Communication 312

Group Discussion and Theory

Professor Miller

Fall 2006

General Reference Sources

Electronic Reference Books

Xreferplus - An online collection of 150 reference books covering many disciplines. Click here for a list of titles.
Gale Virtual Reference Library - an online collection of reference books, including Countries and Their Cultures, Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia of Sociology, Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law, among other titles.

Useful Reference Books

The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America, Reference R 323.1196 E56
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Reference R 364.03 E56
Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family, Reference R 306.803 E56
Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Education, Reference R 372.2103 E56
The Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism, Reference R 306.4460973 E56
The Encyclopedia of American Immigration, Reference R 304.87303 E56
Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations, Reference R 327.73 E56F
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, R 305.8 H339
Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia, Reference R 306.703 H918
International Encyclopedia of Communications, Reference R 302.2 I61
International Encyclopedia of Population, R 304.6 I61
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women, Reference R 305.403 R869
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Reference R 973.9 S143

Book Sources for Statistics

Statistical Abstract of the United States, Reference R 317.3 U58S
A Statistical Portrait of the United States: Social Conditions and Trends, Reference R 306.0973 S797
Datapedia of the United States, 1790-2005: America Year by Year, Reference R 317.3 D96d 2001

Online Statistics

US Census American Factfinder Try the Economic Census or the American Community Survey.
Lexis-Nexis Statistical ~ Search the Statistical Abstract of the United States and other resources for statistics; also available online

Finding Books

Use I-Share to find books held in the Elmhurst College library as well as books owned by other Illinois academic libraries. Enter relevant key words, or to be more specific, enter your subject as a "Browse Subject" term in the search box.

Use the I-Share Catalog to search the following series of books that deal with both sides of contemporary issues in modern society:

Opposing Viewpoints
Taking Sides
Current Controversies

To find books in these series that deal with your topic, perform a "Guided Keyword" search. Enter your topic in the first search box, and enter one of the series titles in the second box.

Example: Abortion AND Taking Sides

If you can't find what you're looking for at our library, click on "Repeat search in All ILCSO Libraries" at the top of the page. If you find a book that you'd like to order, then visit Requesting Books Owned by Other I-Share Libraries for ordering instructions.

Note: If you find books that you need to interlibrary loan, order them as soon as possible! They take 7-10 days) to arrive

Finding Magazine, Journal and Newspaper Articles using the Library's Resources

Magazine and Journal Article Sources:

CQ Researcher ~ An excellent source for current hot topics. Each individual issue contains historical background, a timeline, current status, and potential future developments. The bibliographies are especially helpful in finding useful sources.

Academic Search Premier ~ A good place to start. Includes references to scholarly as well as popular periodicals.
Periodical Abstracts ~ Includes indexing, abstracting, and some full text for magazine and journal articles.
WilsonSelectPlus ~ Includes indexing, abstracting, and full text for a variety of magazines and journals.

Newpaper Article Sources

Wall Street Journal ~ full text from 1985 to present.
New York Times ~ full text back to 1999, with indexing available back to 1990. For older articles, try ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times, which has full text articles back to 1851. On campus access only.
Chicago Tribune ~ full text from 1985 to present.
Lexis-Nexis Academic ~ accesses a variety of news and business sources, many of which are full text.
Newspaper Source ~ full text from more than 100 U.S. and international newspapers. Includes sources such as USA Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The (London) Times, and transcripts from NPR's Morning Edition.

Finding Internet Resources

A word about Google and Wikipedia.

Google and Wikipedia are 2 tools that are available to help you find information on the Internet. Google is an Internet search engine. It will find websites for you on the subject of American Presidents. Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia.It contains lots of information about American Presidents. But you need to be careful when using these 2 tools. Google will just find sites for you. It will not tell you whether or not those sites are accurate, or unbiased, or current. Wikipedia can be useful to help you get started finding information. But because anybody can edit a Wikipedia page, you have to take information you find there with a grain of salt. Wikipedia is a fine source for some information--but always backup information you find there with another source.

Why should I evaluate web sites? Can't I just trust everyone's website?

Dissing the King ~ a cautionary tale detailing how websites are not always what they seem
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources

What should I look for in a trustworthy web site?

Evaluating Web Sites
Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources ~ links to various on-line articles on web site evaluation

Where can I go for trustworthy sites that have already been evaluated?

Librarians' Internet Index
Internet Public Library
BUBL ~ a selection of "Internet resources covering all academic subject areas

Writing and Citing Information

For help with writing your outlines and bibliographies, try the Elmhurst College Writing Center online help page.

You can also try these online resources:

College Writing and Citing
Citing Electronic Resources
ONLINE! Citation Styles
Citing Sources from the Duke University Libraries

If you need any help finding articles or writing, you can also contact the Reference Desk any time the library is open:

Reference: 630-617-3173
Email: ref[at[elmhurst[dot]edu
AIM: elmhrstcollibref | Yahoo!Messenger: eclibraryreference | MSN Messenger: ref[at]elmhurst.edu

Web Pages for Courses: Communications	Elmhurst College Library	Communication Arts & Sciences Dept.
This page was created by Peg Cook, Assistant Reference Librarian On October 6th, 2006