Performing Arts: Article Search

Research Guide for Performing Arts, including theater, film, dance, and music

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Article Databases

Did you know that the library subscribes to more than 500 databases? You have many databases to choose from to find articles for your topic. Some may contain full-text articles but some do not. Here are some top databases for you to start your search in performing arts.

International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles, book chapters and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries. 1910- present
Online version of the 14 volume print edition.
National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
Covers many years of National Theatre Live broadcasts as well as recordings never previously seen outside of the National Theatre's archive. As a supplement to the filmed productions, exclusive digitized archival materials such as photographs, scripts, costume designs, etc., is available to provide behind-the-scenes background and contextual information.
Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Archival resource for the historical study of the entertainment industry in the U.S. and U.K. Provides information on industry economics as well as on TV series, plays, films, musicians, record labels, etc. Covers industry’s impact on political, cultural and social change and the creation of subcultures and youth movements. Included are full-text back files of major trade magazines: Billboard (1894-2000), Variety (1905-2000), Broadcasting (1931-2000), etc. and consumer and fan magazines.
Oxford Music Online from Oxford University Press This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference covering on all aspects of music
Includes: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.
Film & Television Literature Index from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
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Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text is a comprehensive bibliographic resource for film and television studies. This database includes 243 actively indexed and abstracted journals, including 96 unique full-text journals. It covers cinematography, film theory, preservation, production, reviews, screenwriting, and technical aspects of film and television. It also includes Variety movie reviews dating back to 1914 and over 65,000 images from the MPTV Image Archive.

CoPA: Commercial Pattern Archive (University of Rhode Island)
Contains over 55,000 scanned images (garments & pattern schematics) from 61,000 commercially produced patterns, dating back to 1847.
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An Open Access resource.

Search Strategies

Write down research questions for your topic and underline key concepts and keywords. Think of broader or narrower terms depending on what search results you retrieve from those concepts and keywords.

Think of synonyms and alternative terms to search and refer to a Thesaurus for more ideas.

Remember most databases will have a list of suggested subject terms. By choosing these you can narrow your search to those articles relate to what you are searching for.

Getting the Articles

Here's a short video showing how Find it @ MU works. (About 4 minutes long.)

Two common ways to find out if the Libraries have access to the articles you need:

1) You are searching in an article database, but it doesn't have the full-text:

Click on in the article citation. Another window / tab opens with two possible options:

Links indicating Find it @MU may have located one or more sources for full text of the article. Click on the links and follow the trail to the article.
Links to search MARQCAT by the journal title or its ISSN number. The journal may be available in print or electronically through a source not searchable by Find it @MU.

2) You already have a specific citation and aren't currently searching in a database:

Use MARQCAT's Advanced Search to search for the journal title.

The MARQCAT record will indicate what years we have in print and/or online, providing call number locations for the print and links to the e-journal. Once at the e-journal, navigate to the volume, issue and page that you need.

Questions:

Didn't find the article/journal using Find it @MU or MARQCAT? Request the article through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by clicking on the link at the bottom of the Find it @MU window or tab. Learn more about ILL here.

Ever wonder why the full-text isn't there? Watch this short video about the Business of Information.