comprehensive archive of Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the leading fashion-industry trade paper.
Harper's Bazaar Archive This link opens in a new window
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1867-
Harper's Bazaar magazine shows changes in American fashion, culture and society.
Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
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1887-2005
North American women's magazines including Better Homes and Gardens, Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents Magazine, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Essence.

Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window
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citations 1861-; abstracts 1980-; full text 1997-
Full text of most dissertations produced after 1997; citations and abstracts for others.
Update frequency: Updated quarterly
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses contains over 1.5 million entries, providing citations to North American and European dissertations from 1861 forward, with abstracts from 1980 forward. It also provides citations and abstracts for theses from 1988 forward. Full text of UNLV theses and dissertations available from 1996 to the present. Full text from all other institutions available from 1997 to the present.

Learn Effective Database Search Strategies

Learn Effective Database Search Strategies--The following are suggestions to improve your search results

Use different search terms or key words

Try using other words to describe your topic, it will give you better results.
Examples: journalism, mass media, media, media studies

Truncation or wildcard (*)

This will locate alternate endings for your search term.
Example - new* to find news, newspaper, newsroom, etc.
Note: Some databases use different symbols; consult the help page for the correct symbol

Try different databases

Each database contains unique material, so searching a different database may yield more relevant research.

Help page

Each database has a page with tips to help you effectively search that resource.

UNLV Libraries Online Videos & Streaming Media

UNLV Libraries Online Videos & Streaming Media Home Page : The UNLV Libraries provide access to thousands of streaming videos for UNLV use. You can search the catalog to find them, or visit the video collection websites directly. Many of the collection sites allow you to register a personal account for creating and managing clips, playlists, and other customized views of the content.

Alexander Street Press Videos
Alexander Street Press provides online access to over 19,000 videos covering a wide variety of disciplines including art and design, history, literature and languages, performing arts, psychology, sciences and the social sciences.

more...
Ambrose Digital Videos
Ambrose Video Publishing is a distributor of broadcast-quality documentaries and educational videos to schools, libraries and other institutions.

more...
Docuseek2
Docuseek2 has exclusive academic streaming for films from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution including, Bullfrog, Icarus and Terra Nova Films, among others.

more...
Films On Demand
Features thousands of full-length videos covering the humanities & social sciences, science, business & economics, health, archival films & newsreels.

more...
Kanopy
This streaming video service provides access to thousands of titles in such areas as the arts, humanities, business, sciences, media/communications, education and more. Source producers include Media Education Foundation, BBC, PBS, Kino Lorber, Documentary Educational Resources Collection, among others.

more...
SAGE Video
Provides access to nearly 1,600 videos and 400 hours of content including case studies, tutorials, interviews, documentaries, footage of practitioners in real-life professional contexts, and quick-reference definitions.
Swank Digital Campus
This database features 100+ streaming feature films and documentaries, including recent award-winners and classics, dramas, comedies, musicals and more.

UNLV Libraries Video Tutorials

Click HERE to check out the wide variety of UNLV Libraries video tutorials!

Video--Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students.

Video: Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students

Setting Up Alerts for Topics

Research Planner

Sage Research Methods--Project Planner
This tool is designed to guide you through your research project. First, think about what stage you're at in your research. If you've already gotten started, click on the stage below that best describes where you are. If you're just starting out, it might be helpful to read more about why we do research before getting started.

APA Style Resources

APA 7th Overview Handout
Samantha's handout covering the basics of APA style - 7th Edition.
APA Overview
Samantha's PPT (updated for 7th Edition), including potentially tricky examples such as book chapters and secondary citations.

APA 7th Edition Quick Reference Guide
From APA, color-coded explanation of journal, book, and book chapter references (pdf).
APA 6th/7th Comparison Chart
Side by side comparison of the two editions, created by a librarian at East Carolina University.
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - APA Style Guide
This is a dependable site for APA questions. Look for their Sample Paper, too.

Other Resources:

APA Style and Grammar Guidelines
From APA: Detailed instructions and examples from the 7th edition
Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style
from APA
Free DOI Lookup Tool
Provides a DOI for an article citation when one is available.
Is it Plagiarism Yet? (Purdue OWL)
Explains when to give credit to another person for their intellectual work (and how to do it correctly). Look for the "Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing" section on the left for examples of each.

Organizing Your Research Using RefWorks or Mendeley

What is RefWorks?
RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic software package that enables you to:

Organize your research
Create a bibliography in a variety of citation styles, including APA, MLA and Chicago
Import references from many data sources
Create bibliographies in different document formats (Word, RTF, HTML, etc.)
Include citations while you write your paper

New RefWorks tutorials (YouTube)

RefWorks This link opens in a new window
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Bibliography manager saves your citations and formats them into APA, MLA, or other styles.
This web-based bibliography manager lets you save citations to journal articles, books, web sites and more into your personal online database. You'll be able to quickly link to online articles, organize and share your references, and automatically create formatted bibliographies in all the major citation formats, including APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. Off-campus users, see the Using RefWorks at UNLV page for special instructions.
Mendeley This link opens in a new window
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A bibliography manager that saves your citations and formats them into APA, MLA, or other styles.
This bibliography manager lets you quickly link to online articles, organize your references, and automatically create formatted bibliographies in all the major citation formats, including APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
On Oct 31, 2024, UNLV Institutional Edition accounts will be downgraded to 2 GB of free storage and will encounter limits on the number of shared groups they can create. See the Mendeley guide for more information.

Journalism Publication Information

Need to know where to publish, how to contact a publisher, and what has been published? Check out the following resources.

Cabell's Publishing Directories
The resource includes journal acceptance rates, review descriptions, number of external reviewers, publication guidelines and submission processes.

more...
Dissertations and Theses: UNLV items
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses contains over 1.5 million entries, providing citations to North American and European dissertations from 1861 forward, with abstracts from 1980 forward. It also provides citations and abstracts for theses from 1988 forward. Full text of UNLV theses and dissertations available from 1996 to the present. Full text from all other institutions available from 1997 to the present.
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Provides detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on serials published throughout the world, including whether or not they are peer reviewed. It covers all subjects and includes information about publications that are published regularly or irregularly and are circulated free of charge or by paid subscription.

more...
UNLV's University Repository
Locate open access journals, professional papers and conference proceedings in this resource.
WorldCat
This union catalog contains records of books and other items in libraries worldwide. Items owned by UNLV Libraries are indicated; UNLV students, faculty and staff may request books via Document Delivery Services.

more...

Citation Analysis Tools

Use the following resources to track citations, including by author, number of articles cited, number of articles published, etc.

Social Sciences Citation Index
The Social Sciences Citation Index ® (SSCI ®) provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found in over 1,700 of the world's leading scholarly social sciences journals covering more than 50 disciplines.
Scopus
Scopus also features a citation index, allowing you to find the papers that cite a specific piece of research.

Google Scholar
On your first visit, go to Google Scholar Preferences and use the Library Links box to set UNLV as your source for no-fee access to many full text articles. For answers to questions about Google Scholar, check out the FAQ. Note: To access and retrieve full-text materials owned by the UNLV Libraries, click on the options wheel in the top right corner of the page and select "Scholar Settings". Next, click on "Library Links" in the left side of the page. Search for the "University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries". Select the check box next to our name and click save at the bottom of the page to apply the changes. The next time you search for resources a "UNLV Find Text" link will appear next to articles that you can access via the Libraries.

Journalism and Media Studies