LibGuides: Dance: Course Guides

Course Guides

Overview

We’ll talk about how to find things you’ll need for your Dance History project
Finding primary and secondary sources
We’ll discuss using generative AI for exploring research topics and writing research questions
You’ll have time at the end to get started on research with Prof. Singh and I available to help you one-on-one

Advice on Getting started:

Start by Exploring
Go from Broad topics to Narrow topics
See what the literature says before figuring out what you’re going to write about.
Interdisciplinary Research - break your research topic down into subcomponents and make connections

Productive use of generative AI for research assistance

Discussion

What do you know about ChatGPT?
How can it be used productively for research assistance?
How can it be used productively for other purposes?
How should students avoid using ChatGPT?

Examples:

Primary Sources

Discussion:

What are primary sources?
- How are they different from secondary sources?
Are videos primary or secondary sources? Or both?
What else can be a primary source?

Find Dance Videos

Bloomsbury Video Library This link opens in a new window Features filmed performances, fiction films, documentaries, instructional videos, and more. Includes access to the full Arts and Humanities Collection, which includes 2,000 films from the Dance, Film and Media, History and Culture, Music , and Visual and Applied Arts Collections. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1940-present.
Dance in Video This link opens in a new window Contains dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. Terms of Use.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window Streaming films and documentaries from Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, The Great Courses, and Psychotherapy.net. Faculty may log in and request additional films on https://www.kanopy.com/search to be added per the Streaming Video Policy. | Terms of Use. Coverage: 1894-present.

Library Catalog

Find Interviews and Performance Reviews:

Question: when is a performance review a primary vs. secondary source?

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
General OneFile This link opens in a new window Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from journals and reference sources covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature, and other subjects. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1980-present.
Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window Complete full-text content of local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1985-present.

Find Archival Documents and Photos

Harry Ransom Center: Fred Fehl Dance Collection This digital collection currently consists of images of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Other companies will be added as digitization is completed.
Library of Congress Digital Collections - An American Ballroom Companion: Dance Instruction Manuals, ca. 1490 to 1920
Library of Congress Digital Collections - Dance Collections
Library of Congress Digital Collections - the Katherine Dunham Collection
NYPL Digital Collections - Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Online Archive of California The Online Archive of California (OAC) provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses. Description from website http://www.oac.cdlib.org/about/

Secondary Sources

Find Articles and Reviews

Discussion:

Why use library sources?
What's the difference between academic vs. non-academic sources?
- Is there ever a good time to use non-academic sources?
Why use books in your research?
- What do you get that is different than a journal article?
Review: Why use peer-reviewed sources?
Why use magazines and trade journals?

Finding Secondary Sources:
Pro tip: If you don't find something using all of your keywords, broaden it. You can always check the table of contents and index!
E.g., if nothing comes up when you search merce cunningham AND (technology OR motion capture), try broadening to just Merce Cunningham.

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.

Chicago Style

Discussion

What's the point of citations?
How can works cited / bibliographies help you find more sources?

Zotero!

Advice on Getting started:

Start by Exploring
Go from Broad topics to Narrow topics
See what the literature says before figuring out what you’re going to write about.
Interdisciplinary Research - break your research topic down into subcomponents and make connections

Discussion Questions:

Why use library sources?
What's the difference between academic vs. non-academic sources?
Is there ever a good time to use non-academic sources?

Zotero!

Zotero Zotero is a free citation management software with many helpful plugins to other software, such as Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Word
Citation Management Tools at the Leatherby Libraries

Generating research questions

Discussion

Why do you need research questions?
What makes a good research question?

Using LLMs to help generate questions:

ChatGPT example [Dance in World Cultures]
Copilot example [Dance in World Cultures]
ChatGPT example [Dance history]
Google Bard example [Dance history]

IS&T page on Copilot:

IS&T page - Microsoft Copilot for Web

Find Dance Videos

Discussion:

Are videos primary or secondary sources? Or both?

Bloomsbury Video Library This link opens in a new window Features filmed performances, fiction films, documentaries, instructional videos, and more. Includes access to the full Arts and Humanities Collection, which includes 2,000 films from the Dance, Film and Media, History and Culture, Music , and Visual and Applied Arts Collections. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1940-present.
Dance in Video This link opens in a new window Contains dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. Terms of Use.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window Streaming films and documentaries from Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, The Great Courses, and Psychotherapy.net. Faculty may log in and request additional films on https://www.kanopy.com/search to be added per the Streaming Video Policy. | Terms of Use. Coverage: 1894-present.

Library Catalog

Find Articles and Reviews

Discussion:

Review: Why use peer-reviewed sources?
Why use magazines and trade journals?

