Course Syllabus (PDF)	Research Rescue!
Theatre 260 Reserve Readings	Ask a Librarian
Theatre Research Guide	Library Web Site

How to Find:
Books | Book Chapters | Journal Articles | Theatre Reviews | Web Sites | Citing Sources

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Finding Books Using Catalogs to locate books:

1.) Ariadne

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number

2.) MeLCat

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• About MeLCat

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Waldo Library: Hours and How to get to Western

4.) WorldCat and 5.) Interlibrary Loan

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Order item through Interlibrary Loan

See also: Library of Congress Classification...

Useful sources in Reference:

• The Crown guide to the world's great plays, from ancient Greece to modern times, Ref. PN 6112.5 .S45 1984.
• The history of world theater, Ref. PN 2104 .B413 1991.
• Dictionary of literary biography, Ref. PS 221 .D45.
• Medieval English drama: an annotated bibliography of recent criticism, Ref. Z 2014.D7 B43 1990
• Theatre: history, criticism, and reference, Ref. Z 5781 .C48
• Early English drama, Everyman to 1580 : a reference guide, Ref. Z 2014.D7 W48 1986
• Analytical sourcebook of concepts in dramatic theory, Ref. Z 5781 .B84
• English tragedy, 1370-1600: fifty years of criticism, Ref. Z 2014.D7 C3

• The Oxford illustrated history of theatre, PN 2111 .O84 1995
• The theatre in history, PN 2037 .K38 1989
• Theater and society in the classical world , PA 3024 .T47 1993

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies

Finding Book Chapters, also called Book Articles:

To find chapters within books, do a keyword search on your topic, whether your topic is an idea, a period of history, or a person. A keyword search will search multiple fields of the record for a book, such as title, author, contents note, etc.

Example: nigerian drama

A keyword search on nigerian drama returns 1 record, for the following book:

The gong and the flute : African literary development and celebration / edited by Kalu Ogbaa, PL8010 .G66 1994

Nigerian drama doesnt appear in the title or in the subject headings, but it does appear in the following chapter title, which may be of interest:

"Nigerian drama and the theater of the absurd" by Chinyere Nwahunanya

In keyword search in Ariadne, you can also search for your topic specifically in the contents note field, where chapter titles are listed. To search the contents note field, your search would look like this:

Example: n:nigerian drama

You can also find book chapters in the MLA Bibliography and Essay and General Literature Index.
In the MLA, you can limit your search to book chapters by choosing "book chapter " in the Publication Type box.

MLA International Bibliography < about >
Produced by the Modern Language Association.
Critical works on literature and languages.
Covers publications from 1925 to the present.

In the Essay and General Literature Index, you can limit your search to book chapters by choosing "chapter" in the Document Type Phrase drop down box.

Essay and General Literature Index < about >
Cites essays contained in anthologies and collections published in the United States, Great Britain and Canada.
Coverage spans the humanities and social sciences, including literary works, art history, drama, and film.

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies

 Finding Journal Articles

Off-Campus Access to Licensed Resources

Scholarly Journals and Popular Magazines/Newspapers

Scholarly Journals(Theatre Journal)

• Authors are scholars or researchers in their fields.
• Authors cite their sources in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.
• Individual issues have little or no advertising.
• Articles must go through a peer-review process.
• Articles usually report original scholarly research.
• Most illustrations are charts, figures, or graphs.
• Authors use the specialized language or jargon of the discipline.

Popular Magazines(Time, Atlantic Monthly)

• Authors are free lance writers or magazine staff members.
• Authors may mention sources, but rarely cite them in notes or bibliographies.
• Individual issues contain many advertisements.
• There is no peer review process. Articles are reviewed by editors or publishers.
• Illustrations are numerous and colorful.
• Articles are meant to inform and entertain an educated audience.
• Language is written for the general adult audience (no specialized jargon).

Scholarly or Not?
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory (Ref. Desk Z6941 .U5)
Look for section called "Document Type"
Document Type MUST say "Academic/Scholarly Publication" to be considered scholarly!

Journal List

What Journals does the Library Own?

• In paper - Check Ariadne - search on your discipline or subject area, and in Step 2, limit the location to "Periodicals"
  • Or - Search Ariadne for a specific journal - enter the journal title into the Ariadne Title Search
• Online - Check Online Journals at K - to find out what online journals the Library subscribes to

Is a particular journal covered in a specific Index?

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >

Do you have access to a journal?  

