The Communication Journal Collection

In The Communication Journal Collection, much was made of the fact that there is little sense of continuity or agreement as to the function and purpose within the field of communications.  The debate rages regarding the identity of the field and it has been likened to an adolescent in that it is struggling to make its own way.  (Popoff, 2006, 70).  This may be true but I wonder why other social sciences do not share this same struggle.  Sure, each of the other social sciences we studied this semester have different schools of thought within the discipline, yet the discord within communications seems more prevalent. Is it because they are more willing to communicate the dissonance? 

In discussing the lack of agreement on the key journals of the field and the presentation of journals and information in the databases Communication Abstracts and ComAbstracts, the sentiment that kept echoing in my head as I read was eloquently stated regarding the opinion of Thomas F. Gordon (the editor of Communication Abstracts), “For him, and for those who take an inclusive approach to communication journals, the loss caused by restricting research to core communication journals demands to great a sacrifice for the discipline.” (Popoff, 2006, 76). 

Popoff suggests that it is imperative for librarians working in an institution of higher education to understand the definition of communication held by the faculty and scholars of communication within their institution (2006, 70).  This seems to be the cautious and conservative approach and yet like Gordon, I cannot help but feel that this conservative approach may limit future scholars.  Of course, it is a fine line to walk and I do not profess to have the answers.  It is important to understand the process by which communication scholars access and assess information and to understand that the limitations set forth by one database with a stringent interpretation of the field may not exist in another. This will allow librarians to direct information seekers to other sources of information.  This difference of presentation within databases is likely common in other disciplines as well.  For example, when creating my pathfinder for Juvenile Justice, it was apparent that different databases valued different information within the field.  As long as a librarian is aware of the differences and keeps an open mind to positions beyond the immediate definition of the field (if it is a limiting definition), the needs of the communications scholar will be met by utilizing a variety of sources and also by accessing sources that are not technically labeled “communications.”

References

Popoff, D. (2006).  Collection management.  Collection Management, 30: 3, 67-85.

Communications Resource: Writing Public Policy

Smith, C.F. (2013). Writing Public Policy (3^rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

I can appreciate a book that in the Preface answers such questions as the scope of the resource, the intended audience and the structure of the resource. It also provides a small section regarding the differences between the third edition and previous editions, such as a new chapter on policy evaluation, new illustrations, more samples and more information on writing and critical thinking.  This is a relevant reference for those in communication as it incorporated the social sciences of political science and also regarding public policy on any number of subjects, many of which are social sciences.  Writing public policy is about persuasion and convincing others to support or change public policy.  The Preface begins with a quote of a student who interned in public policy- “In public policy work, if you can’t write it or say it, you can’t do it.” (Smith, 2013, xi).

Scope:  Writing Public Policy addresses public policy making, communicating the process, defining and framing the process, the process of evaluating, analyzing and advising public policy.  Specifically for those focusing on communication, Writing Public Policy focuses on the process of communication in public policy, including the standards and expectations within the field.  This is accomplished by providing background information on each of the topics presented and then case studies, real life examples of each of the issues addressed.

Audience:  Catherine Smith is very helpful; in the preface, she states that the intended audience is “…undergraduate and graduate students of public policy, political science, public administration, public discourse, writing, and communication, along with their teachers.” (Smith, 2013, xiii).  It is also intended for entry level professionals working in nonprofits, government, social work, and in dealing with public policy.  The book also proposes that is intended for the active citizen and civic organizations.

Timeliness:   The third edition has a publication date of 2013 so it is quite current.  It provides information regarding legislative history in Chapter 5: Legislative History: Know the Record.  In the digital information age, the Internet must be a factor when considering public policy. Writing Public Policy addresses Public Policy writing for the web in an appendix.  And while email was addressed in a previous chapter, the appendix only briefly discusses podcasts, wikis, blogs, and webpages.  There is very little addressing social media.  Public policy writing likely translates well to the digital age but future editions will likely contain more information about Public Policy and the Web, especially as more and more public policy publications are published solely online.

Authority:  According to the book jacket, Catherine Smith is a professor Emerita of English at East Carolina University and an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Documentation:  Each chapter provides references for the section provided but there is not a single section that contains all references.  It makes it difficult to search citations for references in the research process. However, it is also nice to be able to quickly access the references within the chapter that is relevant only to what was just read.

Relevance:  This is a relevant resource for not only those working directly in public policy but also for those studying communication.  It is a valuable guide for communication process in public policy.

Juvenile Justice LibGuide/Pathfinder

Just to cover all my bases:  Here is the link to my Juvenile Justice Pathfinder through the class wiki:

Juvenile Justice Reference Background
Juvenile Justice Key Resources at a Glance
Juvenile Justice More Resources
Juvenile Justice Databases

I did not quite follow the directions exactly.  I took a little liberty in how I created the pathfinders but then had second thoughts.  However, at that point, I could not figure out how to change the name of my pages.  Therefore the naming conventions do not quite match but the content should all be there.

I used Rhode Island resources where I could but I believe that the HELIN database is accessible to the public.

Global Voices: 'Women should be Submissive' and other Google Autocomplete Suggestions

Bohdanova, T. (2013, Nov. 5). ‘Women should be submissive’ and other Google autocomplete suggestions. Retrieved from http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/11/05/women-should-be-submissive-and-other-google-autocomplete-suggestions/

Global Voices asked its contributors to Google “Women should” based on a UN Campaign and it had interesting results. According to the results posted in this article, the implications are suggestive of a pervasive misogynistic opinion of the role of women. Is this the popular global view? Is it something put forth by Google?  The article does not delve that deep but it is interesting and I cannot help but wonder how does the Google algorithm work that the results seem to be so misogynistic?  I decided to test this and do a couple of Google searches of my own.  Here are my results for “Women should”

I also Googled Women should not and received the following results:

What do you think?