All Singing All Dancing: Some Strategies for Researching Movie Musicals

Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library

Scholarly Pop Current Historical Fan Writing About Film…

All Singing All Dancing : Some Strategies for Research Journals, Magazines, NewspapersJournals, Magazines, Newspapers ReviewsReviews Critical/ScholarlyArticlesCritical/ScholarlyArticles BooksBooks Web SitesWeb Sites Other online databasesOther online databases Sources for Film & TV Scholarship and Research

All Singing All Dancing : Some Strategies for ResearchBooks Scholarly/authoritativeScholarly/authoritative works PopPop schlock and fan works How Do You Tell em’ apart? 4Author’s credentials/affiliations 4Publisher (e.g. BFI, AFI, University Presses vs pop press) 4Scholarly apparatus and sources: notes, bibliographies, other documentation 4If they’ve been widely cited by other scholars

All Singing All Dancing : Some Strategies for Research Found in: Popular & fan journals and newspapers (print & online)Popular & fan journals and newspapers (print & online) Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online)Film studies & scholarly journals (print & online) Web sitesWeb sites Fan and enthusiast sitesFan and enthusiast sites Commercial sites (e.g., studio sites, video distributors)Commercial sites (e.g., studio sites, video distributors) Academic sitesAcademic sites REVIEWS J Current J Historical

Reviews: Current Use: Expanded Academic Index (fair amount of full-text)Expanded Academic Index (fair amount of full-text)Expanded Academic IndexExpanded Academic Index News IndexNews Index ProQuest (some full-text)ProQuest (some full-text) Lexis/NexisLexis/Nexis Movie Review Query Engine (web: full-text)Movie Review Query Engine (web: full-text)Movie Review Query Engine Movie Review Query Engine Film Review AnnualFilm Review Annual

Reviews: Historical Use: Readers Guide (print) Readers Guide (print) NY Times Index (or NYT Film Reviews ) (in MRC) (print) NY Times Index (or NYT Film Reviews ) (in MRC) (print) Film Review Index, (in MRC) (print) Film Review Index, (in MRC) (print) Film Index International (CDROM in Main/Moffitt Only) Film Index International (CDROM in Main/Moffitt Only) Periodicals Content Index (online) Periodicals Content Index (online)Periodicals Content IndexPeriodicals Content Index

Found in: Film studies & scholarly journalsFilm studies & scholarly journals Popular & fan journals and newspapers (but only occasionally)Popular & fan journals and newspapers (but only occasionally) Web sites (even less occasionally…except for academic and commercial databases)Web sites (even less occasionally…except for academic and commercial databases) Critical/Scholarly Articles Current Current Historical Historical

Scholarly/Critical Writing Use: International Film Periodicals Index (1972—present) (online) International Film Periodicals Index (1972—present) (online)International Film Periodicals IndexInternational Film Periodicals Index Expanded Academic Index (1980- present) (online) Expanded Academic Index (1980- present) (online) Modern Language Assn. Bibliography (1963-present) (online) Modern Language Assn. Bibliography (1963-present) (online) Film Index International (CD-ROM in Main and Moffitt) Film Index International (CD-ROM in Main and Moffitt) Film Literature Index (Print Index in Media Center) (1977-present) Film Literature Index (Print Index in Media Center) (1977-present) Art Abstracts ( & AA Retrospective) (1920s-present) (print)Art Abstracts ( & AA Retrospective) (1920s-present) (print) Periodicals Content Index (PCI) Periodicals Content Index (PCI)

Once You Find a Citation, How Do You Find the Article? Or.. Some indexes provide holdings infoSome indexes provide holdings info Some indexes link to full-textSome indexes link to full-text The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through (Review) Stephen Banfield. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television June 1999 v19 i2 p267(2) View text and retrieval choices (858 words) Use Pathfinder Use Pathfinder

Books Use Pathfinder Use Pathfinder Search by Title and/or Subject KeywordTitle and/or Subject Keyword Director Name (as subject)Director Name (as subject) Movie Title (as Title and/orMovie Title (as Title and/or Subject Keyword )

How to Begin searching for books and/or articles? Before you click: THINK Formulate your search in terms of: KEY WORDS and SYNOMYMS: --Looks for words anywhere in record: title, subject, abstract and full-text (if avail) PHRASES: --Looks for words in the exact order entered

How to Begin? Before you click: THINK Formulate your search in terms of keyword and key phrases: Sex [women, love, relationships] and Death [dying, mortality, fate] in the films [cinema, movie*] of Woody Allen. The representation [reflect* portray*] of gender [sex*] and masculinity [masculin*, male, men] in the films films [cinema, movie*] of Jim Jarmusch. **** Truncation varies from db to db: * # ? emigra* = emigrant, emigrants, emigrate, emigration

Once you find something that looks good using keywords, Be sure to check out the “official” subject headings Pathfinder EAI

edu/MRC/FilmBibMenu.html Bibliographies on various film topics and individual films compiled by MRC (includes bibs for genres, filmmakers, national cinemas, and individual film). All Singing All Dancing: Some Strategies for Researching Movie Musicals

The databases I just talked about?

…being driven over the edge by your research? Call me: Gary Handman