Communication Studies

Databases direct you to a wide variety articles, journals, and periodicals (newspaper and magazines). You should note the name of the database you are using such as "Academic Search Complete" or "Gale Artemis Literary Sources," as EBSCO and Gale are hubs and not the database itself. So when you need a librarian to help you navigate a database they will not know which one you are referring to if you mention "EBSCO" vs. "Academic Search Complete." 

If you’re looking for article, these steps will help you get you started.

1. PLAN. First, do a bit of planning before you start your search. What is your topic? What are your subtopics? Writing down these terms will help you narrow and focus your search so that you can find articles that really are about your topic.
2. SELECT DATABASE. Once you have a few different terms ready, select a database that offers a large collection, such as Academic Search Complete, JSTOR, or Academic OneFile.
3. SEARCH. Enter your search terms in the search pane. Think of synonyms and combine them with the OR search operator. For example, children OR youth OR adolescents.
4. SCAN RESULTS. When your search results appear, check how many items you’ve retrieved and start to scan the titles. If the results aren’t relevant, try broadening or narrowing your search. If some of the titles do seem related, you’re in luck! You can use the subject headings to help you find new terms to focus your search even more.  
5. EVALUATE. Note the type of publication (article, original research, review, opinion, news) and where it was published, e.g., is it published in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal, or a popular source for the general public? Does the publication focus on the specific subject area of your topic?
6. EXPORT. Print, download, or email the article to yourself, and make sure to save the citation and double check it. There may be errors in the format, so check it against the citation rules. The library has citation guides to help.

What is a Peer-Reviewed Article? 

Scholarly journals are also called academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed journals. Strictly speaking, peer-reviewed journals refer only to those scholarly journals that submit articles to several other scholars, experts, or academics (peers) in the field for review and comment. These reviewers must agree that the article represents properly conducted original research or writing before it can be published.

What to look for:

• Scholarly journal articles often have an abstract, a descriptive summary of the article contents, before the main text of the article.
• Scholarly journals generally have a sober, serious look. They often contain many graphs and charts but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.
• Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies. These bibliographies are generally lengthy and cite other scholarly writings.
• Articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The affiliations of the authors are listed, usually at the bottom of the first page or at the end of the article, universities, research institutions, think tanks, and the like.
• The language of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some technical background on the part of the reader.
• The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.
• Many scholarly journals, though by no means all, are published by a specific professional organization.

Peer Review Process in 4 steps: 

• Author (or authors) writes article and submits to journal;
• If meets the journal's criteria, editor sends copy to peers (experts in the field) for reviewing;
• The peer reviewers check the manuscript for accuracy and assess the validity of the research methodology and procedures;
• Paper accepted and published, then usually listed in databases for other researchers to find and read, to inform their writing. 

Adapted from Olin Library Reference, Research & Learning Services, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY, USA.