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UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

COMM 491: Communication Capstone: Thesis

This guide will help students in COMM 491 locate library resources for their thesis research.

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Other article types

Watch out for other types of articles that you may come across, which may not be the best sources for an academic paper:

  • Book Reviews: you will often find articles that review books, but finding and using the actual book itself might be a better strategy
  • Editorials and letters to the editor: these are opinion pieces either from the editor or a contributor to a publication, or from its readers, written in response to something that was published.  They might be interesting but usually aren't considered to be scholarly articles.
  • Popular magazine or trade publication articles: these articles usually don't cite sources and are written for a more general audience.  However, they sometimes they may mention studies you can track down if they sound interesting.

Types of Scholarly Articles

Literature Review Articles Examines published articles on a specific topic Summarizes research trends on this topic Looks at how articles on this topic are related or connected Looks for gaps or problems in research (what is not being studied?) Identifies next steps for research on this topic Discusses potential impacts of research
Theoretical Articles Uses existing research to advance theories: Looks at how a theory was developed and expands on it Points out flaws in a theory Argues that one theory is better than another theory Proposes a new theory Analyzes an existing theory
Empirical Studies Presents the results of an original research study conducted by the authors Includes an introduction and a review of literature related to the study Provides detail about how the research was conducted (methodology) Summarizes the findings of the study Discusses implications of the study
Methodological Articles Present new approaches to research methods or proposes changes to existing research methods Readers of the articles can decide if they want to implement the proposed methods in their own studies

Examples of Different Types of Scholarly Articles

Type of Article Some recent examples from Communication journals:
Literature Reviews

Chi Thi Phuong Duong. (2020). Social Media. A Literature Review. Journal of Media Research, 13(3), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.24193/jmr.38.7

Marinov, R. (2020). Mapping the infotainment literature: current trajectories and suggestions for future research. Communication Review, 23(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2019.1682894
Theoretical Articles

DelGreco, M., Denes, A., Davis, S., & Webber, K. T. (2021). Revisiting Attribution Theory: Toward a Critical Feminist Approach for Understanding Attributions of Blame. Communication Theory, 31(2), 250–276. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtab001

Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2013). The Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model. Journal of Communication, 63(2), 221–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12024
Empirical Research Article

Merolla, A. J., Otmar, C., & Hernandez, C. R. (2021). Day-to-day relational life during the COVID-19 pandemic: Linking mental health, daily relational experiences, and end-of-day outlook. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 38(8), 2350–2375. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211020137

S. Aloia, L., & Strutzenberg, C. (2020). The influence of family cohesion and relational maintenance strategies on stress in first semester college students. Communication Quarterly, 68(4), 457–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2020.1821735
Methodological Article

Carazo-Barrantes, C. (2021). Agenda-setting in a social media age: Exploring new methodological approaches. Agenda Setting Journal: Theory, Practice, Critique, 5(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.20006.car

TŐKÉS, G. E. (2020). Methodological Framework for the Analysis of Brand Identity Construction. Journal of Media Research, 13(1), 22–40. https://doi.org/10.24193/jmr.36.2

 

Subjects: Communication