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
General OneFile This link opens in a new window Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from journals and reference sources covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature, and other subjects. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1980-present.

Chicago Style

Discussion

What's the point of citations?
How can works cited / bibliographies help you find more sources?

Interactive Anatomy Resources

Acland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy This link opens in a new window An anatomical teaching tool that provides an understanding of the real human body and the mechanics of body movement through direct video recordings of real human anatomic specimens.Terms of Use.

anatomyEXPERT Interactive site that allows for rotation and zooming of anatomical structures; over 70,000 images and models.
eSkeletons University of Texas at Austin resource that provides an interactive environment in which to examine and learn about skeletal anatomy through an osteology database.
Human Anatomy Online This manual was developed to facilitate learning of human anatomy. he method of dissection described in this manual represents a regional approach. Although the anatomy is presented regionally, it is incumbent upon the student to also view the human body from a systemic perspective.
The Visible Human Project Complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of the normal male and female human bodies from the National Library of Medicine.

Anatomy and Physiology E-books

Browse Relevant Journals

Medical Problems of Performing Artists Medical Problems of Performing Artists is the first clinical medical journal devoted to the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychological disorders related to the performing arts. Original peer-reviewed research papers cover topics including neurologic disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, voice and hearing disorders, anxieties, stress, substance abuse, and other health issues related to actors, dancers, singers, musicians, and other performers.
Journal of Dance Medicine & Science Each issue focuses on bringing you the current results of clinical and experimental research. The aim of the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science is to provide you with one source for up-to-date information. Featured articles are drawn from the fields of: Anatomy and Physiology Biomechanics General Medicine Sports Medicine and Surgery Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physical Therapy Dance Education Kinesiology Psychology Nutrition and Diet

Books in the library

There are many books in the library on Dance Movement Anatomy and Exercise Physiology (See the books in the box below, for some examples).

Try browsing the catalog by searching by the following subject on the library homepage

Dance Physio

You can find the Leatherby Libraries homepage here:

Leatherby Libraries Home Page

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Search multiple databases at once with the Leatherby Libraries "Start Your Search" box.

Or, try these individual databases:

SPORTDiscus This link opens in a new window Offers comprehensive, bibliographic coverage of sport, fitness, and related disciplines. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1800-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
PubMed (Open Access) This link opens in a new window Contains over 35 million citations for biomedical literature from Medline, life science journals, and ebooks. PubMed utilizes the NLM-controlled vocabulary thesaurus MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Terms of Use. Coverage: 1966-present.

Google Scholar Advanced Search

Need to look up a citation?

First, try searching the title in the Start Your Search bar
If that didn't work, try the "Search the Journal A-Z List"

E-Books

Browse relevant journals

Medical Problems of Performing Artists Medical Problems of Performing Artists is the first clinical medical journal devoted to the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychological disorders related to the performing arts. Original peer-reviewed research papers cover topics including neurologic disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, voice and hearing disorders, anxieties, stress, substance abuse, and other health issues related to actors, dancers, singers, musicians, and other performers.
Journal of Dance Medicine & Science Each issue focuses on bringing you the current results of clinical and experimental research. The aim of the Journal of Dance Medicine & Science is to provide you with one source for up-to-date information. Featured articles are drawn from the fields of: Anatomy and Physiology Biomechanics General Medicine Sports Medicine and Surgery Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physical Therapy Dance Education Kinesiology Psychology Nutrition and Diet

Search for Articles

Leatherby Libraries Home Page

Search multiple databases at once with the Leatherby Libraries "Start Your Search" box.

You may want to refine your seach to "Peer-reviewed" journals for scholarly content.

Or, try these individual databases:

ProQuest Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Indexes 400 scholarly and trade journals, magazines, books, and newspapers covering theater, dance, film, television, stagecraft, broadcast arts, storytelling, and more. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1864-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
SPORTDiscus This link opens in a new window Offers comprehensive, bibliographic coverage of sport, fitness, and related disciplines. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1800-present. Restricted to 4 users at a time.
Alt HealthWatch This link opens in a new window Full-text database of complementary, holistic, and integrated health care and wellness articles, reports, proceedings, and newsletters, plus pamphlets, booklets, and original research. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1990-present.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window A multi-disciplinary database providing access to scholarly journals articles, newspapers, popular magazines, and reviews. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1975-present.

There are other databases to explore in this guide. Check out the Dance Humanities Resources and Dance Health Resources pages in the left-side menu.

Also try searching Dissertations and Theses

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Includes millions of citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to present around the world with over one million full-text dissertations available to download in PDF format. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1861-present.