Research Guides: MCOM 651: Media and Politics: Research Resources

Research Resources

Assistant University Librarian for Communication & Digital Scholarship

Joyce Garczynski

She/Her/Hers

Email Me

Contact:

Towson University Albert S. Cook Library
8000 York Road
Towson, MD 21252

Office: CK407F

JGarczynski@towson.edu

410-704-5168

Subjects: Mass Communication

Class Handouts for MCOM 651

Finding the Seminal Work Related to a Theory

Encyclopedia of Communication Theory
With more than 300 entries, these two volumes provide a one-stop source for a comprehensive overview of communication theory, offering current descriptions of theories as well as the background issues and concepts that comprise these theories. This is the first resource to summarize, in one place, the diversity of theory in the communication field.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a great way to find a particular article or if you are looking for something very specific.
*NOTE* if you are off-campus, make sure you connect to Towson subscription resources. Do this by clicking on "settings" then "library links" and then type in Towson University and add our resources.

Find Scholarly Articles

Communication & Mass Media Complete
Communication & Mass Media Complete provides the most robust, quality research solution in areas related to communication and mass media. This database originated with the acquisition and subsequent merging of two popular databases in the fields of communication and mass media studies -- CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association (NCA)), and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Pennsylvania State University). Communication & Mass Media Complete provides an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and educators interested in any and all aspects of communication and mass media.
APA PsycInfo
Produced by the American Psychological Association, this database is a comprehensive index to the professional and academic literature in psychology, counseling and related disciplines. Covers 1860-present.
Business Source Complete
Articles from newspapers, trade publications, magazines, and scholarly journals on all aspects of business. Also covers economics. Features SWOT Analyses and industry profiles from MarketLine; country reports.
SocINDEX with Full Text
SocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. The index features more than 1,300,000 records with subject headings from a 15,000 term sociology-specific thesaurus designed by expert lexicographers. SocINDEX with Full Text contains full text for 235 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895, and 72 "priority" coverage journals. This database also includes full text for 545 books and monographs, and full text for 6,601 conference papers.
Scopus
Scopus is a large, multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It also has tools to track, analyze, and visualize research.

Finding Books

Cook OneSearch
Find books, articles, media, government information, and other library resources all in one place. Search what Towson owns as well as resources at other USMAI Libraries.

Finding Data and Media to Analyze

Data and media can be found in too many places to be listed on this guide. If you need help finding data, news, video, social media or other content to analyze, please contact Joyce Garczynski (jgarczynski@towson.edu) and ask for help.

Nexis Uni
This is good for finding national news, including transcripts, to code, but it doesn't have the Baltimore Sun, the New York Times, or the Washington Post
News & Newspapers, Current
Search for citations, abstracts, and full-text for the Baltimore Sun (1990-present), Christian Science Monitor (1980-present), New York Times (1980-present), Wall Street Journal (1984-present), and Washington Post (1987-present). ProQuest also provides digitized newspaper versions of the New York Times (1980-2008), Wall Street Journal (selected issues from 1982-2002), and Washington Post (selected issues from 1988-2008) with high-resolution facsimile images of the print editions.
Newsbank Access World News
This source is good for finding international and local news

Facebook Ad Library Report
A database of ads aired on Facebook since 2018
Political advertising on Google
A database of political ads and political ad spending on Google
OpenSecrets.Org
This resource from the Center for Responsive Politics contains datasets related to campaign finance and ad spending
Data.gov

Statista
U.S. and international business statistics such as company market share and industry forecasts. Good coverage of e-commerce and digital markets along with other industries. Includes some public opinion statistics.
Gale in Context: Biography
A comprehensive database of biographical information on more that 150,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.

Get Help Citing Research

APA Style
by Bria Sinnott Last Updated Mar 3, 2025 11313 views this year

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MCOM 651: Media and Politics