Encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries and other reference books can be a great place to start your research. They will:
Key Concepts in Political Communication by
"This is a systematic and accessible introduction to the critical concepts, structures and professional practices of political communication."
The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction by
"The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction is an invaluable reference work featuring contributions from leading global scholars that successfully brings into a single source, explication of Language and Social Interaction work developing globally and across subjects."
Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications by 
Key Concepts in Media and Communications by
"This book covers the key concepts central to understanding recent developments in media and communications studies. Wide-ranging in scope and accessible in style it sets out a useful, clear map of the important theories, methods, and debates."
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media by
"The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media is the first comprehensive reference work to which teachers, students, and the curious can quickly turn for reliable information on the key terms and concepts of the field."
The Handy Communication Answer Book by
"Whether it’s for a professional presentation, a school paper, an Internet blog or video, or something more personal, The Handy Communication Answer Book explains the concepts, provides insights, shares advice, and examines the skills needed to master effective and efficient communication for every setting and occasion."
Key Concepts in Radio Studies by
"Provides a comprehensive, easy-to-use introduction to the field of radio studies."
Key Concepts in Journalism Studies by
"A systematic and accessible introduction to the terms, processes and effects of journalism."
The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society by
"The International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication and Society offers critical assessments of theoretical and applied research on digitally-mediated communication, a central area of study in the 21st century."
Keywords for Media Studies by
"Keywords for Media Studies introduces and aims to advance the field of critical media studies by tracing, defining, and problematizing its established and emergent terminology. The book historicizes thinking about media and society, whether that means noting a long history of "new media," or tracing how understandings of media "power" vary across time periods and knowledge formations."
Breaking Through Gridlock: The Power of Conversation in a Polarized World by
"Think about the last time you tried to talk with someone who didn't already agree with you about issues that matter most. How well did it go? These conversations are vital, but too often get stuck. They become contentious or we avoid them because we fear they might. What if, in these difficult conversations, we could stay true to ourselves while enriching relationships and creating powerful pathways forward? What if our divergent values provided healthy fuel for dialogue and innovation instead of gridlock and polarization? Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant invite us into a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves while moving from self-reflection to action. Using enlightening exercises and rich examples, Breaking through Gridlock helps us become aware of the role we unwittingly play in getting conversations stuck. It empowers us to share what really matters – with anyone, anywhere – so that together we can create positive change in our families, organizations, communities, and society."
Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Ethical Public Relations by
"Nowhere is the study of workplace ethics more relevant today than in the context of empowering organizations to meet their goals in corporate social responsibility and sustainability (CSR/S). Aimed at helping organizations uphold their commitments to people and the planet as well as profit, these are core goals towards which both PR and HR departments now work. However one major stumbling block is the fact that while internal departments may regularly work closely when managing and communicating with employees, the communication flow tends to be top down. In order to create more socially responsible, sustainable, and ethical organizations, the communication flow must be more organic and bilateral. The question of how both teams could work together on a more even playing field has escaped scholarly inquiry for years. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, & Ethical Public Relations: Strengthening Synergies with Human Resources examines ways to make CSR/S an integrated ingredient and ethical hallmark for an organization's culture. Here authors from around the globe use a variety of research methods to offer practical, empirical findings, exploring opportunities for employees to serve as a conduit for organizations' CSR/S goals. This book shows how HR-PR department cooperation can fulfil the role of organizational conscience, helping for-profits and non-profits to navigate toward greater CSR/S."
Gender and the Media: Women's Places by
"Media images shape and are shaped by society. They reflect the ways in which the social order changes and stays the same. The contributors to Gender and the Media: Women's Places consider a variety of media to explore the impact of what is there, as well as what is missing. Their focus is on women. Networks of the cyberbullying of women of color are rendered graphically and the agency claimed by women in Western Sahara refugee camps is shown in photos. How college women and men respond to the masculinity reflected in hip-hop lyrics and videos, and what it feels like to be a woman in a comic book store are conveyed in excerpts from interviews. Contributors detail how publications discuss rape in India and trafficking in Moldova and ponder the absence of the topic of anorexia in U.S. cinema. Social change is reflected in how trade publications discuss the increasing number of women in the funeral industry. The relation of the local to the global and female invisibility is considered in an analysis of Portuguese punk fanzines. An examination of advice books for American tween girls documents not only the subject matter, but also the racial, ethnic and religious homogeneity and heteronormativity assumed in the text and illustrations. Finally, a comparison of the critical response to identical music recorded by female and male artists provides the opportunity to see the role gender plays in criticism of aesthetic materials."
