LibGuides: ACRL/EBSS Library Resources for Communication Studies (LRCS): Communication Theories &amp; Research Methods

About

This guide is intended to function as an overview of the types of materials available to librarians, students, faculty and others interested in theories and research methods for communication research. It is broad in scope to incorporate as many current resources as possible.

Current Page Editor: Kristin Peace

Suggested Subject Headings

Please consult the Library of Congress subject headings for more ideas.

Databases

SAGE Research Methods Online A collection of more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher.
Communication & Mass Media Complete (fee-based) Commination and Media database offered in 2 levels Indexing for some 1,000 periodicals, including full text for over 500 titles, in areas related to communication and mass media. 1920-present.

Books

[Theory]

Encyclopedia of Communication Theory Editors: Stephen W Littlejohn & Karen A Foss Date: 2009 Publisher: SAGE
The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy Editors: Klaus Bruhn Jensen, Robert T Craig, Jefferson Pooley & Eric W Rothenbuhler Date: 2016 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Public Relations Theory III: In the Age of Publics Taking up the work begun by the books Public Relations Theory and Public Relations Theory II, this volume offers completely original material reflecting public relations as practiced today. It features contributions by leading public relations researchers from around the world who write about new developments in the field. Important subjects include: a turn to more humanistic, social, dialogic, and cocreational perspectives on public relations; changes in the capacity and use of new information technologies; a greater emphasis on non-Western international and intercultural public relations that considers an increasingly politically polarized culture; and issues of ethics that look beyond how clients and the traditional mass media are treated and into much broader questions of voice, agency, race, identity, and the economic and political status of publics.
Theories of Human Communication Authors: Stephen W Littlejohn, Karen A Foss & John G Oetzel Date: 2017 (11th ed.) Publisher: Waveland Press

[Research Methods]

Communication Research Statistics Author: John C. Reinard Date: 2007 Publisher: SAGE Publications
A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies (3rd ed.) Author: Klaus Bruhn Jensen Date: 2021 Publisher: Routledge
The Illustrated Guide to the Content Analysis Research Project Author: Patricia Swann Date: 2021 Publisher: Routledge
Introducing Communication Research: Paths of Inquiry (4th ed.) Author: D.F. Treadwell & Andrea Davis Date: 2020 Publisher: SAGE Publications
Media and Communication Research Methods : An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches Author: Arthur Asa Berger Date: 2020 (5th ed) Publisher: SAGE
Mixed Methods Perspectives on Communication and Social Media Research Addresses the need for a discipline-cum-methodology-tailored book that navigates the current research spectrum of communication and social media ("CommSocMed"). Examines contemporary and relevant issues that intertwine the expansive spheres of CommSocMed
Qualitative Communication Research Methods Author: Thomas R Lindlof & Bryan C Taylor Date: 2019 Publisher: SAGE
Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications Authors: Christine Daymon and Immy Holloway Date: 2011 Publisher: Routledge
Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-On Approach Authors: Jason S Wrench, Candice Thomas-Maddox, Virginia P Richmond & James C McCroskey Date: 2019 Publisher: Oxford University Press
Routledge Handbook of Applied Communication Research Editors: Lawrence R Frey & Kenneth N Cissna Date: 2009 Publisher: SAGE
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods Editor: Mike Allen Date: 2017 Publisher: SAGE
The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Communication: Advances in Theory, Research, and Methods. Editors: Linda Putnam & Dennis K Mumby Date: 2014 Publisher: SAGE
The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods Editors: Anabel Quan-Haase & Luke Sloan Date: 2022 Publisher: SAGE Publications
Sourcebook for Political Communication Research: Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques Author: Erik P Bucy & R Lance Holbert Date: 2014 Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Journals

Measures and Instruments

APA PsycTests (fee-based) APA database that provides access to in-depth descriptions of tests and measures in psychology. In some cases the full text of the measure is also provided. When full text is not provided, information on how to obtain the measure is often available. Descriptions of tests and measures often include specifics on validity, reliability, etc.
Communication Research Measures I: A Sourcebook Authors: Rebecca B Rubin, Philip Palmgreen & Howard E Sypher Date: 2009 Publisher: Routledge
Communication Research Measures II: A Sourcebook Authors: Rebecca B Rubin, Alan M Rubin, & Elizabeth E Graham Date: 2009 Publisher: Routledge
Communication Research Measures III: A Sourcebook Author: Elizabeth E Graham and Joseph P Mazer Date: 2020 Publisher: Routledge
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) is comprised of bibliographic information for peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books, technical reports, and test publishers' catalogs. An essential resource for researchers, students, and clinicians, HaPI covers behavioral measurement tools used across professions and disciplines, including medicine, nursing, public health, psychology, social work, communication and sociology.
Health Communication Research Measures Reports on how to measure many of the key variables in health communication such as patient-provider dyadic communication, uncertainty management, self-efficacy, disclosure, social norms, social support, risk perception, health care team performance, message design and effects, health and numerical literacy, communication satisfaction, social influence and persuasion, stigma, health campaigns, reactance, or other topics
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Subscription-based access to the largest social science data archive in the U.S.
Marketing Scales Multi-item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Insight Research Author: Gordon C Bruner, II Date: 2019 Publisher: GCBII Productions
The Sourcebook for Political Communication Research : Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques Covers the major analytical techniques used in political communication research, including surveys, experiments, content analysis, discourse analysis (focus groups and textual analysis), network and deliberation analysis, comparative study designs, statistical analysis, and measurement issues.