COMM 2500: Home

Need Help?

Ask us!

Report access issues here →

Your Librarians

Valerie Beech:

Strategic Communication
Advertising
Corporate Communication
Public Relations

Elisa Coghlan:

Communication Studies
Digital Media
Journalism

Related Research Guides

About this guide

This guide was written for Dr. Xu's Spring and Fall 2022 course. The guide helps you complete the first homework assignment.

Details about the assignment

(From Dr. Xu's assignment description and rubric.)

Answers the question: “Does A affect (or lead to, influence, a verb as you deem appropriate) B?”
Uses existing research to build a strong yet concise argument about why your research is important and why people should care about it.
Supports every claim with empirical evidence.
Presents a research question that is clear, specific, objective, and significant.

What is empirical research?

Empirical: a very short definition from the 3rd edition of the Dictionary of Pschology:

"Derived from observation or experiment rather than speculation or theory."

In practice, empirical research is published in scholarly articles. These articles usually have the following sections, though the headings can vary:

  –  A statement of the question studied
  –  An introduction/overview of the topic (sometimes called a literature review)
  –  A description of the methodology used to study the question
  –  A section describing the results
  –  A discussion of the implications of the results
  –  A list of references

Below is a short video (3:45) describing these articles, and showing what to look for.

Finding the articles:

Go to the Article Search page for databases and tips!

Online reference collection

Start with this online collection of (mostly) reference books. Subject-specific encyclopedias, handbooks, companions, etc.

Gale eBooks from Gale
Full-text access to 400+ resources covering a broad selection of topics.
Covers arts, business, communication, drama, history, medicine, religion, social science and more.

Sample encyclopedia articles

Below are sample encyclopedia articles which may be relevant to the topics assigned.

Go to the Subject Encyclopedias page for more.

What is Social Media and What Questions Can Social Media Research Help Us Answer?
McCay-Peet, L. (2017). What is Social Media and What Questions Can Social Media Research Help Us Answer? In L. Sloan & A. Quan-Haase (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods (pp. 13-26). SAGE Reference.
Social Media Marketing
Serazio, M., & Duffy, B. E. (2017). Social Media Marketing. In J. Burgess, A. Marwick, & T. Poell (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Media (pp. 481-496). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Reference.
Ethics of Public Relations
Bowen, S. A. (2013). Ethics of Public Relations. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Public Relations (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 304-306). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Issue Management
Stokes, A. Q. (2008). Issue Management. In L. L. Kaid & C. Holtz-Bacha (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Political Communication (Vol. 1, pp. 353-354). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Journalism Ethics
Journalism Ethics. (2009). In W. F. Eadie (Ed.), 21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook (Vol. 2, pp. 661-669). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Media Ethics Theories
Plaisance, P. L. (2009). Media Ethics Theories. In S. W. Littlejohn & K. A. Foss (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Communication Theory (Vol. 2, pp. 637-641). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Multicultural work teams
Bell, S. T. (2013). Multicultural Work Teams. In E. H. Kessler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Management Theory (Vol. 1, pp. 493-495). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Politics and Television Entertainment
Cogan, B., & Kelso, T. (2009). Politics and Television Entertainment. In Encyclopedia of Politics, the Media, and Popular Culture (pp. 72-111). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.
Theater and Performance
Werry, M. (2005). Theater and Performance In M. C. Horowitz, (Ed.), Dictionary of the History of Ideas. (Vol. 6.) Detroit, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Crisis Management, Emerging Trends in
James, E. H. (2013). In K. B. Penuel, M. Statler, & R. Hagen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Crisis Management (Vol. 1, pp. 196-200). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.
Digital Media and Race
McIlwain, C. (2017). Digital Media and Race. In M. Allen (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods (Vol. 1, pp. 380-383). SAGE Reference.

Off campus access methods (authentication)

Library Off-Campus Access webpage
Information (comprehensive) about all 3 authentication methods; has screenshots.
  –  Authentication is required for off-campus use of library databases by the database vendors.
  –  A few databases only work with the VPN.
  –  Includes FAQs about OpenAthens.

Brief description of 3 authentication methods:

New Library Login (OpenAthens): Many library resources use this method for logging in; requires no setup. When prompted, select "Marquette University Libraries (AZURE)" and then sign in using your Marquette email/password.
Library Login (legacy version): This method is quick and requires no setup. Just login before clicking on library database links or when prompted to do so. A few library databases will not work with it.
VPN (virtual private network): The VPN requires you to download an app on both your mobile device and your computer. A few library databases require it for off-campus access. Outline of the steps required for the VPN:
1. Follow these setup instructions for the free Microsoft Authenticator app.
2. Download the free FortiClient VPN on your computer using instructions for Windows setup or macOS setup.