Media Studies

Media as plural of Medium: 

• An intermediate agency, instrument, or channel. 
• A means or channel of communication or expression
• Any physical material (as tape, disk, paper, etc.) used for recording or reproducing data, images, or sound.

Media / Mass Media:

• main means of mass communication (esp. newspapers, radio, and television, regarded collectively).
• Reporters, journalists, etc., working for organizations engaged in such communication. 

(from OED oxford english dictionary March 2021)

There is NO single or best search engine (we call them "databases"). Each database has its own content, features, and ways of searching. Furthermore, different formats/genres require different search methods: e.g. books vs. articles (academic, trade, popular) vs. films vs. audio vs. newspapers vs. primary sources vs. art works, etc. 

Search the Library is a good start. It's a powerful multidisciplinary discovery tool that allows you to search across the University of Alberta Library's extensive collections. Enter a known title or some keywords and let it decide how to search and display. Or use Advanced Search to take control over your search. e.g. use specific fields, AND, OR, "quotation marks", wildcards and truncation. 

When you begin your search you will be able to choose the following categories:

• Everything: Library Catalogue + Articles

  • Library Catalogue: Online and physical resources in the University of Alberta Library collection, which include items such as, books, ebooks, multimedia, maps, music scores, curriculum materials, etc., plus selected open-access resources. Journal and database titles, but not the articles or other content contained within them.

  • Articles: Peer-reviewed journal articles, magazine articles, book chapters, and more from the Library collection. Leads you to the full-text of articles and ebook chapters that the Library subscribes to, plus selected open-access content.

For more information and how to use on Search the Library visit the U of A Library Search Guide. 

Some advanced search hints  --> 

• "mass media" (use quotation marks around multi-word phrases)
• "mass media" AND history 
• "mass media" AND philosophy
• (photograph OR photography) AND "social aspects"
• other terms to try: sound, "motion pictures", phonograph, microfilms
• additional limits:
  • AND (history OR historiography)
  • AND (philosophy OR theory OR theoretical)
  • AND (history OR historiography OR "social aspects" OR philosophy OR theory OR theoretical)
  • AND sources [this often means "primary source']
  • AND "equipment and supplies"
  • AND "recording and reproducing"
• Use post-search facets: e.g. publication format/type, publication year
• Use metadata (e.g. subject terms, author) hyperlinks to find similar items, or incorporate them into your keyword searches.

Many database include scholarly articles. Here are some good starting places. Find more in Subject Guides or Databases.

Discipline Specific databases

• Communication & Mass Media Complete (Covers communication and mass media.) 
• Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text (Film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.)
• SocINDEX with Full Text (Indexes the literature of sociology and related disciplines. Includes full text for selected journals, monographs, conference papers.)
• Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) (Provides access to the world's literature in linguistics and its various subdisciplines. It covers articles and book reviews from journals, as well as conference proceedings, associations papers, and selected dissertations.) 
• Business Source Complete (Provides full text for a large collection of business journals and peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business.)

Multi-disciplinary databases

• Proquest - All Databases (Scholarly articles, current and historic newspapers, theses and dissertations. Good Canadian coverage. Searches over 150 databases.)
• Scopus (Scholarly articles in science, technology, medicine, and the social sciences.)
• JSTOR (Academic journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science)

Trade publications are not considered scholarly but are a great sources for scholarly work. You can often find information on things like film studios, production, distribution, technology developments, legal issues like censorship, reviews, ad even plot summaries for films that have been lost. Not all publications are searchable in databases, so you may have to scan through print or microfilm copies.

Film and Cinema

• Example - Variety magazine: 1905-2000, 1972-present, other access points

Search term suggestions and other ideas for locating sources on specific media formats:

Orality

• Search terms: oral tradition, oral history, transmission of text, oral communication, language and culture

Manuscripts

• Search terms: paper, ink, writing implements, codex, vellum

Printing

• Search terms: incunabula, moveable type, linotype, lithograph

Sound Recording

• Search terms: analog OR analogue, phonograph, LP, vinyl, magnetic tape, wax cylinder, wire, digital music players, cassette tape recorders, portable radios, sound recordings, sound studios, recording and reproducing

Telecommunications

• Search terms: television, TV, "television broadcasting" | radio, "radio broadcasting", "portable radios" | telegraph, telegraphy | fax, "facsimile transmission", "fax machines"

Visual Recording

• Search terms: video, video tape recorder, VHS, betamax | photograph, photography, daguerrotype | motion picture, feature films, cinema, film, cinematography | holography

Digital media

• Search terms: digitization, internet, computers, games, video games, interactive gaming