Subject Guides: Journalism &amp; News Media: Background Research

Background Information

Online Encyclopedia

Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive online encyclopedia with more than 80,000 entries and 17,000 illustrations, maps, and graphics. Continually updated.

U.S. Census Data

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Online research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to current and historical U.S. Census data and demographic information. The easy-to-use web interface lets users create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change.
U.S. Census Bureau Data This link opens in a new window
U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder can create custom tabulations from micro data files, compute simple statistics, and create a thematic map for a specific geographic place. Features video tutorials.

In-Depth Background Resources

Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
Use keywords to search encyclopedias, almanacs, and dictionaries on a wide range of topics.
Oxford Handbooks This link opens in a new window
Dive into details of topics in business, philosophy, political science, education, and religion.

Archived Websites

Archived websites offer a glimpse of the recent past. Try the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, an archive of millions of website snapshots from the 1990s through today.

Use the Wayback Machine to (for example):

1. Explore websites from the 1990s and 2000s

2. Examine how organizational priorities change over time

a. How has online coverage of BYU athletics changed from the earliest byucougars.com site (1998-1999) to today?

Specialized Research

Now that you are grounded in your subject matter, use these resources to dig deeper.

Finding E-Books and Print Books

BYU Library
Search for print and electronic materials. Use filters to find narrow results by item type and availability.

Filtering Search Results for E-Books

When searching the Harold B. Lee Library for e-books, use the left-side filters to help. Under "Resource Type," select "E-books" to see resources you can access remotely.

WorldCat Discovery This link opens in a new window
Unified catalog of research libraries and public libraries throughout the world. Includes books, serials, sound recordings, data files, musical scores, and visual materials. Search using Library Catalog commands. Updated daily. Interlibrary loan database. Look up book, and order it from interlibrary loan. Formerly FirstSearch.

Resources ABOUT Journalism & News Media

Books about communication, mass media, and journalism have the following call numbers:

P87 - P96: Communication and Mass Media
PN4699 - PN5650: Journalism

These books are all found on the library's 5th floor. You can search for materials by keyword, subject term, author, or call number.

Ask a Librarian

Elizabeth Smart

Contact:

elizabeth_smart@byu.edu
5452 HBLL

801-422-4995

Subjects: Communications, Global Women's Studies, Humanities, Media Arts