1.) Ariadne (print)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate print journal

2.) Online Journals at K

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate article in a Full Text Database

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Title search on Title of the Journal
• Waldo Library - Hours and How to get to Western

4.) Interlibrary Loan

• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
• Use *only* when the journal is not available through Ariadne or Online Journals at K

Journal Indexes

Advanced Search Help

MLA Bibliography < about >
The Modern Language Association International Bibliography indexes 4,000 English language and international periodicals, as well as books and book chapters.
It includes critical works on literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. There are no abstracts.
Coverage: 1925 - Present.

Arts & Humanities Citation Index < about >
(from Web of Knowledge)
Provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information and cited references found in nearly 1,150 of the world's leading arts & humanities journals. Cited reference searching.
Coverage: 1993 - Present

Historical Abstracts
< about >
An index to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life).
Published since 1954. Over 2,000 journals are covered in the database.

Humanities Abstracts
< about >
Bibliographic index that covers English language periodicals in the humanities. Feature articles are indexed, as are interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, television and radio. Offers detailed abstracts.
Coverage: Indexing - 1984 - present; Abstracting - 1994 - present.

Essay and General Literature Index
< about >
Cites essays contained in anthologies and collections published in the United States, Great Britain and Canada. Coverage spans the humanities and social sciences, including literary works, art history, drama, and film. Indexing: 1985 to present.

See the Theatre Research Guide: Using Indexes and Databases
to help select an Index.

Theatre Reviews

To find articles published before 1980, you may search the New York Times 1851- 3 yrs. ago
(ProQuest Historical Newspapers, contains full text online of New York Times articles from 1851- 3 yrs. ago)

New York Times 1851- 3 yrs. ago (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) < about >
Full Text of the New York Times from 1851- 3 yrs. ago; all articles in PDF format.

Another source you may use is the New York Times Index in *print*. You must know the year that the play was produced, and look in the index volume for that year. The Index is alphabetical by subject. Under T, look for Theater - Reviews. Then look for the title of your play in the Theater - Reviews section.

The New York Times Index [Print]
Reference storage, call number: AI21 .N48
Library has: 1851 - 1997

Once you have found the citation to your pre-1980 play review in the New York Times, you will need to find your review in the New York Times, either through the online New York Times 1851- 3 yrs. ago, or on microfilm.

The New York Times [Microform]
Reference, Microfilm area, first floor, AP2 .N4
Library has: 1851- 2004

The New York Times [newspaper in print]
Newspapers, second floor
Library has: last 30 days

New York Times Online < about >
Full text of all New York Times articles. 1995 - present.
You must be in Michigan to access this database. Updated daily

Full Text Databases

Please note that databases may provide different dates of coverage for each journal.

Online Journals at K

Project Muse < about >

OmniFile < about >

ProQuest Research Library < about >
You may search the entire database or select specific subject modules (examples include Arts, Women's Studies and Humanities).
You also may search peer-reviewed journals only.

JSTOR < about > Title List.
Provides older issues of journals, up to the last 3 to 5 years.

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies!

 Websites

To find Web sites, use search engines and web indexes. See Finding Web Sites and Web Indexes and Directories.
See also Finding Web Sites on Theatre.

WorldCat < about >
WorldCat contains bibliographic citations for high-quality Web sites on a variety of subjects. When you search WorldCat for Web sites, remember to check the box for "Internet Resources" in the section called "Limit type to". Sites are selected according to a collection development policy that emphasizes quality, authoritativeness, and durability.

See the Following Web Sites:

• Theatre History Sites on the WWW
  Maintained by theatre historian Jerald Bangham.
• Theatre History Materials on the web from MERLOT
• Theatre and Drama section of the WWW Virtual Library.
• Theatre History on the Web
  Maintained by Jack Wolcott, University of Washington School of Drama.
• TheatreHistory.com
  Includes an archive of online texts, theatre news, and information on several theatre topics.

1. Accuracy
How reliable is the information? Are there editors and fact checkers?
2. Authority
What are the author's qualifications? Is the publisher reputable?
3. Objectivity
Is the author trying to sway opinion? Is the information free from bias?
4. Currency
Is the publication date indicated? Is the source up to date?
5. Coverage
Does the site cover the topic comprehensively, or are there information gaps?

• Evaluating Web Resources
  Widener University Library
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
  Johns Hopkins University Library
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Resources
  New Mexico State University Library
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  UCLA College Library

Citing Your Sources

See: How to Cite Sources

See also Citing Sources for help in citing print and electronic resources in various bibliographic styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
7th ed., New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
Reference, LB2369 .G53 2009.

• MLA Style From The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
• MLA Style From the Modern Language Association (MLA).
  (see the FAQ on MLA style).
• MLA Style Form Guide from the Ohio State University Libraries
• Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources
  (includes information on citing electronic sources)