Intro to Communication Research Library Workshop Fall 2011

Overview  How to be a better researcher  Your Communication subject guide  Your Intro to Comm Research course guide  APA Citations  Refworks  Finding articles with Communication databases  Communication & Mass Media Complete

Research Process Image from Ohio Dominican Library, retrieved 8/29/10 from Edwards, Sylvia and Bruce, C.

Why Cite?  In scholarly research, readers must be able to go to the original source to verify the ideas and facts that you rely upon to make your argument.

Reference List: Formatting  List references in alphabetical order.  Include only works that have been cited in the text of your paper.  Space evenly throughout.  The first line of a citation should be flush left  Indent all subsequent lines (5 spaces). References Berelson, B. (1966). Content analysis in communication research. In B. Berelson, and M. Janowitz (Eds.), Reader in Public Opinion and Communication (2 nd ed.), pp New York, NY: Free Press. Severin, W. J., and Tankard, J. W. (2001). Communication Theories: Origins, Methods, and Uses in the Mass Media. New York, NY: Addison Wesley Longman. Shyles, L. (2002). Deciphering Cyberspace. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Reference List: Scholarly Articles [Periodicals] Author, A.B., & Writer, C.D. (YEAR). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume#, begin page – end page. Gitlin, T. (1978). Media sociology: The dominant paradigm. Theory and Society, 6,  In Print p

Reference List: Scholarly Articles [Periodicals]  Retrieved Online Author, A.B., & Writer, C.D. (YEAR). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume#, begin page – end page. doi: 1053/ Wang, Z., Lang, A., & Busemeyer, J. R. (2011). Motivational processing and choice behavior during television viewing: An integrative dynamic approach. Journal of Communication, 61, doi: /j x p

Reference List Scholarly Articles [Periodicals]  Always leave names of authors in the order they are given.  More than 7 authors: First 6 authors,…Last author.  DOI not available: Retrieved from URL or name of database  Journals paginated by issue: Include the issue number in parentheses  Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 23(2), p

First page of an article

Article Record from a Database

Always double-check! Automatically generate citations or export to Refworks.

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism  Your ideas supported by the research of others  Paraphrase or direct quote  Always cite ideas of others Readers can easily find ideas or facts referenced in your paper  Copy & paste writing of others  Weak paraphrasing does not alter the original author’s writing sufficiently  Too many direct quotations  No citations to ideas of others  Improper citations  Readers are unable to verify facts or ideas presented in your paper Scholarly Research Plagiarism

Defining & Solving Plagiarism  Using another’s words without acknowledgement  Solution: Use quotation marks or paraphrase and cite the source with in text citation  Using another’s ideas without acknowledgement  Solution: Thoroughly use in text citations to acknowledge work of others; If in doubt, cite!  Insufficiently acknowledging the contributions of another’s ideas to your own research (i.e.-paraphrasing a paragraph but only citing a direct quote at the end)  Solution: Thoroughly use in text citations to acknowledge work of others; If in doubt, cite!  “I forgot I read that idea in that article, so I didn’t cite it.”  Solution: Take good notes throughout the research process. A citation management tool like Refworks helps you stay organized.  “I missed that reference when I went back through my first draft to add citations.”  Solution: Note sources throughout notes, outlines, and drafts. Source: Fernandez, V. & Morro, J. (2011). How to write a college paper: A guide from the Villanova Writing Center. Pages How to write a college paper: A guide from the Villanova Writing Center

How to Paraphrase  Be sure you understand the original text – you can’t summarize something you don’t understand!  Take notes as you read, writing summaries of important points for your paper.  Some students find note cards to be a useful note- taking/summarizing tool  Set the original aside while you write your summary  A paraphrase does not contain ANY phrases given in the original – completely your own words  Should be your own voice, matching the rest of your paper

One or Two Authors Multiple Authors  Shyles (2002) notes that analog signals are continuous.  Shyles’ 2002 study noted that analog signals are continuous.  Analog signals are continuous (Shyles, 2002).  Severin and Tankard (2001) claim…  (Severin & Tankard, 2001)  Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum (1957) found…(first time cited)  Osgood et al. (1957) found…(subsequent citations)  Osgood et al. found… (subsequent citations within same paragraph as above example)  For more than 6 authors, cite only the first author followed by et al. and the year. In Text Citations APA Manual (p )

Organizational Author No Author  A study by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC, 2004) states… (first citation)  The FCC (2004) claims…(subsequent citations)  Use first few words of the reference (typically the title)  Double quotes around title of article, chapter or webpage; italicize title of periodical, book, or report  This is an example (“Newspaper Article,” 2005).  The book Examples (2007) states… In Text Citations APA Manual (p.176 – 177)

What is a scholarly article?  Scholarly articles have undergone a peer review process prior to being published in a reputable journal.  According to the Encyclopedia of Evaluation, peer review is:Encyclopedia of Evaluation  Peer review refers generally to the evaluation of professional performance or products by other professionals and, more specifically, to a set of procedures for evaluating grant proposals and manuscripts submitted for publication. For peer-reviewed journals, content-matter specialists are asked to judge a manuscript, often using specified criteria and blinded to the author's identity. The journal editor considers reviewers' comments and decides whether the paper should be published, rejected, or revised and resubmitted. Similar procedures are used to review grant applications. Critiques of the peer review process focus on the low reliability of reviewers' recommendations, but the goal of peer review is to make good and defensible judgments rather than to have high reliability. Peer review is an example of an expertise-oriented approach to evaluation.

Parts of a Scholarly Article  Author name and affiliation  Abstract  Introduction & literature review  Method  Procedure  Results  Discussion  Limitations  Future Considerations  References  Example Citation: Author, A.B., & Writer, C.D. (YEAR). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume#, begin page – end page. doi: 1053/

What is a database?  From the Encyclopedia of Health Care ManagementEncyclopedia of Health Care Management  A database is an organized collection of data that can be manipulated to produce information specific to a user's needs. Conceptually, a database is an electronic filing system with an indexing structure linking to specific data elements. …The basic element of a database is a field, or variable. Each field in a database is specified as a fixed (maximum) number of characters, each equivalent to a byte of data. The data elements may be text, such as a patient name, or numeric, such as a birth date…A group of related fields is called a record.

Fields

Contact Kristyna    Chat: If you see my chat box on a communication guide, then I’m online.  Stop by: My office is straight back from the front door of the library.  Make an appointment.  Questions are welcome at any stage of the research process.