Intercultural Communication by
"This handbook takes a multi-disciplinary approach to offer a current state-of-art survey of intercultural communication (IC) studies. The chapters aim for conceptual comprehension, theoretical clarity and empirical understanding with good practical implications. Attention is mostly on face to face communication and networked communication facilitated by digital technologies, much less on technically reproduced mass communication. Contributions cover both cross cultural communication (implicit or explicit comparative works on communication practices across cultures) and intercultural communication (works on communication involving parties of diverse cultural backgrounds). Topics include generally histories of IC research, theoretical perspectives, non-western theories, and cultural communication; specifically communication styles, emotions, interpersonal relationships, ethnocentrism, stereotypes, cultural learning, cross cultural adaptation, and cross border messages;and particular context of conflicts, social change, aging, business, health, and new media."
Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online by
"The face of internet celebrity is rapidly diversifying and evolving. Online and mainstream celebrity culture are now weaving together, such that breakout stars from one-hit viral videos are able to turn their transient fame into a full-time career. This book presents a framework for thinking about the different forms of internet celebrity that have emerged over the last decade, taking examples from the Global North and South, to consolidate key ideas about cultures of online fame. It discusses the overall landscape, developments and trends in the internet celebrity economy, and cross-cultural lessons."
Journalistic Authority: Legitimating News in the Digital Era by
"When we encounter a news story, why do we accept its version of events? Why do we even recognize it as news? A complicated set of cultural, structural, and technological relationships inform this interaction, and Journalistic Authority provides a relational theory for explaining how journalists attain authority. The book argues that authority is not a thing to be possessed or lost, but a relationship arising in the connections between those laying claim to being an authority and those who assent to it. Matt Carlson examines the practices journalists use to legitimate their work: professional orientation, development of specific news forms, and the personal narratives they circulate to support a privileged social place. He then considers journalists'relationships with the audiences, sources, technologies, and critics that shape journalistic authority in the contemporary media environment. Carlson argues that journalistic authority is always the product of complex and variable relationships. Journalistic Authority weaves together journalists'relationships with their audiences, sources, technologies, and critics to present a new model for understanding journalism while advocating for practices we need in an age of fake news and shifting norms."
Making Media: Production, Practices, and Professions by 
Myths of PR: All Publicity Is Good Publicity and Other Popular Misconceptions by
"Myths of PR uses popular myths about the theory and practice of public relations as a vehicle for helping startup owners, brand marketers, communications practitioners and students to distinguish between fads and tried-and-tested PR practice. Its purpose is to shatter widespread misconceptions about PR, and grant readers insights into why these myths have endured in spite of clearly demonstrable evidence to the contrary. By exploring topics that readers will relate to (though many might frequently misunderstand), Myths of PR will shed new light on essential PR methodology. From the assumption that PR is a never-ending party, propagated by the way the industry is shown in the media and entertainment, to more potentially damaging misconceptions such as the often-repeated 'all publicity is good publicity', it is an engaging, anecdotal read that offers authentic insights into the reality of PR practice from one of the brightest and most exciting young communication experts in the UK."
Now You're Talking: Human Conversation From the Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence by
"A history of how humans developed our capacity for conversation—and what might happen now that computers are catching up. Trevor Cox has been described by The Observer as'a David Attenborough of the acoustic realm.'In Now You're Talking, he takes us on a journey through the wonders of human speech, starting with the evolution of language and our biological capability to speak (and listen), and bringing us up to date with the latest computer technology. Language is what makes us human, and how we speak is integral to our personal identity. But with the invention of sound recording and the arrival of the electrified voice, human communication changed forever; now advances in computer science and artificial intelligence are promising an even greater transformation. And with it come the possibilities to reproduce, manipulate, and replicate the human voice—sometimes with disturbing consequences. Now You're Talking is the fascinating story of our ability to converse. It takes us back to the core of our humanity, asking important questions about what makes us human and how this uniqueness might be threatened. On this illuminating tour we meet vocal coaches and record producers, neuroscientists and computer programmers, whose experience and research provide us with a deeper understanding of something that most of us take for granted—our ability to talk and listen."
Public Relations and the Power of Creativity: Strategic Opportunities, Innovation and Critical Challenges by 
Reference Shelf: Alternative Facts, Post-Truth and the Information War by 
The Truth Matters: A Citizen's Guide to Separating Facts from Lies and Stopping Fake News in its Tracks by 
