Your Scholarly Literature Search
On Telescopes and Microscopes
As a researcher, I have long found it helpful to think of literature research in terms telescopes and microscopes. I use the phrase “telescoping” to refer to material one might find in an introductory class, and “microscoping” to refer to more current or specific research on a subject.
For instance, let’s say you are a student studying the independent music scene in Sweden. As a researcher, you’ll be expected to be familiar with some examples of two types of research: telescopic ‘big picture’ analysis on global media ownership issues by a writer like James Curran, and ‘smaller picture’ microscopic analyses that focus on Sweden in particular, such as the material published by Nancy Baym.
Now, if I were you right at this point, I’d be thinking, “How does she expect me to do that?” That answer is: by using your university’s resources.
As a researcher, I have long found it helpful to think of literature research in terms telescopes and microscopes. I use the phrase “telescoping” to refer to material one might find in an introductory class, and “microscoping” to refer to more current or specific research on a subject.
For instance, let’s say you are a student studying the independent music scene in Sweden. As a researcher, you’ll be expected to be familiar with some examples of two types of research: telescopic ‘big picture’ analysis on global media ownership issues by a writer like James Curran, and ‘smaller picture’ microscopic analyses that focus on Sweden in particular, such as the material published by Nancy Baym.
Now, if I were you right at this point, I’d be thinking, “How does she expect me to do that?” That answer is: by using your university’s resources.
Conducting Telescopic Research
USING REFERENCE TEXTS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, WIKIPEDIA
When you are researching at the telescopic level, the broadest way to begin is with reference texts and encyclopedias. Here are some of NYU's best ones for our purposes:
USING OVERVIEW BOOKS & SYLLABI
If you are looking for something slightly more advanced than an encyclopedia entry, an "overview" or "issue" book can be quite useful. Try searching for your topic or theory interest followed by one of the following words:
I recommend searching for books in these locales:
Finally, it is also worth noting that a quick Google search for your general interest plus the word “syllabus” may turn up some very useful results. It has for me, in the past!
A FINAL WORD
A final word on telescopic research: while it’s important and it helps you get a necessary overview of the general questions in your field, it’s important that you remember that your real work will be at the microscopic level, so DO NOT GO CRAZY with general stuff. Two or three resources generally work just fine.
USING REFERENCE TEXTS, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, WIKIPEDIA
When you are researching at the telescopic level, the broadest way to begin is with reference texts and encyclopedias. Here are some of NYU's best ones for our purposes:
- The Credo Reference Library
(allows you to search by topic, image and mind map!) - Gale Reference Library
- Oxford Reference Library
- Paratext Reference Universe
(can take a bunch of clicks to get what you want, but *very* thorough and contains Credo, Gale, Oxford) - International Encyclopedia of Communication
- Sage Knowledge
USING OVERVIEW BOOKS & SYLLABI
If you are looking for something slightly more advanced than an encyclopedia entry, an "overview" or "issue" book can be quite useful. Try searching for your topic or theory interest followed by one of the following words:
- Issues • Handbook • Guide • Textbook
- Methods • Topics • Reader • Anthology
I recommend searching for books in these locales:
- Ebrary (book chapters available to download in PDF form)
- NYU Library (you know where this is, right?)
- New York Public Library (often good if a book is checked out from NYU)
- Library of Congress (good just to know what is out there)
Finally, it is also worth noting that a quick Google search for your general interest plus the word “syllabus” may turn up some very useful results. It has for me, in the past!
A FINAL WORD
A final word on telescopic research: while it’s important and it helps you get a necessary overview of the general questions in your field, it’s important that you remember that your real work will be at the microscopic level, so DO NOT GO CRAZY with general stuff. Two or three resources generally work just fine.
Conducting Microscopic Research
When you conduct microscopic research on a topic, you are looking for material that is more specific, focused and/or up-to-date than you would get in an encyclopedia or overview text. There are two main ways researchers get microscopic research: through book chapters and scholarly journal articles.
For Books:
For Articles:
- Ebrary (book chapters available to download in PDF form)
- NYU Library (you know where this is, right?)
- New York Public Library (often good if a book is checked out from NYU)
- Library of Congress (good just to know what is out there)
For Articles:
- Google Scholar (many articles can be downloaded if you are logged in from campus)
- NYU Databases (see below for most useful ones)