Telecommunications Research Resources

An Annotated Guide

James K. Bracken, Christopher H. Sterling

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000149142
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

As the telecommunication and information field expands and becomes more varied, so do publications about these technologies and industries. This book is a first attempt to provide a general guide to that wealth of English-language publications -- both books and periodicals -- on all aspects of telecommunication. It is a comprehensive, evaluative sourcebook for telecommunications research in the United States that brings together a topically-arranged, cross-referenced, and indexed volume in one place. The information provided is only available by consulting a succession of different directories, guides, bibliographies, yearbooks, and other resources. On the one hand, it is a directory that describes in detail the major entities that comprise the American telecommunication research infrastructure including federal and state government offices and agencies, and private, public, and corporate research institutions. On the other hand, it is a bibliography that identifies and assesses the most important and useful reference and critical resources about U.S. telecommunication history, technology, industry and economics, social applications and impacts, plus policy, law and regulations, and role in the global telecommunication marketplace. No existing guide covers all of these aspects in the depth and detail of this volume.

1

General Reference

DOI: 10.4324/9781003064084-2

This first chapter identifies major resources for research on telecommunications in general. More importantly it includes selected standard general resources that place telecommunications in a larger context. Likewise, we have identified several electronic services recently made widely available in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) bibliographic utility. None of these can be regarded as specific telecommunications resources as each covers far more than telcommunications’ literature, organizations, or personalities. In light of telecommunications’ dynamically changing landscape, however, general resources like many of those in this chapter serve to measure telecommunications’ inevitable integration and convergence in many aspects of daily life.

1-A. Bibliographies

0001 Blum, Eleanor, and Frances Goins Wilhoit. MASS MEDIA BIBLIOGRAPHY: AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO BOOKS AND JOURNALS FOR RESEARCH AND REFERENCE. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 (3rd ed.), 344 pp. Standard bibliographic guide to studies on printed and electronic media. Includes about 300 general items related to telecommunications as well as selected major indexes and English-language journals. Subject index.

0002 DIRECTORIES IN PRINT. Detroit: Gale, 1989-date, annual. Formerly DIRECTORY OF DIRECTORIES (1980-1988). Online version GALE DATABASE OF PUBLICATIONS AND BROADCAST MEDIA available from Dialog: covers current edition, updated semiannually. Diskette version available from Gale. 11th ed. (1993) for 1994. Classified descriptions of professional, trade, and other listings for membership, personnel, or companies, buyer’s guides to services, products, ratings and rankings lists, and other kinds of directories. Relevant entries in chapters 7 for telephone utilities, 15 for engineering and technology, and especially 12 for “Telecommunications and Computer Science,” including “data processing and computer research, manufacturing, retailing, installations, and user groups; telecommunications systems and research.” Title and keyword indexes; subject index cross references entries under “Cable television broadcasting industry,” “Satellite communications,” Telecommunications,” “Telephone industry,” and others.

0003 GUIDE TO REFERENCE BOOKS. Eugene P. Sheehy, editor. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986 (10th ed.), 1,560 pp. See next entry.

0004 __________ COVERING MATERIALS FROM 1985-1990: SUPPLEMENT TO THE TENTH EDITION. Robert Balay, editor. Chicago: American Library Association, 1992, 613 pp. Sheehy and its supplement are authoritative guides to standard reference materials (bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, handbooks, guides, etc.) in all subjects and fields. Relevant classified annotated entries under “Aeronautical and space engineering,” “Electrical and electronics engineering,” “Communications,” and elsewhere. Author and title index. Sheehy is particularly useful for advanced researchers attempting comprehensive literature searches.

See 0363. Haynes, INFORMATION SOURCES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

See 0369. Powell, SELECTIVE GUIDE TO LITERATURE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS.

0005 Sova, Harry W, and Patricia L. Sova. COMMUNICATION SERIALS. Virginia Beach, VA: SovaComm, 1992, 1,041 pp. Subtitle: “International guide to periodicals in communication, popular culture, and the performing arts.” Detailed entries for English language current and ceased journals include notes on contents, with lists of typical features; valuable lists of indexes for each title. Indexes for abstracts and indexes (listing journals covered), associations, columnists, departments (useful for identifying titles with regular features under “Technology” and other “tele-”words), country of publication, ISSN, publishers, titles, variant titles, subtitles, and subjects. Relevant titles under “Cable Television,” “Telecommunication,” as well as in subdivision “Engineering” under other main headings, like “Radio.”

