Advanced Writing in the Disciplines (AWD) : 3314 (Arts, Media, and Design)
Welcome
Welcome to the Library's course page for Advanced Writing in the Arts, Media, and Design!
In this guide, you can find the resources, tutorials, and librarians that can guide you as you develop as a writer and communicator in this course. Many of these resources can be used to research your topic or to find examples of writing in your field.
Key Resources
Search within the below resources to research a topic, as well as to locate examples of writing in your field from a variety of publication types and formats. This can include scholarly or peer-reviewed articles from academic journals, articles from magazines or newspapers, exhibit or book reviews, and more.
A multidisciplinary database featuring scholarly articles and books from the art, humanities, social sciences, and other disciplines. Use the Advanced Search option to focus your search in journals for architecture, art, communication studies, film, journalism, music or the performing arts.
Most journals include extended historic backfiles and not current issues. The Northeastern Library also purchases individual e-book titles from JSTOR. The books are available chapter-by-chapter as PDFs.
Arts and Sciences IV content is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library.
This architecture-focused database is a great place for researching buildings and architects. It also offers examples of writing from academic journal articles, magazine articles, exhibition reviews and published interviews.
To find articles that include plans, sections, drawings, or other images:
Click on "Advanced Search" and then enter your search keywords or phrases. You could search by topic or by the name of a building or architect.
Under the "Document Feature" options, select the appropriate filter and click "Search." This should return results for articles that include those specific types of images.
Click on an article record in your search results to open the "Details" page.
Click on the "Check for full text" button in the top right corner. This will run a check for that article in the library's print holdings and online subscriptions.
You will then see options for accessing this article and its images.
E-books and other digital materials from the arts, design, theory, and architecture fields. Includes examples of artists’ e-books, zines, screenplays, pamphlets, podcasts, filmed lectures, typefaces, and more. Some items require registration (free) to view.
Citations to scholarship in areas related to communication and mass media, including new media, rhetoric, film, broadcasting, and more. Peer-review filtering. Links to full text for Northeastern-subscribed journals.
Our largest general news source. Worldwide newspapers, magazines, and wire services from around the world. Information is current, but some backfiles also go back to the 1980s. Email notification alerts available.
A summary of a research article that appears at the beginning of the document. Reading the abstract may help you decide if you want to read the full article.
A geographic information system (GIS) software developed by Esri. ArcGIS enables you to analyze, visualize, and interpret spatial data for better decision-making.
Written content on a narrow subject and published in a periodical or website. In some contexts, academics may use article as a shortened form of journal article.
A group of libraries in New England that work together to share resources with students, faculty, and staff of member libraries. Northeastern University is a member of this group. Requesting a consortium library card is free to Northeastern students.
A free library available to people who work, live or attend school in Massachusetts. Boston Public Library's collection includes physical and digital access to books, journals, and films.
A label of letters and/or numbers that tell you where the resource can be found in the library. Call numbers are displayed on print books and physical resources and correspond with a topic or subject area.
Catalog
A list of all the items in a library's physical collection. Modern catalogs are searchable databases. Catalogs include information about the item's:
title
creator
publication
subject
availability
location in the library
Also called a catalogue, OPAC. Historically a card catalog.
Software that can help you collect, organize, and cite sources. The library provides training on five specific citation managers: BibTeX, EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero. Also called citation management software, citation management tool or reference manager.
Physical materials assigned by an instructor and held at the library. These materials are generally restricted to in-building use for a limited period. At faculty discretion, some materials may be checked out overnight or for a few days.
A searchable collection of similar items. Library databases include resources for research. Examples include: a newspaper database, such as Access World News, or a humanities scholarly journal database, such as JSTOR.
A searchable online storage space for video files, images, and documents. Specialized digital repositories collect materials related to a theme or institution.
Northeastern University Library manages the Digital Repository Service (DRS). The DRS collects digital material related to Northeastern University's history and academic work.
A unique number assigned to some digital content. DOIs do not change even if the online location or ownership of the resource changes.
