Research skills for Dance students

Some useful links

Planning your search strategy

Step 1 Spend some time thinking about your topic Break down the topic Keywords and phrases

Step 2 Think about the search words: consider alternative terms e.g. dance, ballet, modern dance, contemporary dance Alternative spellings, word endings, plurals e.g. Theatre or theater Truncate using asterisks e.g. perform* will find Perform, performance, performers, performing; dance, dancing, dancers

Step 3 Linking your search words together AND search – combining two different subjects together, e.g. improvisation AND dance OR search – alternative words, e.g. reading OR realisation NOT search – excluding words, e.g. dance NOT ballet Words as a phrase, e.g. “jazz dance”

Step 4 Choosing your databases Think of your subject Look at the types of sources covered by databases Consider the amount of information provided, e.g. citation, abstract, full text

Useful databases Academic OneFile AMED and Cinahl Dance in Video Infotrac Custom Newspaper Database International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance PsychInfo Sports Discus Zetoc

Other resources OIAster (digital resources) Library catalogues such as WorldCat or COPAC Websites link on subject page including Intute Google Scholar – searches for journal articles for topics outside the scope of our databases

Step 5 – searching and modifying Different databases will use different search terms Limit to searching within different indexes, e.g. title, author, subject Limit to years of publication Limit to types of document, e. g books, journals, conferences, etc.

Evaluation Authority Currency Coverage Objectivity Accuracy

Step 6 – relevant results achieved! Is the item full text? Is the item held in the Library? Do you need to apply for an Inter Library loan?

Getting hold of materials not in stock Allocation of 30 ILLs – from start of 2 nd year to end of final year Green ILL forms for articles, blue for books, or use the online forms on the Library webpages Allow at least 1 week for the material to arrive See the webpage for Inter Library loansInter Library loans

At York St John University Follow the Harvard Referencing style information-services/help-and- information/referencing-and-citing.aspx Record all references as you work Acknowledge all sources used

Further help Having trouble finding articles? Book a one-to-one session with Lottie Alexander Or visit the Information & Help Desk on 1 st floor of Fountains Learning Centre