MCST 4200
Welcome. I am so happy to serve as your library liaison!
Think of me as your research partner...I can assist you with finding articles, developing a research topic, citing sources... you name it! Visit our homepage to learn more.
To meet with me for specialized research assistance, schedule a research appointment or reach out directly: scampbell@jwu.edu
JWU librarians are available for research appointments in-person, over the phone, and online. We would be more than happy to help you!
Looking for immediate research assistance? Chat or Text us.
Let's explore where we each are with respect to research, and how I can best support you in this session.
Please fill out this Google Doc.
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences XI Collection This link opens in a new window
- For access to content that JWU subscribes to, please select "Advanced Search" from JSTOR's homepage, then select "Content I can access" from the "Select an access type" drop down menu
- Features a diverse group of humanities, language and literature, rhetoric and composition journals from 15 countries
- Millions of high-quality primary sources and images from around the world, including artworks, maps, photographs, and more
- SAGE Journals Online This link opens in a new window
- Full-text peer-reviewed journal articles from 1999-TO THE CURRENT YEAR
- Content covers fields such as Administration & Leadership, Business/Management, Clothing & Textiles, Criminal Justice, Cultures, Education, Entrepreneurship, Food Science, Hospitality, Information Science, Literature, Marketing, Sports, Travel & Tourism
- Communication Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- Many full-text articles focused on communication, including Media & Communication Studies, Communication Theory, Linguistics, Organizational Communication, and Speech-Language Pathology
- If full-text is not available, click link to Check for Full Text (Providence) to connect to Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request form
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- A great place to start for most topics
- Mostly full-text articles from scholarly peer-reviewed journals, trade journals, popular magazines, and newspapers
- If full-text is not available, click link to Check for Full Text (Providence) to connect to Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request form
Communication Source: Many full-text articles in this databases from over 600 journals cover Mass Media Studies, Communication Theory, Linguistics, Organizational Communication, Phonetics, and Speech-Language Pathology.
Dissertations
As many dissertations and theses have a specific literature review section, the database ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full-Text is often worthwhile searching. Though one may not limit to the particular document type "literature review" in this database, one might search for the term literature review in, say, the abstract:
Moreover, many dissertations have a "literature review" chapter. In the field of Education, it is often the second chapter.
Citation chaining means searching backwards and forwards in time for materials that are cited by and also that cite an article or resource that you already have.
Backwards chaining is the process of looking at an awesome article(s) you've already found and searching for items in the works cited of those sources, which could be relevant and amazing for your research paper.
Here, you are looking back at past research in an attempt to track the development of the concept you are researching. As you find more resources, and use the citations listed in those reference lists, your network of resources will expand very quickly.
To access the resources you found by backwards chaining, simply copy the citation titles from the reference lists you have and paste them into the library's databases.
Forwards chaining is the process of finding sources which have cited the awesome articles you are already using.
Here, you are looking forward at research conducted after your existing article, tracking the development of the concept you are researching.
Forwards Chaining
Using Google Scholar we can also view a list of publications in which the authors' have cited this same article in their work.
Open Google Scholar and paste the most intriguing article title into the search box from your original search
Underneath the article details, you'll see a Cited by link. Simply click this link to access those titles/authors which have cited your title in their new research.
Let's start!
Activity: Practicing backwards and forwards citation chaining.
- Start by writing down a few search terms on your specific topic. You might have to try a few terms before you find a good hit.
- Next, head to the Databases & Journals tab in ulearn, under Library & Resources
- Choose one of the databases from the list provided, or click the Everything tab on the library's homepage
- Enter in your keywords, choose Full Text, choose Articles and limit date range to 2005-2019.
- Scroll through your first page of results, and choose an article that "pops" out at you.
- Open the red PDF Full Text to read the article
- Scroll to the last page of the article, until you get to Reference List or Works Cited
- Choose an article or book from the works cited that "pops" at you, to start your "Chain"
- You've got your first article on the chain - now let's practice Forward Citation Chaining, using Google Scholar.
- Choose the best article (the one closest to your dream topic) and copy the title
- Paste the title into Google Scholar
- Click the "Cited by..." link, to see all of the articles that have cited this article in their research.
- Choose one of the articles listed, and POW! You have your second link in the chain.
- Repeat as needed, until you've found your 6-8 articles.
Tip: articles published in the last few years might be too recent to have any other articles citing them.
| Resources cited in the article |
Resources that cite the article |
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The JWU library has two style guides:
However, if you need more in depth guidance on formatting go to the Purdue OWL.
Need to talk to someone and seek guidance in real time?
- If you are an online student, you can go to the online writing center for information about how to contact a writing coach.
- If you are a PVD campus student you can schedule an appointment with the writing coach through uSucceed.
