Popular Culture and Communication

Need help with your research? Contact:

Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu   |   phone: x3552
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Selected Reference Materials

Blanchard, M.A. (1998). History of the mass media in the United States: An encyclopedia. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
Reference 302.230973 B639h

Cayton, M.K., Gorn, E.J., & Williams, P.W. (Eds.). (1993). Encyclopedia of American social history. New York: Scribner; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International.
Reference 301.0973 E56o v.1-3

Elliott, A., & Ray, L. (Eds.). (2003). Key contemporary social theorists. Oxford, UK; Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Reference 300.922 E46k

Hamilton, N.A. (1997). The ABC-CLIO companion to the 1960s counterculture in America. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Reference 973.92303 H219a

Hansom, P. (Ed.). (2001). Twentieth-century American cultural theorists. Detroit: Gale.
Reference 810.920 D554, v.246

Inge, M.T., & Hall, D. (Eds.). (2002). Greenwood guide to American popular culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Reference 973 G816g v.1-4

Kutler, S. (Ed.). (1996). Encyclopedia of the United States in the twentieth century. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Reference 973.003 E56o v.1-5

Payne, M. (Ed.). (1996). A dictionary of cultural and critical theory. Oxford, UK; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Reference 306.03 P346d

Pendergast, T., & Pendergast, S. (Eds.). (2000). St. James encyclopedia of popular culture. Detroit, MI : St. James Press.
Reference 973.9 S143j v.1-5

Ritzer, G. (Ed.). (2005). Encyclopedia of social theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reference 301.01 E56o v.1-2

Rose, C. (Ed.). (2004). American decades primary sources. Detroit: Gale.
Reference 973.92 A512dp v.1-10

Tompkins, V. (Ed.). (1994-2001). American decades. Detroit: Gale.
Reference 973.92 A512d v.1-10

Finding Articles

See a list of all databases via the Library Homepage  --  Articles A-Z (in the Find box).

Communication Studies Databases

Communication and Mass Media Complete
The most comprehensive database in communication studies.

Sage Journals Online
Provides access to all journals published by Sage (full-text online for 1999-present).

Related Databases (See Articles A-Z for all library article databases.)

America: History and Life
The primary database for locating articles on United States and Canadian history (from prehistory to the present).

MLA International Bibliography
Scholarly criticism for literature, language, and film.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
Scholarly articles on many aspects of music.

Sociological Abstracts
Premier database for scholarly material related to sociology.

Interdisciplinary Databases

Academic Search Premier
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. Contains both scholarly and non-academic resources. Includes many articles in full text.

JSTOR
Large and diverse database that covers most academic disciplines. All article are full-text online. Publisher restrictions prohibit including the most recent 3-5 years of most journals.

OmniFile (WilsonWeb)
Multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content-indexing, abstracts, and full text from six of Wilson's full-text databases, including Social Sciences Abstracts.

Project MUSE
Provides full text access to peer-reviewed journal articles in the arts and humanities and social sciences.

Newspaper Databases

Alternative Press Index
Indexes publications covering cultural, economic, political & social change. Includes indexing from nearly 300 alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines.

LexisNexis Academic
Deep archives and full text of all major newspapers worldwide, plus many local U.S. papers.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

  1. When searching for articles, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.
  2. If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.
    • Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.
    • Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title. Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.
  3. If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.
    • Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.
    • Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage  --  ILL (in the Services & Forms box)  --  Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

Citing Your Sources

For information on APA Style, consult the following resources.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).  (2001).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 p976m 2001 (at Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style.  (2005).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 C744r (at Reference Desk)

Writer's Handbook (University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.html

Trexler Library handout on using APA style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/apa_example.pdf.
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website.  Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).

© Muhlenberg College
Last modified: 26 February 2008