Background Sources
Finding Background Information - Cultural Characteristics, Data about Media
Note: You may use Wikipedia as a starting place and a way to find other sources, but do not use it or cite it as a source.
Make sure you know what year the data you find represents. Try to use data from the last 5 years if possible.
BBC Country Profiles - for general information; see also "Media" tab
CIA World Factbook - "Select a country or location" pull down menu
UC Berkeley Library Statistics Databases
The international encyclopedia of communication (reference book)
Brainstorming Academic Disciplines
Example:
Topic: Image of African American women in advertising
potentially relevant disciplines:
African American Studies
Gender and Women's Studies
Ethnic Studies
Media Studies
Psychology
Sociology
Business
etc.
Keywords - Brainstorming
Developing appropriate keywords/search terms is an essential part of research. First, break your topic into components. Develop a list of synonyms and alternative terminology for each component. Think about broader and narrower concepts and word variants. What words can you exclude?
Topic: Image of African American Women in Advertising
image(s) or stereotyp(es)(ing) or depict(ion) or portray(al)...
african american(s) or black(s) or minorit(y)(ies)
women or gender
advertis(e)(ing) or media
Remember to be creative with your terminology! More examples:
people of color and environmental activism*
environmental justice
environmental justice and hazardous waste*
environmental equity
environmental discrimination
environmental racism
environmental injustice