0006 Sterling, Christopher H. TELECOMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONIC MEDIA, AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY. Annandale, VA.: Communications Booknotes, 1994, 47 pp. About 500 references (mostly after 1990) in subject and format arrangement, with further topical subdivisions: dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries; directories and yearbooks; bibliographies; development; technology; industry, economics; content; impact, effects; policy and regulation; area studies. Concise critical annotations. Cumulates and updates Sterling’s previous separate bibliographies formerly issued about every two years (last revised in 1991): FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY; BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MASS COMMUNICATION AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA; and TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY.

0007 ULRICH’S INTERNATIONAL PERIODICALS DIRECTORY. New York: Bowker, 1932-date, annual. Online version available from Dialog: covers current edition, updated monthly. CD-ROM version available from Bowker: covers current edition, updated quarterly. Standard guide to journals published worldwide. Classified arrangement includes brief entries that identify subscription information, first publication dates, editors and editorial offices and telephone and fax numbers, and indexing, with occasional descriptive notes on contents. Journals in telecommunications listed in chapters for “Communications,” “Computers,” “Engineering—Electrical Engineering,” and others. Title keyword index.

0008 Whitaker, Marian, Ian Miles, with John Bessant and Howard Rush. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: AN ANNOTATED CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SOURCES SINCE 1980. Aldershot: Edward Elgar; Brookfield, VT: Gower, 1989, 313 pp. “Over 500 annotated references” for books, articles, occasional papers, quasi-govemmental documents (UN, OECD) “on information technology and society” since 1980 (p. 1). Arranged in 10 chapters, with subdivisions, including 1. Technology, 1.4. Telecommunications; 2. Social Trends; 3. International Economy and Politics (covers international competition and trade policy, transborder information flow); 4. Employment Debate; 5. Quality of Working Life and Work Organization (covers health and safety, new work patterns and working time); 6. Industrial Structures; 7. Organizational Issues; 8. Household and Community, 8.2. Teleservices; 9. Community and Politics; 10. Bibliographies and Indexes. Chapters include introductory essays that identify major themes and trends. Very useful author and subject indexes: relevant headings include “distance learning,” “telebanking,” “telecommunications,” “teleconferencing,” and others.

1-B. Selected Abstracting, Indexing, and Electronic Database Services

See 0490. ABI/INFORM.

0009 ACCESS: THE SUPPLEMENTARY INDEX TO PERIODICALS. Birmingham, AL: John Gordon Burke, 1975-date, 3/year. Available on disk from Electronic Information Services: covers pre-publication issues only. Intends to complement READERS’ GUIDE (0032) in journal and subject coverage. Author and subject indexes for local and regional magazines as well as such journals as WIRED, INC., and WORTH. Useful for local public relations pieces about telecommunication and electronics companies.

See 0372. ACM GUIDE TO COMPUTING LITERATURE.

See 0071. AMERICA: HISTORY AND LIFE.

See 0373. APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INDEX.

0010 ARTICLE 1ST. [Online service.] Columbus, OH: OCLC, 1992-date, updated daily. Covers 1990-date. Offers keyword and selected field searching of “over 9,200 journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture,” with OCLC holdings. A subject search on “telecommunication(s)” identifies nearly 2,000 articles. Journal title searching provided by CONTENTS 1ST (see 0018).

0011 BIBLIOGRAPHIC INDEX. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1938-dale, 3/year. Online version available from Wilsonline: covers November 1984-date, updated twice weekly. Offers author and subject access to bibliographies published separately as books and articles and as parts of books. Selectively indexes about 2,600 journals and book-length bibliographies listed in CUMULATIVE BOOK INDEX (0017).

0012 BIOGRAPHY AND GENEALOGY MASTER INDEX. Detroit: Gale, 1980 (2nd ed.), 8 vols. SUPPLEMENT. 1981/82-date, annual, with five-year cumulations. Online version BIOGRAPHY MASTER INDEX available from Dialog: cumulates all editions and supplements, updated annually. CD-ROM version available from Gale: cumulates all editions, updated annually. Cross references more than 4 million biographies published in over 400 current and retrospective biographical dictionaries and other sources, including DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, WHO’S WHO IN AMERICA, AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN OF SCIENCE, DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY (0097), and BIOGRAPHY INDEX (0013), as well as less well-known compilations, such as Cortada’s HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF DATA PROCESSING BIOGRAPHIES (0288) and Robert Slater’s PORTRAITS IN SILICON (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987). Most useful for obscure individuals.

