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updated: March 27, 2020
This guide is intended for Spring 2020 PRL 206 students (course sections taught by Prof. Russell and Prof. Jiang)
Syracuse University Libraries offers numerous research tools and information sources to assist you when investigating public relations. Explore the various sections of this guide, including tabbed sub-pages, for links to leading examples of these tools.
These resources specific to PRL 206 gathered by SU Public Communications Librarian, Michael Pasqualoni.
The guide contains far more starting points that any single PRL 206 student may need, and is meant to complement other source material suggested in course assignment instructions.
These article databases can be excellent starting points when investigating published sources in PR. Most everybody in PRL 206 seeking background literature within the PR field should explore at least one, perhaps more than one, of these best bet databases.
Content types in these databases known as 'trade journals' or 'trade publications' will usually dive deeper into recent discussion of practical career opportunities and trends. Scholarly/academic/peer reviewed journal sources may also discuss these trends, but generally from a more theoretical or formal social sciences perspective.
Tip: search result refinements will appear at either the left or right column of database search results screen. See especially, refinement options for:
Navigational tip: If you prefer to navigate to all back issues of a specific periodical (i.e, scholarly journal title or trade publication, or magazine title), type the desired title into the query window at the library's journal's list A good technique for getting to specific titles like, Journal of Public Relations Research, etc.
Additional tip: Journal of Public Relations Research articles employ APA citation style - so their lists of works cited represent great models for those formats.
Need help on formatting the sources you cite in your academic writing (e.g., APA, MLA, etc.) or want access to full-fledged online bibliographic management systems-like "RefWorks" or "Zotero?" Visit SU Libraries Citation Support website.
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Encyclopedia of Public Relations (two volume eBook) by 
O'Dwyer's Directory of Public Relations Firms, 2019 by PR news top 100 case studies in PR by Another technique that may help in locating article discussion about Public Relations within a specific delimited industry environment is to select a major database for that field and then enter search phrases such as "public relations." Or experiment with entry of other term(s) pertinent to the PR field, which may include specific job titles one sees in the public relations field.
Tip - Search Terminology: within certain discourse communities for some of these sub-disciplines, when speaking about "public relations" related activities, they may not always literally use that phrase itself. In both government and also nonprofit context, other terminology may be equally or more common (e.g., in the nonprofit world one thinks of terms like "community," "community outreach," "community relations," etc.). So as you encounter those, or analogous, alternative wordings, be sure to employ them within some of your search queries.
Sports/Sport Management
Health and Healthcare Industries
Nonprofit Sector (Primarily Non-Arts Related)
Education
Travel and Tourism
The database called ScienceDirect contains current and back issues of the scholarly journal, Annals of Tourism Research. This is SU Libraries Classic Catalog listing for Annals of Tourism Research (click on the 'get it' link to navigate into recent and older articles)
Government Affairs
Arts and Entertainment
Public Relations Counseling Firms ("Agencies")
Financial PR and Investor Relations
Although activities in this career sub-field are different, consider using the article database(s) recommended for PR Agencies
Political PR & Government PR
Government Relations, Public Affairs & Lobbying
Although activities differ, consider using the same article databases listed for "Political PR"
Corporate (Community Relations & Social Responsibilities Programs)
The U.S. Department of Labor supports freely available online tools for individuals exploring career opportunities. These lead to current information and data about skills, industry trends and salaries – [not as descriptive as trade publication articles or books, but great overviews]. Also helpful in providing job classification titles that might represent good search terms when exploring PR using licensed databases or search engines:
Crowdsourced careers and salary information also appears on the social media platform Glassdoor https://www.glassdoor.com/ . Be aware data here is employee contributed. Often providing data unavailable elsewhere, but self-selection among those deciding to participate may problematize broader conclusions. Especially when assessing salary and related trends reported by individuals, use multiple sources and databases to explore if Glassdoor data seems reliable or off-base for specific job classifications you investigate. Be a savvy evaluator of these trends. Past salary data may not reflect future directions for those numbers.
For a gateway to additional newspaper databases SU Libraries offers - visit the online subject guide site called Newspaper Databases
Two leading examples of superb news source aggregator databases (including business news) that are great alternatives to Nexis Uni include:
