Male finds record of assistance (4)
I believe the answer is:
help
'assistance' is the definition.
(I know that assistance can be written as help)
'male finds record' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'he' (he refers to a man).
'finds' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'record' becomes 'lp' (abbreviation for long play record).
'he'+'lp'='HELP'
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for help that I've seen before include "Guide" , "I can't cope" , "Beatles single" , "Support" , "SOS, mayday" .)