Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations

This image will appear throughout this guide. When you see it, click on it to seek out more information on that particular topic or concept.

Now that you're an undergraduate student at CQU, your lecturers and tutors expect you to find and use information that meets academic and professional standards. This is a skill that develops as your knowledge and experience grows.

This guide lists different kinds of resources relevant to the study of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations, including:

• Dictionaries and encyclopedias
• Books
• Journal articles
• Websites
• Course Resources Online (CROs)
• Evaluating information
• Referencing and plagiarism

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Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Dictionaries and encyclopedias can help you gain an understanding of a topic area by locating background information, definitions or explanations of words and concepts:

• Search the Library Catalogue for a dictionary or encyclopedia - use 'dictionary' or encyclopedia' as keywords.
• See our Web Reference Sources for links to more online dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Below is a sampling of useful reference sources for Journalism, Media and Public Relations Studies.

• Oxford Reference Online
  Access via Databases

  A collection of over 100 reference works, including English dictionaries and thesauri
  

• The newspapers handbook
  070.4 16/2001
   
• The investigative reporter's handbook
  070.43 51/2002
   
• Handbook of Public Relations
  659.2 107
   
• Handbook for public relations writing
  659.2 59/1995
   
• The concise encyclopedia of ethics in politics and media
  172 9
   
• Dictionary of media and communication studies
  302.203 3/2000

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Books

How do I find books? These pages will show you how to use the Library Catalogue to search for books held by the Library. How do I start my own search? Identifying keywords and concepts from your assignment or project topics will make your search of the Library Catalogue for books much easier.

Books are an important source of information.  Books can provide you with specific information on a particular topic as well as detailing theories and concepts fundamental to Journalism, Media and Public Relations Studies.

The Library Catalogue is a database of all items (books, videos, audiocassettes, print journals and online fulltext journals, etc) held by CQU Library.

Below are some sample subject headings which may prove useful for Health Informatics.

• journalism
• mass media
• media literacy
• public relations
• broadcast journalism
• television broadcasting
• radio journalism
• public relation

 

For further help in identifying keywords, consult the links in the boxout to the right for further assistance.

While the Library Catalogue can be used to find journals, it can not be used to find articles within journals.  Refer to the section on Journal Articles for further information.

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Journal and Newspaper Articles

How do I find journal articles?

Journals usually focus on a very specific area of interest or research. Journals can often provide more in-depth information than books. They also offer the latest published research in a particular field.

For a list of databases relevant to Health Informatics, check out:

• Database & Resources by Subject:
  • Journalism
  • Media-relations

Newspaper articles can be located from a number of different sources,(database, web and print).  Refer to the Library Guide on Finding Newspaper Articles for more information.

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Websites

Successful web searching This page contains links to different search tools. Evaluating websites This page discusses the importance of evaluating a website to determine if it is suitable for inclusion in an academic assignment.  It also provides links to resources which will show you how to do this. Internet Detective This is an online tutorial which will help you develop your internet research skills. It was created by the University of Bristol and Manchester Metropolitan University. How do I find good websites?

Searching for resources on the World Wide Web can be a huge, but rewarding task.

You should be aware that due to the ease of publishing information on the web, it is vital that you evaluate the types of websites you include in your academic work.

Here are some websites you may like to begin with.

• Commonwealth Journalists Association - a working site for journalists in Australia
   
• Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
   
• Journalism.org
   
• Newslink - online U.S. newspapers
   
• Newseum
   
• Public Relations Institute of Australia
   
• Cultures of Journalism
  a series of units in offered through Open Learning Australia.

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Course Resources Online (CROs)

Course Resources Online This page lists all of the courses with CROs. Click on the relevant course code to see what CROs are available for a particular course.

CROs are extra reading materials (book chapters, journal articles etc.) that your lecturer has asked to be made available online.

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Evaluating information

Have you considered the quality of your information?

When using information for academic study you need to be more critical of the information you find.

Given the ease with which information can be published on the internet, the task of evaluation is even more important.

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Referencing and plagiarism

CQU's referencing website What is plagiarism?

When undertaking academic research, you will draw on the ideas and works of other people.  At CQU you must acknowledge the contributions of those people by referencing the work you have used. 

Failing to acknowledge your sources is plagiarism.