Research skills for Performance

1
Research skillsforPerformance
2
Process

• Spend some time thinking about your topic
• Plan your search
• Evaluate your results
• Record your references

3
Search terms

• Understand your search topic
• Identify key concepts and terms to describe those
  concepts
• Combine your terms
• Refine your search

4
Search terms

• Generic words can be omitted, eg. discuss,
  assess, importance
• Consider alternative terms, eg. male, masculine,
  man
• Alternative spellings, word endings, plurals,
  abbreviations eg. theater or theatre
• Truncation eg, music will find music, musical,
  musicals, musician, musicians

5
Search strategy

• Linking search words together
• AND search combining two different subjects
  together, e.g. performance and Britain
• OR search alternative words, e.g. youth or
  adolescent
• NOT search excluding words, e.g. record NOT
  music
• Words as a phrase, eg. performance art

6
Search strategy

• Choosing your database
• Consider subject area
• Types of sources covered
• Amount of information provided,
• eg. citation, abstract, full text

7
Search Process

• Searching and modifying online
• Different databases will use different search
  methods
• May need to expand or limit search further
  dependent on results
• Limit to searching within different indexes, eg.
  title, author, subject
• Limit to years of publication
• Limit to type of document, eg. books,
  periodicals, conference

8
Search Process

• Relevant results achieved!
• Is the item full text?
• Is it held in the Library?
• If not, items must be requested on
  Interlibrary-loan

9
Search process

• Getting hold of materials not stocked
• Allocation of 30 I.L.L. from start of 2nd year to
  end of final year
• Green I.L.L. form for articles, blue for books
• Allow at least 1 week for material to arrive

10
References

• Follow Harvard style
• Record all references download, email or print
• Acknowledge all sources used