0013 BIOGRAPHY INDEX: A QUARTERLY INDEX TO BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1946-date, quarterly, annual, and three-year cumulations. Online version available from Wilsonline, OCLC (BIOGRAPHYIND): covers August 1984—date, updated twice weekly. CD-ROM version available from H. W. Wilson: covers 1984-date, updated quarterly. Identifies biographical materials published as books, book chapters, and journal articles. Based on publications covered in other H.W. Wilson indexes (0021, 0023, 0032, 0650). “Index of Professions and Occupations” offers additional access for engineers, CEOs, etc.

0014 BOOK REVIEW DIGEST. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1905-date, monthly, annual cumulations. Online version available from Wilsonline, OCLC (BOOKREVDIGST): covers January 1983-date, updated twice weekly. CD-ROM version available from H. W. Wilson: covers 1983-date, updated quarterly. Lists and excerpts reviews of books by subject. Important for historical coverage. Based on publications covered in other H. W. Wilson indexes (0021, 0023, 0032, 0650).

0015 BOOK REVIEW INDEX. Detroit: Gale, 1965-date, bimonthly. Online version available from Dialog: covers 1969-date, updated 3/year. Complements coverage of reviews in BOOK REVIEW DIGEST (0014), indexing nearly 500 journals including BYTE, COMPUTERS AND THE HUMANITIES, and TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE. Electronic version allows useful key word in title access.

See 0495. BUSINESSORGS.

See 0492. BUSINESS PERIODICALS INDEX

See 0739. CIS INDEX TO PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

0016 COMMUNICATION ABSTRACTS. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1978-date, 6/year. The most important index for communication field’s scholarly literature, including titles in management and economics, policy and law, and research. International coverage limited to English-language sources. Issues abstract about 50 books and book chapters and articles from about 250 journals, with annual cumulative author and subject indexes. Main weaknesses are its relatively brief publication history, inflexible subject headings, and coverage of only the most significant telecommunication journals. Not available in electronic form.

See 0930. COMMUNICATION CONTENTS SISALLOT.

See 0375. COMPUTER AND CONTROL ABSTRACTS.

0017 CUMULATIVE BOOK INDEX. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1898-date, monthly. Online version available from Wilsonline: covers 1982-date, updated weekly. CD-ROM version available from Wilsondisc: covers 1982-date, updated quarterly. Gives bibliographic data for new English language books published worldwide. Useful for identifying new books on telecommunications: subject headings include many “tele-”words.

0018 CONTENTS 1ST. [Online service]. Columbus, OH: OCLC, 1992-date, updated daily. Covers 1990-date. Offers “complete table of contents page and holdings information for more than 9,200 journals.” Covers major telecommunications trade and scholarly journals. CONTENTS 1ST and its companion service, ARTICLE 1ST (0010), which offers subject and keyword searching of the same journals, combine features of traditional indexes and current contents services with OCLC’s bibliographic holdings information.

0019 CURRENT CONTENTS. Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1961-date, weekly. Online version available from BRS, Dialog: covers current 6 months, updated weekly. Series of field- and discipline-specific services that reprint tables of contents of recent issues from a pool of about 6,600 journals and of selected “new, multi-authored books” analysed in ISI’s citation indexes (0381, 0649), thereby including telecommunication’s core journals. “Title Word” indexes conclude issues (modeled on the citation indexes’ “Permuterm Index”), alphabetically listing “significant words in every article and book title.” Relevant CURRENT CONTENTS serv...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents Page
• Introduction
• Chapter One General Reference
• Chapter Two History
• Chapter Three Technology
• Chapter Four Industry and Economics
• Chapter Five Applications/Impact
• Chapter Six Policy and Regulation
• Chapter Seven International
• Chapter Eight Periodicals
• Appendix A Finding Library Materials: Dewey and Library of Congress Classifications for Telecommunication
• Appendix B Selected Library of Congress Subject Headings for Telecommunication
• Index of Main Entries