MDIA 303: Mass Media & Technology

Introduction

Introduction

mass 303 roles

Group Project Role Descriptions

The purpose of this guide is to offer you suggestions on where to find information for your assignment. In this guide you will find the following (taken from the project role descriptions):

Technology Production: Find out: how does the technology work-what are the scientific principles, where did it come from, (patents, history, predecessors, inventors, perspective on “the technology” as a physical thing. Provide your group with the information needed to understand the origins and workings of the technology, what it is used to produce, what changes it has undergone, what principles it operates on.  (Brian Winston's categories: scientific competence, ideation, prototype)

Media Uses and Effects: Find out what scholarly work has been published on  the relationships around/  uses and effects of this technology. Critical perspectives, dimensions of cultural and social experiences we have encountered in our texts will be helpful as guides to your approach, and  you will need additional resources to guide your group in understanding perspectives on the technology your group chooses.  (Brian Winston's categories:  dissemination, redundancy, spinoffs, impact)

Media Organizations and Systems: Find out about the regulatory environment (structural, legal, and institutional) around the emergence of this technology, politics, economics and law are important here: Look at industry practices, regulatory bodies and policy shifts, legislation, lawsuits, corporate mergers/alliances breakups and the emergence and changes that affect markets for this technology.  (Brian Winston's categories: supervening social necessity, suppression of radical potential)

Media Uses and Effects

Media Uses and Effects

MASS 303: Media Uses & Effects

Media Uses & Effects

For this portion of the research assignment, you'll need to find scholarly work regarding your technology. In some cases, this may come from any discipline. You can start with the databases I suggest for communication, but you might consider looking at other disciplines as well. For example, who might be studying the social experiences people have in regards to your particular technology? Most likely, it'll be sociologists. In addition to the databases below, check the list of Research Databases we have and choose one based on who could be studying your technology.

Most Useful

Database Full Text Coverage Scholarly
Communication & Mass Media Complete (Via Communication Source)

Provides abstracts and full text for more than 200 communication journals.

 Some full-text; plus links to full-text via Get-It 1950 to current Some
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)

Provides abstracts of articles from about 2,000 journals (published worldwide), coverage of recent books, book review citations and dissertation listings.

 Links to full-text via Get-It 1973 to current All
Academic Search Premier

This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.

 Some full-text; plus links to full-text via Get-It 1975 to current Most

Also Useful

Database Full Text Coverage Scholarly
ERIC

A national database of education literature, including reports and journal articles.

ALERT! Within ERIC search results: IF the "Link to ERIC full text" does not work, try the "Get It!" link.
Links to full-text via Get-It 1966 to current Some
Sociological Abstracts

Provides access to the latest international findings in theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and political science.

 Links to full-text via Get-It 1963 to current All

what is a scholarly article (aec)

What is a scholarly article?

A scholarly article is how researchers (scholars) communicate the findings and analysis of their research. Scholarly articles:

  • Provide original research and analysis - these articles are based on studies or experiements, or analyze an artifact or event. Every scholarly article presents something new about the world we didn't know before.
  • Are written by scholars - scholars tend to hold PhDs, or other advanced degrees and are professors at universities.
  • Are published in peer-reviewed journals - you won't find these floating about on the internet, they have to be published in a journal. Most times you'll find them in the library databases.
  • Might be hard to read - they act as the primary conversation between scholars about a field of study. Since they are written by scholars, for scholars, they contain specialized language that might be hard for the lay person to understand.

Technology Production

Technology Production

mass 303 mmp

Patents

I prefer using the Google Patent search, instead of the U.S. Patent Office. Search for:

  • the name of your technology
  • the company that owns your technology

Expect to find multiple patents for one technology. For example, the patents for the iPhone are numerous, as they use some of the technologies in multiple items (e.g. touch screen). 

U Texas has a great overview of patents that includes definitions of the different kind of patents and patent myths, along with links to tutorials on searching for patents on the US Patent Office Website.

 

How the Technology Works 

  • HowStuffWorks.com - "leading source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works."

  • Wired.com - companion site to the popular tech magazine

  • Gizmodo - blog about gadgets and technology

  • CNet.com - product review and prices, software downloads and tech news

  • TechExpo - directory of engineering and scientific trade technical magazines

Media Organization and Systems

Media Organization and Systems

mass 303 moe

Media Organization & Systems

This portion of the research will fall under business and legal research. Below you'll find links to appropriate databases that will help you in this area, along with links to governmental and organizations websites.

Regulatory environment/policies/laws

Library databases

  • ACM Library Collection of articles published by the Association of Computing Machinery in a variety of their journals.

  • Business Source Premier Full text coverage in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics.

  • PAIS Includes citations for journal articles, government documents, research reports, etc., on a variety of internaional issues.

Websites

Industry

APA Citations

APA Citations

TL-ALL-APA

Citing sources is expected in scholarly communities and is almost always required in research papers. Scholars cite:

  • to give credit where credit is due;
  • so your reader (professor) can find the source that you mentioned in your assignment;
  • to add credibility to your research - shows you did the work;
  • and to avoid plagiarism!

Not sure where to start? Review this Flow Chart of the citation process before you continue!

APA Style

APA stands for the American Psychological Association. This is the preferred citation style of many of the social and behavioral sciences. Always remember to check your assignment guidelines or ask your professor which citation style they prefer for your work.

Please note that the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was released in October 2019.  The American Psychological Association expects students and professors to transition to this new edition in the spring of 2020 or thereafter.  The CSUSM library is awaiting the delivery of the new guides and the transition of other reliable sources to the 7th edition before updating its own citation guide. If you are required to use the 7th edition prior to our updating our APA page, please go directly to the APA's Style and Grammar Guidelines website or contact a librarian directly for assistance.

Official APA Style Manual Resources

  • APA Style Manual (BF76.7 P83 2010)  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: the most current APA style manual is available at the University library. Click on the above link to find a copy. 
  • The official APA website  Off campus or need APA guidelines right now? Access the official APA website for citation help by clicking the above link. This site has useful tutorials and up-to-date facts about citing in APA.  

 

Helpful Online Resources

 

Also Helpful: Citation Generators

  • Zotero  Zotero is a tool for storing citations and generating bibliographies using data collected from the library catalog or websites such as Amazon or Google. For more information on using Zotero, see our Zotero Guide. Always double check your results with citation generators, they are not always perfect!
  • KnightCite Citation Service   This citation generator formats your citations for you. This can be a convenient tool, especially if you have a lot of sources to cite, but it is NOT 100% accurate. ALWAYS check an additional resource like the APA Manual or Purdue OWL to make sure that the citation is formatted correctly!

 

Sample Papers in APA format

 

Need Help?

Allison Carr

Academic Transitions Librarian
librarian profile image
Email

acarr@csusm.edu

Office Telephone

760-750-4337

Office Location

KEL 3425