Skip to Main Content

Communications: Articles & Databases

Online guide for the Communications and Corporate Communications programs

Databases Relevant to your Major

What does "full text" mean?

"Full text" means that you have access to the entire article - not just the citation and abstract. By selecting "full text" when you're searching in a database, you are telling that database to only return results that you will be able to read immediately.

What does "peer reviewed" mean?

Authority

Articles that have been "peer reviewed" (or sometimes are referred to as "scholarly" articles) were written by experts and have been through a very rigorous editing process.


Verified

The manuscript of the article is sent to acknowledged experts in the same field who review the information. Once they give their seal of approval, the article can be published.


Reliable

Because the editing process is so extensive, articles that have been peer reviewed are considered to be the most reliable type of source.


Audience

These peer reviewed articles are written for professionals already working in the field. You can expect a peer reviewed article to use discipline-specific vocabulary, and they usually are 10 - 40 pages in length.

Types of Sources

What is a journal?

A journal is a collection of articles published on a periodic basis (once per month, three times per year, etc.). Some journals contain articles that have been peer reviewed. Others are considered "trade journals" and contain articles relevant to a specific occupation, but have not been through the peer review process.

Find Journals and Newspapers on the Library Shelves

Advertising  Age - Includes articles about advertising campaigns, agency appointments, and government actions affecting advertising and marketing.

Communication Arts - Covering advertising, illustration, photography, interactive media and typography along with profiles on designers, photographers, illustrators, design and advertising firms, this is one of the leading trade journals for visual communications.

Creative Nonfiction - True stories, well told. Provides "a lively blend of exceptional long- and short-form nonfiction narratives and interviews as well as columns that examine the craft, style, trends, and ethics of writing true stories."

PRWeek - The leading source of news, analysis, features & jobs for the Public Relations industry.

Editions from the previous month and the current month can be found in the periodicals section for these Newspapers:

The Patriot-News and The Wall Street Journal

Online access to Newspapers can be found within the Newspaper Source database within Ebsco.

Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided.

Tips for Searching in Databases

Most databases have an Advanced Search function. Find journal articles in a database by searching by:

  • Keyword
  • Article title
  • Author
  • Publication title

Once you have a list of results, you should be able to refine your search by limiting:

  • Full text access articles
  • Peer reviewed articles
  • Publication date (set a range of years)

Once you're looking at the publication information for an article, keep in mind that you are likely able to click on hyperlinked information found here, such as the author's name, to find more articles written by that author. You should also be able to click on "subject" terms.

What are "subject" terms?

Subjects are a list of terms used to describe a major point of the article. They work similarly to a hash tag (#) used in social media. When you click on a phrase with a hash tag in your favorite social media site, you'll see a list of posts from people around the world who used that exact same hash tag term. For example:

  • When you click on #forthewin in Twitter, you'll see a list of everyone who has recently used that same term, #forthewin

In the same way, when you click on a subject term, you'll see all articles for which that subject is a major focus.

To learn more about searching in the library's online resources see:

Chat with a Librarian

Contact the Library

The Library is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,  & Friday from 10AM - 5PM and Wednesday from 1PM - 8PM.

If you need help from the librarian or need to access the library resources outside of those hours let us know!

Call or text 717-728-2500 or email Library@centralpenn.edu to make an appointment.

Remember the Learning Hub is also open with lots of great faculty and staff willing to help with tutoring, advising, and general questions.

Library Director