Library Guides: Dance Resources: Dance Databases

DATABASES, AND HOW TO USE THEM

Search Tips

Below are search techniques to help you find relevant results when using the library databases.

Identify Keywords
Create a list of keywords associated with your topic and keep them with you throughout the research process.

Write down your topic: Does viewing television encourage aggressive behavior in children?
Important words from your topic: television, aggressive, behavior, children.
Synonyms or other related words: television, TV, aggressive, fighting, hostile, angry, behavior, action, attitude, children, kids, tweens, teens, etc.

Now you have generated a useful list of keywords for finding resources!

Search terms: television AND aggressive behavior AND children

Exact Phrase Searching
To look for an exact phrase, type your phrase within quotation marks (" "). The results will contain the exact words in the quotation marks.

Example: “attention deficit disorder”

Truncation to Expand Your Search
Using an asterisk (*) or question mark (?) at the end of a root word (known as truncation or stemming), allows you to retrieve results containing any form of the root word.

Example: teen* will find teen, teens, teenage, teenager, teenagers

General Databases

Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,650 journals, including full text for more than 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or earlier are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 titles.
Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
This is an authoritative and comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects is provided. Millions of articles are available and are updated daily. It also includes the transcripts and audio from all NPR (National Public Radio) programs.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources
from LexisNexis®—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to
1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all
content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved
searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and
annotated documents.
• Reduce training demands so you can focus on
other tasks
• Empower students to conduct research with
confidence
• Increase student satisfaction and drive usage for
demonstrable ROI
As a result, you achieve maximum value for your library’s
resource budget with a tool that addresses critical
preferences expressed by digital natives—and features
the comprehensive, trusted content you’ve come to
expect from LexisNexis®.
eBooks (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Gale eBooks is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7.

Performing Arts Databases

Contemporary World Music (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of sounds of all regions and every continent. It includes a blend of contemporary and traditional world music recordings from many labels throughout the world. Many of the titles are encyclopedic in their breadth of coverage. The ever-expanding collection includes important genres such as reggae, neo-traditional, world fusion, Balkanic jazz, African film, Bollywood, Arab swing and jazz, and other genres such as traditional music. Liner notes to all albums are included.
Fine Arts and Music Collection (Gale) This link opens in a new window
With millions of articles from over150 full-text magazines and journals this collection provides resources to support research in areas such as drama, music, art history, and filmmaking. The database is updated daily.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new window
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online is the first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.
JSTOR (Arts & Sciences I-IX, This link opens in a new window
Full text of over two hundred and fifty journals in the social sciences, arts and humanities and life sciences. Journal coverage begins with the first issue of each journal but the most recently published issues (the last 3 to 5 years) are generally not available. Through 2011 there is also access to JSTOR Plant Science.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Full-text of scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences, from Johns Hopkins University Press, other university presses, and scholarly organizations.
Films and Cinema (Gale) This link opens in a new window
This is a collection of e-books on American and multicultural and world cinema, film and television. It contains almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, histories, and specialized reference sources.