Resources for Media
Below is a list of library resources relevant to Media - use these to locate academic materials such as books, journal articles, statistics, and reports.
Visit the library Subject Guides to explore other resources available (for example, relating to Journalism, Law, or TV, Film, and Radio Production).
Discover is the University of Bedfordshire library's main search engine. Use Discover to search journal articles, book reviews, news, and the library catalogue simultaneously.
Use the Library Catalogue to find print books and ebooks held by the University of Bedfordshire. You can also find journal titles and databases here.
Communication and Mass Media Complete is an electronic database containing articles from a range of journals relevant to media and communications. Its appearance and functionality is similar to Discover as it is produced by the same company.
JSTOR contains many journal articles in the field of the humanities and arts. You can browse to your subject area of interest (e.g. Browse -> By Subject -> Social Sciences: Communication Studies), then search for articles within that subject area (e.g. 'Digital').
Credo Reference contains a variety of electronic encyclopaedias and reference books. You can search within individual books or across all content at once. The 'Mind Map' search tool in Credo is useful if you wish to consider related concepts and ideas.
Oxford Reference contains many electronic reference books and encyclopedias, including dictionaries and thesauri. You can browse by subject (e.g. media studies) or enter a search word to find relevant content.
Statista is a database which contains official statistics and data collected by research institutes. The data is presented in adjustable charts and tables and downloadable in a variety of formats.
Marketline contains industry and company reports across a wide range of sectors, including media and digital entertainment. Try searching for a particular production company, for example, or browse by sector.
The World Advertising Research Center database (WARC) contains research, insights, and case studies related to marketing and advertising. Insights from WARC research have appeared on the BBC, Forbes, and The New York Times.
Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT) is an online listings service for UK television and radio, provided by the British Universities Film and Video Council (BUFVC). The database carries complete schedules for around 300 UK channels, including regional variations as well as Welsh, Scots Gaelic, Irish and Asian-language stations or programmes.
Web of Science is a citation database containing records for many journal articles across a variety of subject areas. Web of Science is especially useful for identifying highly cited works. To locate relevant content, do a keyword search then refine your results by category in the left hand panel.
Scopus is a citation database containing records for many journal articles across a variety of subject areas. Scopus is especially useful for identifying highly cited works. Browse to Sources -> Subject Area -> Communication to see content relevant to your subject area, or do a keyword search across all content.
Below is a list of useful websites and other online resources that are relevant to Media.
Ofcom is the regulator for communications services in the UK. It's remit is very broad, including internet and phone services, TV and radio, the Royal Mail, and wireless devices such as cordless phones and walkie talkies.
Ofcom's annual statistical survey of developments in the communications sector includes the International Communications Market Reports.
The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) commissions research companies Ipsos MORI, Kantar Media, and RSMB to collect data that represents the viewing behaviour of the UK’s TV and broadband-only households. The production and distribution of programme and commercial content in the UK is guided and accounted for by their data.
The Audit Bureaux of Circulations UK (ABC) releases data for the UK media industry to use when trading print, digital and event advertising. It is an industry-owned auditor for media products and services, with specialist skills in digital ad trading.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) publishes classification guidelines which reflect current views in relation to issues such as bad language, nudity, sex, and violence on screen. Content is classified using age ratings and advice to help children and families choose what’s right for them.
The Office for National Statistics is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and its recognised national statistical institute. It collects and publishes statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional and local levels, and conducts the census in England and Wales every 10 years.
Google Scholar is Google's search engine for scholarly research including journal articles and book reviews.
The British Film Institute (BFI) is the UK’s leading organisation for film, television and the moving image. It is a registered charity that runs an international programme of world cinema, curates the BFI National Archive, and promotes the UK as an international place to make film. The website also contains links to BFIplayer, allowing you to explore their archive collections for free, and industry data and insights.
The British Universities Film and Video Council (BUFVC) promotes the use of film, sound and other media for learning and research.
British Pathé is a newsreel archive containing 85,000 films unrivalled in their historical and cultural significance. Spanning the years from 1896 to 1978, the collection includes footage from around the globe of major events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, science and culture.
The EUscreen portal provides access to thousands of items of audiovisual heritage. It brings together clips that provide an insight into the social, cultural, political and economic events that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries.
The National Science and Media Museum, in Bradford, explores the science and culture of image and sound technologies and their impact. Their collection contains three pivotal firsts: the world’s earliest known surviving negative, the earliest television footage, and the camera that made the earliest moving pictures in Britain. You can explore the stories of the objects held in their collection on their website.
Media law and industry codes
There is a wealth of legal information available to you via your library. It is advisable to know exactly what you're looking for when you search this content (i.e. specific legislation or particular cases). You can identify which legislation and cases are important to your field from secondary resources such as books, encyclopaedias, and journal articles.
Westlaw is one of the two main electronic databases for legal research available in the library collection (the other database being Lexis Library). It contains primary resources (such as cases and legislation, with accompanying commentary and analysis) and secondary resources (such as law journals, law reports, and reference books). It also includes current affairs magazines and news under the "More" tab, for example The Economist. To see an example statute, try searching for the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) using the Legislation tab. To see an example case, try searching for the party names Richard v BBC in the Cases tab.
Lexis Library is one of the two main electronic databases for legal research available in the library collection (the other database being Westlaw). It contains primary resources (such as cases and legislation, with accompanying commentary and analysis) and secondary resources (such as law journals, law reports, and reference books). To see an example statute, try searching for the Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) using the Legislation tab. To see an example case, try searching for the party names Richard v BBC in the Cases tab.
The UK Parliament makes the country's laws freely available online, and ensures the law-making process is transparent. Below is a list of freely available sources relating to UK law, as well as some important industry codes and regulations which help guide practitioners to follow media law and ethics.
Legislation.gov.uk is the official government website publishing all UK legislation. It is managed by The National Archives on behalf of HM Government. Statutes relevant to media law which you may wish to look at include, for example, the Broadcasting Act 1996, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Communications Act 2003, the Equality Act 2010, and the Data Protection Act 2018. For further useful commentary on statutes (e.g. to see which sections are in force and which have been repealed), look them up on Westlaw or Lexis Library.
The UK Parliament has two Houses (Commons and Lords) that work on behalf of UK citizens to check and challenge the work of Government, make and shape effective laws, and debate/make decisions on the big issues of the day. Use this website to learn more about how parliament works and keep up to date with parliamentary news.
Hansard is the official report of all UK parliamentary debates. Search this website for Members of Parliament, their contributions, debates, petitions and divisions from published Hansard reports dating back over 200 years.
The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Supreme Court hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. The website allows you to watch live and recorded cases.
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) contains a large number of case transcripts (i.e. the judgement of the case), so can be very helpful if you have a particular case you would like to look up. BAILII uses a simple website format, but don't be deceived by its appearance: it is a well respected source of legal materials.
The Ofcom Broadcasting Code sets out a variety of practices and principles to help broadcasters comply with the law. Ofcom has the power to impose statutory sanctions against any broadcaster that deliberately breaches this code.
The UK Advertising Codes lay down rules for advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow. Written and upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP). Includes the BCAP Code of Broadcast Advertising.
The Editors’ Code of Practice sets out the rules that newspapers and magazines regulated by Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) have agreed to follow. It provides a framework for the highest professional standards and is a cornerstone of the system of voluntary self-regulation.
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