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COMS 443: Rhetoric of Business

Article Databases and Web Resources

Here is a short list of databases that you can utilize in your research. More options are available on the Communication Studies database page and the A-Z Databases page.

Searches for scholarly materials such as peer-reviewed articles, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and reports across many disciplines and sources. On your first visit, set Google Scholar preferences: select \Settings, then Library links. Type in CSUN in the Show library access links for search box and search. Click the checkbox for CSUN and then save.

GovInfo (Formerly Federal Digital System FDsys) Includes recent primary sources of information from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal government. Executive includes: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, State of the Union Addresses, and Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. In addition, reports, investigations, and findings from federal agencies are included. Legislative includes congressional bills, U.S. Code, Congressional Record (debates and proceedings from both houses of Congress), and Committee Reports (committee reports and recommendations for bills), and hearings. Judicial includes Supreme Court opinions and oral arguments.

Annual Reports and Letters to Shareholders

Annual reports and shareholder letters are usually found on publicly traded company websites

Shareholder letters commonly are included in a company annual report or they are offered in addition to the annual report

Often it takes selecting more than one link on a company website to locate the annual report and shareholder letter

It is not unusual for different linked paths to lead to the same place

  • Use Google to search by using the company's name and "investor relations" in the search
  • Look for annual report or shareholder letter
  • Usually more than one year of annual reports and shareholder letters will be available
  • Once you locate a shareholder letter, use "Control F" on your keyboard to search for specific words that may be used in the letter, if you would like to determine topics discussed in the letter

The annual report to shareholders is a document used by most public companies to disclose corporate information to their shareholders. It is usually a state-of-the-company report, including an opening letter from the Chief Executive Officer, financial data, results of operations, market segment information, new product plans, subsidiary activities, and research and development activities on future programs. Reporting companies must send annual reports to their shareholders when they hold annual meetings to elect directors. Under the proxy rules, reporting companies are required to post their proxy materials, including their annual reports, on their company websites.

The annual report on Form 10-K, which must be filed with the SEC, may contain more detailed information about the company’s financial condition than the annual report and will include the annual financial statements of the company.  Companies sometimes elect to send their annual report on Form 10-K to their shareholders in lieu of, or in addition to, providing shareholders with a separate annual report to shareholders.

From the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website.

OneSearch

The OneSearch tool allows you to search for e-books, print books, articles, and media in every search. Watch the video to learn how to narrow your search results using OneSearch.

Speeches and More

Great Speeches Video Series 

Streaming video collection of famous speeches in their entirety by some of the greatest speakers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Includes introduction detailing historical context, significance and the rhetorical devices found in each speech.

Vital Speeches of the Day

A great source for the text of speeches about social issues by experts and celebrities. Browse by date or search by keyword using the Academic Search Premier database.

C-SPAN Video Library 

A searchable library of over 200,000 hours of videos from all three C-SPAN networks covering federal politics in the United States.

PBS Video Collection 

This collection of more than 1,200 streaming videos provides an exceptional range of content with the most valuable video documentaries and series from PBS.

OneSearch

Do a search using the keywords 'speeches' and the name of the person. You can also search by subject 'speeches, addresses' in the Advanced Search option.

For more on finding streaming videos, see the Library's Streaming Video guide.

 

Open Access Speeches

American Rhetoric

Archive of speeches, from films and recorded audio.

American RadioWorks

African American Speeches. Offers background information, transcripts, and audio.

Ted Talks

Contains the talks from the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference.

Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World

Speeches by inspirational, influential and contemporary women from around the world. It only includes transcripts for included speeches.

The Guardian: Great Speeches of the 20th Century

History Channel: Famous Speeches

Contains video and audio for famous speeches on a multitude of topics.

The History Place: Great Speeches Collection

Presidential Speech Archive

The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy and political thinking.

YouTube

Search by name and/or event and speech or debate.

 

 

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