Until very recently there was little computer access to comprehensive bibliographic data bases in the social sciences. Now online searching of several directly relevant files is made possible through services such as the Lockheed DIALOG system. These data bases are briefly surveyed, with emphasis on content, structure, and strategy appropriate for…

To let newspaper researchers know the information sources used for various applications and the value of each of the sources, 122 Newspaper Research Council members were surveyed in February 1988 (with a 75% response rate). Questions concerned the frequency of use of various listed sources, and the value, location, and applications for each…

A study analyzed the attitudes of newspaper subscribers and nonsubscribers to determine whether the two groups were truly distinct, homogenous segments of the public or whether there were "atypical" subscribers and nonsubscribers. Data were gathered through telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adults in the southeastern United…

A survey of 65 newspaper editors and 64 television news directors was conducted to examine policies concerning unnamed sources and unattributed information in news stories, and to measure the effects of the incident in which a "Washington Post" reporter fabricated a major story and claimed that she had granted her sources…

This paper explored the conceptual issues involving the application of "development communication" to the American context, examined people's needs for development information, the communication system that delivers such information, and the barriers that exist. The paper notes that people's needs for development information may occur in…

The usefulness of presidential debates to the electorate and to the total political system is evaluated in this paper. The paper first reports the results of opinion polls concerning the value of the 1976 debates and cites studies showing the types of information that people obtained from watching the debates. It then considers whether voters'…

A study was conducted to assess the sources used by a metropolitan population for news about state government. Telephone interviews were conducted with 714 adult subjects in a metropolitan area in Michigan. Subjects were asked how much time they spent reading newspapers and watching television, how interested they were in state government, and…

To determine consumer preference regarding four forms of mass communication, an 18-item questionnaire was devised that asked individuals where they sought information on national and world affairs, local events, entertainment, and shopping (advertising). Results from the 108 respondents in the random sample indicated the following: newspapers…

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that individuals who rely solely on interactive channels for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention information will have different levels of accurate Tactical Mobilizing Information (MI) on HIV prevention than those who rely solely on non-interactive channels. The hypothesis was tested using…

Utilizing a regionally diversified sample of cable viewers to investigate viewer patronage of community channels--defined to include public, educational, and government (PEG) access as well as community (or leased) access channels, a study examined a quarterly national survey of homes serviced by cable in the United States. Each quarter, 1,000…

Several contextual factors were investigated related to the information needs of educational administrators. In a survey of 119 administrators, the following issues were studied: (1) varying preferences for different information sources; (2) the effects on preferences for information sources of different decision or program development tasks; (3)…

More than 300 adults responded to a telephone survey designed to examine whether the gender of the source and the similarity of gender between the source and the receiver affected the receiver's perception of source credibility. The results indicated that (1) men had more overall credibility than did women, (2) women recognized that they would…

A study collected data from 763 door-to-door interviews to test hypotheses about the uses and gratifications associated with newspaper readerships. In the interviews, respondents were identified demographically, asked about their newspaper reading behaviors, and asked to reply to a series of uses and gratifications statements on why they read…

To determine whether differing attitudes toward, and the utilization of, the daily newspaper are related to the variable of age, 481 persons responded to a questionnaire designed to measure their attitudes and opinions about mass media in general and their evaluations of newspaper content in particular. The findings revealed the following…

Reports the preliminary results of a survey of the environmental scanning behavior of 207 chief executive officers (CEOs) in the Canadian publishing and telecommunications industries. Topics addressed include information sources, perceived source accessibility, perceived source quality, and frequency of source use. (16 references) (LRW)