Research Guides: COMM 201: Finding Background Information

Subject-Specific Encyclopedias/Databases

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
A database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
An online collection of many reference books covering a wide variety of subjects, with entries covering such subjects as medicine, art, technology, law and more.
Credo Reference is an online collection of many reference books covering a wide variety of subjects, with entries covering such subjects as medicine, art, technology, law and more, all aggregated and integrated in a robust search engine.
Current Affairs In Video This link opens in a new window
Features award-winning films and documentaries emphasizing detailed analysis and discussion of the critical political issues of the day.
Health Source: Consumer Edition This link opens in a new window
The richest collection of consumer health information available to libraries worldwide, providing information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health.
Provides access to nearly 80 full text, consumer health magazines.
Sage eReference General Search This link opens in a new window
Provides access to many encyclopedias in a variety of academic disciplines, including Criminology & Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Social Issues, and Sociology.

United Nations iLibrary
Books, Papers, and Statistics organized by themes such as Drug Crime & Terrorism, Economic & Social Development, Population Growth, Environment & Climate Change, Human Rights & Refugees, Population & Demography, Public Health, Women & Gender Issues, and more. The site can be searched by theme, by country, or by a combination of the two.

Newspapers

Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires, and news magazines. Offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources. Newspapers include St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Washington Post, USA Today, and more.
New York Times This link opens in a new window
Full-text access from 1980 to present.
Regional Business News This link opens in a new window
Full text coverage of 80 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) This link opens in a new window
Considered to be the preeminent publication for business news and information on financial markets worldwide. Full-text access for 1984 to present.

Blogs

BlogSearchEngine.Org: Tool for searching many blogs including .gov, .edu, .org as well as .com sites.

Search Blog Spot:: Tool for searching blogs that are on Blogspot (a free blog creation/hosting site sponsored by Google.

Government Sources and Statistics

Census.gov This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Data.census.gov is the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. The vision for data dissemination through data.census.gov is to improve the customer experience by making data available from one centralized place so that data users spend less time searching for data content and more time using it.
US Census Bureau Economic Census This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides detailed statistics on industry and business.

COMM 201

Use of Wikipedia

Evaluating Websites

Subject-Specific Encyclopedias/Databases

Newspapers

Blogs

Government Sources and Statistics