Journalism 125 - The Environment, the Public and Mass Media

Using Lexis Nexis Academic and Factiva to locate global news and information on the environment




SELECTED RESOURCES FOR LOCATING NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:

Lexis/Nexis ACADEMIC  - World Wide  Access to Full Text Newspapers, Magazines, Wire Services and Broadcast transcripts.

USE THE GUIDED SEARCH FORM - NOT THE QUICK SEARCH

Recommended Searching Areas:
 


SEARCH HINTS

For Full Text searching or to search within a specific publication use the "GUIDED SEARCH"  rather than the " QUICK  SEARCH."

Click on the "Tips"  link  in the Lexis Service to learn more about  special connectors, wildcard features and limiting by date.
A description of the Lexis Nexis Academic "Connectors" can be found on the web.
Wildcards - Lexis automatically searches the plural form of most words.  You can also use the following truncation features:


Other important operators which Lexis does not well publicize are the Atleast and the Length operators.

Atleast allows you to specify the minimum number of times a word or phrase must occur in an article
atl# (word or phrase)          example:    atl5 (coffee plantation)
Length allows you to specify the minimum or maxium length of the article you seek.
length >#                             example:    length >1000
length <#

It is crucial to make sure you are searching the full text field when using these operators.

Use the "SOURCE" feature to identify the titles and date ranges of the publications included in Lexis/Nexis.

FACTIVA (Formerly Dow Jones Interactive)
Must be used with Internet Explorer 5.01  or higher
 


 

SEARCH HINTS

Start in the Search  Free-text/ Indexing  Area.  Utilize the Factiva Intelligent Indexing feature to narrow your searches if needed.

For a complete list of connectors and operators and a guide to their use, click the EXAMPLES link on the Search screen.

Factiva  also has the capability of limiting searches to specific types of  publications  or to those from specific world regions or countries. -
See Appendix A & B for  step by step instrutions on limiting searches to specific regions or publications



 
 

APPENDIX A -Narrowing your search in Factiva to publications from specific regions or countries:

Begin at  the Search Full-Text/Indexing screen.

Scroll down to the "Source Browser" link next to the "Your Current Source List" window. Click on it.
 

Click on the "Publications" tab at top of the new Source Browser window.

Now  Click on  "Region" link.  A list of world regions will appear. Click on  the plus sign to move deeper into the lists. This allows you to find specific countries if you wish.   If you open the plus sign next to a country you will get a list of the specific publications from that country that Factiva includes.

Highlight either the world region or country or even specific publication you wish to narrow your search to. It will turn green.

Now click on the Add Selected Sources Button and your choices will appear in the lower "Sources to Include" box.

Click on " Add to Search" . You will be asked if you would like to save changes to current list. Say OKAY. The publications will be pasted into the Search form with "Your Current Source List" selected. To make sure your sources have been pasted into this search, click on the plus sign above the words "Source Browser."

You can later remove these publication choices from the Current Source list by clicking on Source Browser again. Highlight the titles or regions you wish to remove and click on the Remove Sources or Clear All button.

NOTE: This same process can also be followed to limit your search to a particular TYPE of publication  or publications in a specific language or dealing with a particular industry.

APPENDIX B- Limiting your search in Factiva to a Specific Publication

Begin at  the Search Full-Text/Indexing screen.

Scroll down to the "Source Browser" link next to the "Your Current Source List" window. Click on it.
 

Click on the " Find a Source" tab at top of the new Source Browser window.

Type the publication title into the search window. Uncheck all boxes except  "Publications". Click on " Search."

If Factiva includes your publication it will appear in the upper box.

Highlight your title and then click on "Add Selected Sources." Your choices will appear in the lower "Sources to Include" box.

Click on " Add to Search" . You will be asked if you would like to save changes to current list. Say OKAY. The publications will be pasted into the Search form with "Your Current Source List" selected. To make sure your sources have been pasted into this search, click on the plus sign above the words "Source Browser."



To locate Resources specifically focused on Journalism, use the Journalism section of INFODOME (http://www.Lehigh.EDU/library/infodome/socialsciences/journalism_communication.html) a research advisor developed by librarians and instructional technologists at Lehigh University. The goal of INFODOME is to collect useful scholarly and professional materials and information tools of interest to the Lehigh University Community.


Roseann Bowerman, Social Sciences Librarian
Leader, College of Arts & Sciences Team
610-758-3053, e-mail: rb04@Lehigh.edu
revised Sept2002

Need more help right now? Use the link below to chat with a librarian or helpdesk staff member.




 
 

Journalism 125 - Class Hands-on Exercise
 

Using Lexis Nexis Academic :


1. Do a search for articles appearing in the Morning Call newspaper in 1999 concerning hazardous materials found in the landfill in Lower Saucon (Lower Saucon is in the Bethlehem PA area)
 

2. Determine whether Lexis Nexis Academic Universe contains articles from the Columbus Dispatch ( from Columbus, Ohio). How far back does the coverage go in Academic Universe? Can you tell which News Category and News Source subcategory includes the Columbus Dispatch articles?
 
 

3. Locate articles about the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project written within the last 6 months. Focus the results to those articles which mention the concerns with transportation or shipping of the wastes.
 

Using Factiva:

 

 

4. Use Intelligent Indexing to find articles published within the last year in Asian sources dealing with Japanese production or use of electric or hybrid vehicles.
  Hint: Explore the Industry Intelligent Indexing category under Automobiles: Motor Vehicles for a index term which covers electric vehicles.
 
 
 

5. Find articles from the past year in the Missoulian dealing with the asbestos problem in Libby, Montana.
 

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