Drill, Baby, Drill! Drilling Down in Search Results

How do you narrow down your results when a database search brings up too many hits to browse through? One way – available in more and more databases – is to drill down through the categories of hits listed alongside the results themselves.

These categories (sometimes referred to as facets, clusters, or result groups) can represent different subjects, types of publications, formats, dates, or other aspects of the items that came up when you entered your search terms.

Click on one of them and only those results from your original search that match that category will be shown. The categories can also help you identify other terms to search for, apart from your original terms.

Here are just a few of the databases in which you are able to drill down in this way: Communication & Mass Media Complete; LexisNexis Academic; Holmes One Search; Business Source Complete.

Watching Election Returns, 1968-2004

If you can't wait to watch the returns from the presidential election tonight, check out the coverage of past elections from NBC and CNN via the Vanderbilt Television News Archive. (BC login required.)

1968 (NBC)

1972 (NBC)

1976 (NBC)

1980 (NBC)

1984 (NBC)

1988 (CNN)

1992 (NBC)

1996 (CNN)

2000 (NBC)

2004 (CNN)

NBC News TV Broadcasts from 1968–Present Now Available Online

The BC Libraries’ subscription to Vanderbilt Television News Archive (VTNA) now includes streaming video from NBC News from August 5, 1968 to the present.

An arrangement between Vanderbilt and NBC earlier this year made it possible to add clips from NBC to those from CNN (1995-Present) already available to BC users of VTNA.

Available programs include the NBC Evening News, as well as extended television coverage of political conventions, elections, speeches, and major events such as the Watergate hearings, the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, the explosion of the shuttle Challenger, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and more.

Use Advanced Search to limit your searches to NBC and/or CNN – news from other networks is indexed but does not include video – or look for the camera icon in the search results to indicate streaming video. ().

Vanderbilt Television News Archive is available online to BC faculty, students, and staff on or off campus. (Off–campus users will have to log in with their BC username and password.) Videos require the downloadable RealPlayer software for viewing.

Can You Say "BOO!" in APA Format?

Care to mix a little academic research with your trick-or-treating tonight?

As a Halloween treat -- and a break from the usual research tips -- here's a look at some of the ways scholars have looked at All Hallow's Eve. (All citations have been verified and most are available from the BC Libraries -- if you dare.)

• "Reactions of zoo animals to 'disturbing' Halloween masks" (Master's Thesis, University of South Alabama, 2003)
• "Influence of Valentine's Day and Halloween on birth timing" (Social Science and Medicine, 2011)
• "Unmasking racism: Halloween costuming and engagement of the racial other" (Qualitative Sociology, 2007)
• "Size of Halloween witch drawings prior to, on, and after Halloween" (Perceptual Motor Skills, February 1963)
• "Assembling processes in a periodic gathering: Halloween in Athens, Ohio" (Sociological Focus, May 1992)
• "The pink dragon is female: Halloween costumes and gender markers" (Psychology of Women Quarterly, June 2000)
• "Jack O'Lanterns and integrating spheres: Halloween physics" (American Journal of Physics, June 2006)
• "Dressing in costume and the use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs by college students" (Adolescence, Spring 1993)
• "The Halloween Effect and Japanese equity prices: myth or exploitable anomaly?" (Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, December 2003)

So have a good time tonight, but be careful: there may be a scholar lurking behind that bush.

Meebo Me! Live Help Online

Do you sometimes wish you could get instant help when doing research online?

On many of my Web pages you’ll see a gray “Meebo” box labeled Ask for Help or Get Live Help. If I’m online, it will say “Ken Liss is online.” Type a message in the lower part of the box and hit enter, and I’ll respond.

It could be a quick question or a more complicated research problem. In either case, both ends of our live chat will appear in the upper box.

I’m not always available, but when I am I can answer many research questions this way. (If we need to meet in person we can arrange it right then and there.)

If the box says I’m offline, you can leave me a message without having to send an e-mail, and I’ll get it when I log back in. Just be sure to tell me who you are, how to reach you, and what you need help with. That way I can get back to you with an answer later.

Of course, you can always contact me the old-fashioned way – via e-mail, phone, or dropping by my office. But, whatever the method, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

TV Series in the Media Center

The O'Neill Library Media Center's collection of TV series, old and new, on DVD and video continues to grow. New additions in the past few months include:

• 30 Days, Seasons 1 & 2
• Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 1
• Dexter, Season 1
• The Love Boat, Season 1
• Martin, Season 1
• Pokemon Indigo League, Season 1
• Punky Brewster, Season 1
• Tudors, Season 1
  

We've also added new seasons of several series already in the collection, including The Wire and Nip/Tuck.

Click here for a longer, though not comprehensive, list of available series (new and old).

Interpersonal Communication Research: Search Tips & Strategies

Are you starting research for a paper on relational or interpersonal communication? Here are some search tips & strategies from the Interpersonal Communication research guide.

Interpersonal communication takes many forms and occurs in many contexts. In beginning your research, plan out what aspects you are interested in.

For example, think about:

• Context: communication at work, in school, on a sports team, at a party, at home, etc.
• Type of relationship: friendship, family (spouse, sibling, parent-child), romantic relationship, etc.
• Form of communication: speech, nonverbal, writing, phone, IM, etc.
• Purpose of communication: persuasion, conflict resolution, support, information gathering, etc.
• Other influences: race, age, gender, culture, etc.
  

Be as specific as possible in formulating your search terms, covering all aspects you're interested in, but be sure to use alternative/related terms as well.