Research Guides: Journalism: Journalism Research Guide: Getting Started

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Subjects: Africana Studies, American Studies, English, History, Journalism, Literature, News Sources, Political Science, Women's and Gender Studies

Getting Started

Welcome to the Journalism Research Guide. This guide includes library and internet resources for your journalism research.

This page includes the most recommended library databases for journalism. Please see the navigation menu for other recommended resources, search tips, and the News Literacy Toolkit.

For one-on-one help, please contact subject librarian Andrea Baer (baera@rowan.edu).

Key Library Research Tools

Below are library resources that provide access to news and media sources, scholarly articles, and other resources that are often unavailable on the open web.

Databases: See the subject-focused databases listed in this page, or search the Database Finder.
Journals:
- Journal Finder: Find journals by title, ISSN, or keyword.
- BrowZine: Search for or browse select scholarly online journals to which the Libraries subscribe.
Citation Linker: Use to find and access a specific journal article, journal or book.

If the Libraries do not have access to the article, please submit an interlibrary loan request by clicking the "Go to ILLiad" link on the Interlibrary Loan page.

Background Research

These background sources are good places to get an overview of a topic and different perspectives on it. Background research can help you focus your research and identify effective search terms and strategies.

Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive college-level encyclopedia.
CQ Press Library This link opens in a new window
Collection of reference works on American government, current affairs, politics and public policy.
Contains resources on American government, current affairs, history, politics, public policy, and data analysis for the social sciences. Individual resources available in the Library include the following: CQ Almanac; CQ Researcher Plus Archives; CQ Weekly; Political Handbook of the World; Politics in America; and the Supreme Court Yearbook.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference collection (dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies etc.) for all academic disciplines.
Credo Reference provides a complete reference collection from over 50 publishers, powered by a network of cross-references that cut across topics, titles and publishers to provide answers - and new connections - in context. It includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, quotation books, bilingual dictionaries, measurement conversions, and more.
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Cross-curricular research tool providing pro/con perspectives on current social issues.
Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Contains over 380 core topics, each with an overview (objective background / description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
Each topic features a Guide to Critical Analysis which helps the reader evaluate the controversy and enhances students’ ability to read critically, develop their own perspective on the issues, and write or debate an effective argument on the topic.

Journalist's Resource (Harvard Kennedy School)
Summarizes academic research on current issues in an accessible way in order to help connect academia and journalism. A project of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.

Finding a Specific Newspaper or News Article

Within Rowan Library

Specific Newspaper Publications:

Most newspapers and news magazines to which the library has access can be located via the Journal Finder (within Library Search). When you locate the correct title, check the publication dates and where the item is available.
Historical newspaper titles that are provided through library databases like Historical Newspapers (Proquest) and Accessible Archives are NOT usually indexed in Journal Finder. If you are looking for an historical newspaper and do not find it in Journal Finder, please also search Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) under the "Publications" tab.

Specific Newspaper Articles:

Try a Newspapers search in Library Search to locate a specific newspaper article (not the entire publication).
If you do not find a specific newspaper article in Library Search, try searching for the specific newspaper publication (see instructions in the paragraph above). (Some newspapers are not indexed in Library Search. This includes some articles from Newsbank Access World News and Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)).

Beyond the Library

For those items you don't find available through the Library, you may wish first to see if they’re freely available online (search the Google News Archive or do a general Google search).

If they are not freely available online, search in WorldCat for other libraries that have the item (do a title search and limit the format to newspapers). You can then request a specific item via interlibrary loan, or you may wish visit the library or archive that houses the materials.

News & Media Databases

Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Articles from nearly 300 Canadian newspapers.
Offers unparalleled access to the full text of nearly 300 newspapers from Canada's leading publishers, including The Globe and Mail. This full text database includes the complete available electronic backfile for most newspapers, providing full access to the articles, columns, editorials, and features. Some backfiles date as far back as the late 1970s and 1980s. Canadian Newsstand content is updated daily so researchers always have timely access to new information.
Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new window
Online subscription to the Chronicle of Higher Education newspaper.
The No. 1 source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
News, magazine, and journal articles from the ethnic, minority and native press.
An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Coverage begins in 1990. (ProQuest)
Global Issues (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Integrates news, global viewpoints, reference materials, country information, primary source documents, videos, statistics, pertaining to Global Issues.
Offers 250 country pages and 400+ issue pages.Over 6,000 viewpoint commentaries provide background on topics such as Food Security, Genocide, Human Rights, Extreme Weather, and more.
International Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Provides the most recent news content outside of the US and Canada, with archives stretching back decades featuring newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format.
ProQuest International Newsstream provides information from more than 660 of the world's top newspapers, including The Times (London), The Bangkok Post, El Norte, Financial Times, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post, The Daily Telegraph, Asian Wall Street Journal, and the BBC Monitoring series of publications.
News (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Access to 2,300+ major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world.
Also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
NewsBank Access World News This link opens in a new window
Articles from a large collection of newspapers worldwide.
NewsBank provides full-text information and perspectives from U.S. and international sources, including The Washington Post, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Trenton Times, USA Today, London Times, The Economist China Daily (Beijing).
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Provides a full-text digital collection of the world's major news content including nearly 500 U.S, and over 700 international newspapers.
Also includes millions of articles from newspapers and newswires and offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources.
New York Times (current) This link opens in a new window
Full text access to articles in The New York Times Late Edition (East Coast).
New York Times Late Edition (East Coast). Full text access to the newspaper’s articles (1980 – present) is within the ProQuest Newsstand database; there are no graphics available.
Regional Business News This link opens in a new window
News articles from regional business publications.
Daily updates provide comprehensive full text for regional business publications including titles from Crain Communications. (Ebsco)
U.S. Newsstream (1980-current) This link opens in a new window
Articles from over 1300 newspapers and news content sites worldwide.
Provides access to the full text of over 1300 newspapers, news websites and blogs from leading publishers throughout the world. Backfiles for most newspapers are included, providing access to articles, columns, editorials, obituaries and additional features. Includes New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, The Guardian and many other national and regional titles.
Wall Street Journal (Online) This link opens in a new window
Online e-news content from the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones
Coverage 2010-current; the same coverage is available in the comprehensive business database ABI. (ProQuest). Older issues can be accessed through the full image database Wall Street Journal Historical.
Washington Post (1974 - current) This link opens in a new window
Online access to The Washington Post newspaper.
The Washington Post Newspaper is available through ProQuest Newspapers, with coverage from 1974 through current. To search the Washington Post for articles prior to this beginning date, go to The Washington Post Historical, which include articles from the beginning of the news paper in 1877 through 1997.

