Introduction to Professional Development in Communication (Com 112)

Selected Library Resources by the A.C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College

 

 

 

 


 

Using Illinet Online (the library catalog)

Finding Books

  • Use Illinet Online to find books held in the Elmhurst College library as well as books owned by 56 other Illinois academic libraries. You can do a standard search by entering key words in the search box. The catalog will show you all the records that contain those key words.Use quotation marks to search for phrases.
  • A more precise way of searching is to use a browse subject search. Illinet Online uses Library of Congress Subject Headings (or LC subject headings). You can't simply make these up: you have to find out what the exact terms are and enter them in Illinet as a browse subject search.
    •  
      Advertising--United States

      Business Communication

      Communication

      Communication--Sex differences

      Gossip

      Intercultural Communication

      Listening

      Nonverbal Communication

      Propaganda

      Rhetoric
      Speech therapy for children
      Speech disorders--diagnosis

      Stuttering

      Communicative disorders

      Communicative disorders in children

      Language Acquisition

  • Searching for scripts/playbooks

    Search by the title of the play. Click on "Start of Title" (omit initial articles: a, an, the). For example:

    The Heidi Chronicles (search on Heidi Chronicles)
    I Stand Before You Naked

  • Searching for musical scores
    • Click on the Box labeled "More Limits."
    • Under "Primary Format," choose "Music Scores."
    • Click on button labeled "Set Limits."
    • Search for the title you want by typing it into the search box, selecting "Start of Title," then clicking on the "Search" button.

     

  • Can't find the book you need at our library? You can use Inter-Library Loan (ILL) to request a book not owned by the Elmhurst College Library online.

How do I find out if the Elmhurst College Library has the journal I need?

  • Does the library own the journal I need? First, take a look at the Alphabetical List of Electronic Journals ,or see if we carry the journal in print by searching our catalog. Click on "Stat of Magazine/Journal title" and enter the title in the search box.

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Web Resources: Finding and Evaluating Sources on the Internet

A Basic Premise to keep in mind with the Internet: don't believe everything that you read!

The Web is full of amatuer writers who compose page after page of opinions, biases, fandom and out-and-out lies, all often disguised and presented as "fact." How do you separate the Good from the Bad and the Ugly?

Quick Methods of Evaluation:

  1. What is the domain name? Is it a .com, .edu, .org, .gov or something else? Remember, anyone can make a .com page, but only certain organizations can post .edu or .gov pages.
  2. Is there a Statement of Responsibility? Often, credible pages will clearly state the person, group or agency responsible for the web page. From this, you can determine if the responsible group is likely to present useful and/or unbiased material. However, not all good pages have clear authorship, or vice-versa.
  3. Does the page cite sources or have links to other credible sources, or indeed refer to any sort of research?
  4. How is the writing style? Is it objective and not obviously biased, or is it opinionated and full of holes? Is the language professional or authoratative? Is there enought text? What is the level of text vs. images?
  5. Who seems to be the intended audience? Is the article aimed towards other professionals or students, or general audiences, or like-minded fans?
  6. Has the page been updated recently? Is there a link to contact the author(s) about potential errors?

Some Useful Web Resources to help you evaluate web sites and resources

 

Communication Studies

Finding Communication Studies Articles

Professional Communication Associations on the Web

Theatre, Musical Theatre, Speech/Theatre Education

Finding Articles

  • JSTOR ~ JSTOR is an online library currently containing more than 100 journals in 15 different disciplines. JSTOR does not include current issues of journals, but is an electronic archives of titles, often going back to the first issue of a journal's existence. All full text.
  • To access this database from off campus, go to Articles and Databases and choose JSTOR from the alphabetical list. You may also want to look at Accessing Library Resources from Off Campus.

  • The Gale Group collection of databases has some very useful sources on playwrights and their works: check out the following individual databases in the collection for some excellent full-text resources and citations:
    • Twayne Author Series
    • Biography and Genealogy Master Index
    • Literature Resource Center

Professional Theatre Associations on the Web

Speech-Language Pathology

Finding Speech-Language Pathology Articles

  • ProQuest Education Complete has a number of useful full-text sources, including articles from such professional journals as the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

To access this database from off campus, go to Articles and Databases and choose ProQuest Education Complete from the alphabetical list. You may also want to look at Accessing Library Resources from Off Campus.

  • CINAHL contains the full text of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (1998-present) and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (1997-present). It also indexes a large number of similar sources, but you"ll probably have to use these citations to find the articles. See this link to find out if we carry journals online or in print form. Note~ CINAHL is available on campus only.

Professional Speech-Language Pahtology Associations on the Web

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This page was created 09/04/2001 by Anne Jordan Baker and was last modified September 10, 2004 by J. Hill, librarian.