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Media & the Environment: MSP 3473

Research help for the course, Media & the Environment

Why Use News?

stack of newspapers

Question: What value lies in news sources?  Why would a researcher choose a newspaper or magazine over a book or scholarly journal article?

Answer: News sources can be great resources for local information.  They can supply names, dates, facts and figures, along with quotes. Ultimately, news sources are valuable for their immediacy, recording events as they happen.

Newspapers, Magazines, News Blogs, Broadcasts, & Transcripts

Search Tips

Not sure what keywords to use? Try some of the following suggestions:

  • The name of a media organization, business, or company
  • The name of a brand or product
  • Names of individuals associated with your media issue
  • Key events associated with your media issue (ie. campaigns, advertising)
  • Legislation or laws associated with your media issue

Other tips:

  • Place quotation marks around names and phrases. This will force the database to search for those exact words. (ie. "John Stewart")
  • Limit your search to a specific region/state/publication (ie. Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • Limit your search to a specific timeframe (ie. past year, past month, 2001-2003)