Historical Newspaper Databases

Historical Newspapers (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Newspaper digital archive of many significant U.S. and some international newspapers dating back to the 18th Century.
New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Access to The New York Times (1851 - 2017).
Presents PDF pages of the newspaper, preserving the visual sense of the publication. This online format replaces the microfiche archival coverage.
Philadelphia Inquirer (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Access to the Philadelphia Inquirer (1860 -2001)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Access to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and predecessors (1786-2003)
Wall Street Journal (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Online access to back issues of the Wall Street Journal, 1889 - 1999.
Newspaper coverage is from 1889 through 1996. For more recent issues of the Wall Street Journal, select the Wall Street Journal (current) link.
Washington Post (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Online access to back issues of The Washington Post, 1877-1999.
Includes PDF images of nearly all content published in the Washington Post from the beginning, 1877, through 1997. Search the Washington Post Current edition for information after this end date.

Communication and Current Affairs Databases

The library databases listed below provide access to find scholarly articles, as well as other types of information. If you don't see a Full Text link below the article citation, look for a button labeled "Get it!" This application will check for access to the full text of the article within the library's subscriptions.

If you see a message that we don't have access, choose the Campbell Library Interlibrary Loan Request link to order the article from another library. Often we can get an electronic copy of the article quickly.

PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Articles, papers and reports on international public affairs topics.
PAIS (originally, the Public Affairs Information Service) was established in 1914 with several similar databases which over the years have been merged to create the current version. The PAIS International database contains continually updated records for over half a million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed. PAIS International includes publications from over 120 countries throughout the world. In addition to English, some of the indexed materials are published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages. It is updated quarterly with over 17,000 current records added in total each year.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Journal and news articles for the study of communications and mass media.
A research and reference resource encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline. CMMC offers cover-to-cover (“core”) indexing and abstracts for more than 570 journals, and selected (“priority”) coverage of nearly 200 more, for a combined coverage of more than 770 titles; Full text for over 450 journals. (Ebsco)
ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journal and news articles on business and economics topics.
Full-text articles covering business and economic conditions, corporate strategies, management techniques, as well as competitive and product information. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world. The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times are also part of this database. Historical Wall Street Journal coverage is a separate database providing image coverage from 1889-1993.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Journal, magazine and news articles in all academic disciplines.
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 6,600 journals.
Business Source Elite This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in all areas of business.
Provides full text for more than 2,300 business journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed titles. This database provides full text back to 1886, and searchable cited references back to 1998. (Ebsco)
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) This link opens in a new window
Collection of documents on international affairs from wide variety of sources.
Resources on international affairs covering more than 180 research institutes, publishers, government agencies, e-books and journals worldwide. Also includes working papers, policy briefs, and case studies. Includes maps, data and stats compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the world’s foremost provider of country, industry and management analysis for about 201 countries.
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
PolicyMap is a US-National web-based Geographic Information System used to understand communities.
With easy-to-use menus, PolicyMap is a “GIS tool for non-GIS experts” for those who need to visualize large amounts of data quickly and easily, often down to the census tract or block group level. It is used in the social sciences, urban studies and regional planning, real estate and housing analysis, community and economic development, public administration and policy, public health, political science, education, environmental studies, business and finance, economics, statistics and geography, among other areas. Included in the tool is access to PolicyMap’s extensive data collection, with 15,000+ indicators used to understand communities, organized into general categories including demographics, income and spending, housing, lending activity, quality of life, economy, education, health, federal guidelines, and other analysis. In addition, students and faculty can easily upload and incorporate their data into and leverage it against the thousands of indicators already available in PolicyMap.
Telecommunications Database This link opens in a new window
Coverage of over 140 telecommunications journals, with more than 115 available in full text.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive coverage of more than 2,000 journals and the Congressional Record...
complete coverage of the U.S. Reports back to 1754, constitutions for every country in the world, classic books from the 18th & 19th centuries, all United States Treaties, the Federal Register and CFR from inception
Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
Covers 75 U.S. domestic and foreign public policy research topics.
Timely information from over 350 public policy think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, research institutes, university centers, advocacy groups, and other entities. Over 75 public policy topics are covered, from foreign policy to domestic policy.
WestlawNext Campus Research This link opens in a new window
Database of sources for news and legal information.
Campus Research is an easy-to-use online research service that provides college and university students with access to a comprehensive collection of news and business information and law-related resources. Includes the New Jersey Administrative Code