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Guide to Finding TSC Books and Journals

Finding Books on Technical Communication:

Use LEO to find books, videos, government documents, and more in JMU Libraries. 

WorldCat, a worldwide library database, can help you find books and other materials beyond JMU’s collections. 

The following subject headings can be used in both LEO and WorldCat.

Subject Headings:
Technical Writing and Communication of Technical Information are two of the most frequently used subject headings for materials about this field.  Related subject headings include:

    Medical Writing
    Science News
    Technical Editing
    Technical Writing Handbooks Manuals Etc.
    Report Writing
    Business Report Writing
    Graphic Design (Typography)
    Web Sites—Design

Keywords:
Keywords can be useful for newer terminology such as “usability” or “single sourcing.”

Keyword searching is flexible: it allows you to combine terms with and ( to narrow your search ),
link synonyms with or (t o  b r o a d e n  y o u r  s e a r c h), or use truncation symbols to find multiple forms of a word (liquida* finds liquidate, liquidates, liquidation.)  Different databases may have different truncation symbols, so check the help screens.

To find examples of technical reports, try a keyword search for "technical report" combined with the subject keyword (e.g., "technical report" and ecology).

Search tips:  Finding E-books and more in LEO.

Finding TSC Journals:

Major TSC Journals                                                             Where to Find

To find TSC journals in the library collection, use these subject headings in LEO: 
Technical Writing-Periodicals and Communication of Technical Information-Periodicals.

Article Databases (and more!):

E-Server TC Library

Cooperative effort by academics to build a searchable TSC article database.  Contains over 8,000 citations and links to date.  Found at http://tc.eserver.org/

All the databases below can be found on the JMU Library’s Database Page http://www.lib.jmu.edu/databases/

Academic OneFile

Probably the most index coverage of TSC journals of any general database.  You can view journals indexed in the database by clicking on TITLE LIST link. 

ACM Digital Library

Full-text of the entire collection of Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) publications.  Also includes the Guide to Computing Literature, a large bibliographic database (not full-text) containing more than 750,000 citations of books, journal articles, conference proceedings, dissertations, etc.

Communication Abstracts

An indexing/abstracting service for the communications field that covers technical communication.  Some full-text articles available through links to Communications Studies Full-Text Collection (see below).

ComAbstracts

Don’t be confused--this database is not the same as Communication Abstracts.  Indexes a few TSC journals.  Use this database mainly for research in speech communication, rhetoric, and general communications theory.

Communication Studies Full-Text (Sage)

Searchable collection of journals in the communications field.  Coverage for most titles is complete to v. 1.  Includes such titles as:

              Journal of Business and Technical Communication

              Science Communication

              Visual Communication

              Written Communication

Communication & Mass Media Complete

Indexes several technical communications journals, with some full-text:
                                                                                    Indexed                 Full-Text from

Business Comm Quarterly                                        1995                     1995

J of Bus & Technical Comm                                      1994                     --

J of Business Comm                                                1963                     1963

J of Tech Writing & Comm                                        1997                     2003

Technical Communication                                         1996                     2001

Technical Communication Quarterly                           1993                     1993

LLBA (Linguistics & Language Behavior)

Same interface as Communications Abstracts and Communication Studies (above).  This database indexes some major TSC journals, such as:

J of Business & Technical Writing

Journal of Business Comm                                      

J of Tech Writing and Comm                                    

Written Comm                                              

ERIC (EBSCO)

ERIC is a good source for citations on teaching and education in technical communication.  Several technical communication journals included in ERIC:

Business and communication Quarterly

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Rhetoric Review

Technical Communication

Technical Communication Quarterly

MLA International Bibliography

Same interface as Expanded Academic (above).  Coverage of citations to technical communication journals is not extensive in MLA.  Selected citations from:

Journal of Technical Writing & Communication

Rhetoric Review

Technical Communication Quarterly

Gartner Advisory IntraWeb

A browsable, full-text collection of news and product updates and analysis.  A great way to keep up on research in the computer industry, or to view examples of industry reports. 

Safari Tech-Books Online

A searchable e-book library of technical books from industry-leading publishers, including Sun, O'Reilly, Microsoft, Macromedia, and New Riders.