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)
A digital version of a thesis or dissertation produced by a master's or Ph.D. student. Most theses and dissertations written by Northeastern University students are ETDs. Interested researchers can find Northeastern ETDs in the Digital Repository Service. Theses and dissertations written before 2007 are only available in print format in the Northeastern University Archives.
A broad category of research in which existing research is reviewed to clarify what is known. Evidence synthesis uses explicit and reproducible methods. Common types of evidence synthesis include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, integrative reviews, and umbrella reviews.
The entirety of an article or book, as opposed to a summary or description. Libraries often provide access to the full text as an attached file or in a web reader.
A computer-based means of storing, analyzing, and displaying geographic data. Researchers use Geographic Information Systems to create maps and charts.
A way of examining and interpreting data about geographic locations, or spatial data. Geospatial analysis examines spatial data to gain insights and identify patterns or trends. Also called geospacial analysis.
A library service that allows you to request resources your library does not have. At Northeastern University, this service is free. Materials are delivered electronically when possible.
A meaningful word or phrase in a source’s database or catalog record. Keywords are often used as search terms to retrieve records that contain the word or phrase.
A search setting that removes search results based on source attributes. Limiters vary by database but often include publication date, material type, and language. Also called: filter or facet.
Marginalia
Notes, comments, annotations, sketches, added to the margins of a text. These can be typed or hand-written. Marginalia can include headers, footnotes, and sidenotes. In some cases, marginalia are written by the author of a text, but is often notes made by a reader.
Metadata
Information associated with a resource, usually organized in a specific way. The word metadata means "data about data".
Metadata varies but often includes title, creator, and format. Descriptive metadata makes it possible to find and identify resources in a collection. When the metadata in a collection is standardized, the predefined structure is called a metadata schema.
Research or data available for free. Open access resources are sometimes labeled with an unlocked padlock symbol. These resources often have permissive licenses that support re-use and sharing.
Words used to connect multiple search terms to bring back targeted results. Operators can be used to reduce or expand the number of search results. Operators include:
Well-regarded review process used by some academic journals. Relevant experts review articles for quality and originality before publication. Articles reviewed using this process are called peer reviewed articles. Less often, these articles are called refereed articles.
A free and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) application. This tool set enables you to capture, analyze, visualize, and share geographic data. QGIS is a Mac-friendly alternative to ArcGIS.
To transfer information from one format to another. Example: Scanning a paper newspaper to create an online or PDF version. Reformatting includes digitization.
A webpage or pages created by librarians to guide your research in a field or course. Research guides include links to resources, tutorials, and other information.
The removal of a published article from a journal. A journal’s editors or editorial board can decide to retract an article when it has serious errors. Errors that can result in retraction include:
A book or article written by academic researchers and published by an academic press or journal. Scholarly sources contain original research and commentary.
Scholarly articles are published in journals focused on a field of study. also called academic articles.
Scholarly books are in-depth investigations of a topic. They are often written by a single author or group. Alternatively in anthologies, chapters are contributed by different authors.
Common filetype (.shp) for points, lines, or polygons. This filetype is widely used in Geographic Information Systems, specifically ArcGIS. Various free shapefiles are available online.
A library database that searches a broad range of resources. Material in Scholar OneSearch includes:
Scholarly, newspaper and other articles
books & eBooks
streaming music and video
board games
archival material
Scholar OneSearch also includes information about material held at Northeastern’s libraries. Researchers can use ScholarOne Search to organize their research and manage borrowed items. To best serve Northeastern University's widespread community, ScholarOne Search has different views:
The Online / Global network view shows all online material.
The Boston view shows all online material and items held at Snell Library.
The Oakland view shows all online material and items held at the F. W. Olin Library.
Appropriate views for each global campus are included on their Global Campus Portal.
A source focused on sharing news and information of interest to an industry. Trade publications are often published by industry associations. Periodicals related to an industry are called trade journals.
An unrepeated string of numbers and letters used to recognize and differentiate material. Also called an identification number. Examples include American citizen's’ social security numbers or published books' ISBNs. A persistent identifier (PID) is a long-lasting type of unique identifier. Persistent identifiers allow you to locate a resource with a URL. Examples include electronic articles' Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and digital materials' handles.