[Note: The following information is taken from the Communication Research Library Search Guide prepared by Dr. Robert Kubey of the Department of Communication of Rutgers University, and is used with his permission.]
The easiest way to find current articles on a particular subject is to consult abstracts and indexes. An abstract is a short summary of a journal, magazine, or newspaper article; many disciplines have abstract indexes which enable researchers to quickly find relevant literature in a particular field. An index is simply a list of article citations. There are many different sets of abstracts and indexes; each is dedicated to a particular discipline, type of periodical, or subject.
Generally, each is used in a similar manner. Article citations are assigned a number and listed in order in the front of the reference. The back of the book contains a subject index which lists the numbers of those articles which deal with that subject. One consults the index, noting the numbers of articles associated with the subject of interest. Then the article citations which these numbers refer to can be identified.
The following indexes may be helpful; they are located on the index tables in the Reference Room of Alexander Library.
Communication Abstracts. This publication summarizes about 1,200 communication books and articles each year. Easy to use, it contains an author and a subject index. One drawback: it is not very inclusive, and will not have articles published in journals devoted to other social sciences, like psychology and sociology. Essentially, you use it by finding the article numbers in the back of the book and then cross-referencing those numbers to the abstracts in the front.
Anthropological Abstracts. About the size of Communication Abstracts, and indexing many of the same journals, this lets you look for communication-related articles published in the journals associated with a discipline closely related to communication.
Sociological Abstracts. This is somewhat more complex than Comm Abstracts, but the principle is the same. The subject headings are quite detailed, so it is a good idea to have a rather narrow focus.
Psychological Abstracts. Since many communication topics overlap with psychology, communication journals are often indexed in this reference. Like Sociological Abstracts, Psych Abstracts is a bit more complex than Comm Abstracts. Since an enormous number of articles are referenced here, it can take a while to go through all the material unless your topic is quite narrowly focused. [Note: Psychological Abstracts are available on-line as the PsychINFO database through the Rutgers University Libraries].
When using Psych Abstracts to research a paper topic, you should go back a few years and work forward, depending on how recent or old the topic is. Many of the topics that may interest you have been under study for decades.
A few comments on using Psych Abstracts:
Here is an example of using Psych Abstracts:
I am interested in finding research on how different people communicate under difficult circumstances. I start by looking under the subject heading "Communication", beginning with the volume covering 1986 (number 75).
Under "Communication", I find the sub-heading "Communication Skills". I look at the entries under this heading:
Communication Skills [See Also Language Proficiency, Writing Skills] assertiveness & attraction to speaker, assumed similarity of speaker's to own communication styles & social skills, managers in part-time business program, implications for personnel interviews, 28094
Note that the entry for the article tells you what variables were studied, who the subjects of the research were, and (in this case) what the import of the research is.
I scan down the entries until I find this one:
cognitive complexity and communication ability, message structure in announcing failure event, male vs female college students role playing teacher-student relationship, 10080
This one seems like it may be relevant. I note the number and consult the abstracts volume for 1986. At 10080, I find the article's abstract. It looks like this:
10080. Hale, Claudia L. (Iowa State U) Impact of cognitve complexity on message structure in a face-threatening context. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 1986, Vol 5(2), 135- 143. --Investigated the verbal efforts of individuals confronted with the tasks of announcing a failure on their part and negotiating the impact of that failure. Ss were 26 male and 35 female undergraduates. A role-play situation was used that required the Ss to assume the position of student in a teacher- student relationship that required the student to make a request of the teacher -- a request that implied failure on the part of the student. Results show a significant relationship between communication ability and social cognitive development.
Having read this, I decide that it is relevant to my topic and proceed to get a copy of the article.
Human Relations Abstracts. This is strong in social work and social policy.
Reader's Guide to Current Periodicals. This indexes popular magazine and newspaper articles rather than scholarly sources [Note: This index is available on-line].
Social Science Index. This is the paper version of the online index. It is laid out much like the Reader's Guide and is fairly easy to use.
Social Science Citation Index. This is a very powerful resource, especially when dealing with obscure topics. SSCI indexes over 100,000 new articles each year. It not only has author and subject indexes, but also lists the articles cited by a particular author. This can be particularly helpful when you have only been able to find one or two articles on your topic. With SSCI, you can look up the article you have and see who has been citing it, leading you to that and perhaps other articles.
SSCI is a little complicated, but it doesn't take too much effort to figure it out.
Let's say, for example, I am interested in finding citations to an author who is well-known in a particular field or a certain discipline. I might, for instance, want to find out who has been citing my colleague Milton Mueller during a particular year. I could use SSCI to do this. A word of caution: Do not assume when using the SSCI that you're getting everything by a particular person if you look under only one version of the person's name. Check for citations both with and without the author's middle initial or name.
There are several authors with the last name Mueller and the first initial "M". I look for the one who publishes in the area of telecommunications.
SSCI lists all the articles cited in a particular year within a large set of social science journals from a variety of disciplines. Works are listed in alphabetical order by author, and then chronologically in order of publication.
The entry for MUELLER M looks something like this:
MUELLER M --------------------------
** Green Fires
(Anon) Library J 119 47 94 B
77 Signs 3 154
Gordon EB J Black St 24 435 94
89 Technol Cult 30 536
Lipartit K Am Hist Rev 99 1075 94
Weiman DF J Polit Ec 102 103 94
91 Reform Spectrum Mana
McMillan J J Econ Pers 8 145 94
92 Int Telecommunicatio
Mueller M Telecomm Po 18 243 94
93 Telecommunications P p352
Lando SD Fordham Law 62 2159 94
93 Telecommun Policy 17 352
Baur C J Comm 44 9 94
Sawhney H J Broadc El 38 375 94
93 Telecomunications P 17 366
Stehmann O Telecomm Po 18 601 94
93 21st Ann Tel Pol Res
Levy B J Law Ec Or 10 201 94
94 Global Politics Ec
Tan ZX Telecomm Po 18 174 94
The lines in bold refer to particular articles by Mueller that have been cited in the current year. The first item on the line is the year in which the cited item was published; next is the title of the journal and the volume and issue in which it appeared. Beneath each item, in normal font, are the articles in which that item is cited. On that line, the information is presented in this order: author, journal title, volume number, beginning page number, and year.
If you want to find out more about one of the articles citing the author you began the search with, you can look it up in the SSCI "Source Index"; this will tell you all the other articles which that source cites.
If you are willing to take a little time, you can probably figure out how to use SSCI pretty much on your own. If you want to know more, with most volume years there is a thin paperbook issue that is devoted to instructions about how to use SSCI. This issue also lists the abbreviations used for each of the journals that SSCI draws from.
Two limitations of SSCI to keep in mind:
1) Some communication journals, especially the regional ones, are not covered by SSCI, nor are some of the newer and more obscure journals.
2) The author listings are only for first authors. Thus, if a particular scholar has published something but wasn't the first author, the article won't be listed under that person's name.
Incidentally, the same company that publishes SSCI also produces the same kind of comprehensive reference work for the natural and physical sciences (available at the Library of Science and Medicine) and for literature and the humanities (available at Alexander).
Additionally, important newspapers will generally have their own indexes. Here are a few examples: