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COMM 301: Writing for Mass Audiences

Search for books and ebooks

Use the WSU Library's Online Catalog to locate books, journals, and other materials:

Types of searches you can conduct

Use the WSU Library's Online Catalog to locate books, journals, and other materials:

You can use the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar to specify which aspect of a book you would like to search for -- title, author, etc.  Also, you can use the dropdown menu immediately below the search bar to specify what type of material you would like to search for -- DVD, government document, textbook, music score, etc.

Keyword anywhere: the first option in the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar.  Enter a string of keywords in any order. This is the broadest type of search you can do in the online catalog:

 

Keyword anywhere (and, or, not): another option in the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar. 

Connect your search terms with the word and for more precise searching -- you are telling the catalog to find everything relating to concept A and concept B.  The same logic applies for the words or and not, except that you will be searching for A or B, or alternately A not B.

Enclosing phrases within quotation marks ("substance abuse") makes the computer look for those words right next to each other. Using the truncation symbol ( ? ) makes the computer search for variations in word endings. For example, adolescen? looks for adolescent, adolescents, and adolescence.

Title:  the second option on the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar.  Search for the exact title of the book:

 

Journal title:  the third option on the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar.  Search for the exact title of the journal:

To be clear, you are searching for the title of a journal, not the title of an article published in a journal.  You can search for articles using the library's databases -- see the Find articles tab to the left.

Author:  the fourth option on the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar.  Search for author's last name first, followed by first name or first initial:

Journalism reference books

Wichita State University Libraries, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, KS 67260-0068 | Phone: (316) 978-3481 | Comments/Suggestions | Facebook Instagram X