1. To find a play, do a keyword search – NOT a title search.
Plays are often published in collections (sample title: “25 best plays of 2010”) and if you do a title search, you may not find them. A key word search for the title of a play will find it, even if the play title is only listed in the table of contents.
2. Library catalogs use specific spelling and terminology:
When searching in a library catalog (including Worldcat) always use theater .(not theatre)
Theater = performance, Drama = literature. When searching for information about a play, don’t forget to do a search using Drama, which will yield different but equally interesting results.
3. Use brainstorming to help you develop search words.
There are many possible search words for finding information about a play.
Who wrote it? (Sophocles)
Who performed it? (Greek actors)
Who wrote about it? (Aristotle)
What genre is the play a part of? (Greek tragedy, Greek drama)
When was it written? (5th Century BC).
What other terms are relevant? (mythology, incest)
4. If one search word yields bad results, change words.
Example: if you don’t get useful results with a search for “avant-garde theatre”, try searching “experimental theatre” instead.
Database Search Help
Start with keyword search, then adjust your search if you get too many/not enough results.
TOO MANY RESULTS?
NOT ENOUGH RESULTS?
1. Find a relevant result, and follow the linked subject term to find more materials on exactly that topic.
1. Try using different search terms: substitute women for female, drama for theater, etc. Different search terms can be words that are related to your subject, or words that are exact synonyms.
2. Get specific: add more information, example theater and france and 16th century
2. Try using broader search terms: substitute psychology for alienation, or production for lighting.
3. Try a different place to look: our librarians can help you choose which databases are most appropriate for your research, and which search terms will get the best results.
TIPS
Use the "Modify Search" button to limit by material type, language, etc.
Use the * (asterisk) to truncate your search terms, to search several terms at once. Example: theat* = "theater"+ "theatre"+ "theaters" + "theatrical", etc.
Note that author search means works by a person, and subject search means works about a person.
Choosing and Narrowing a Research Topic & Question
Need to work on your research question? This videos will help you get started:
