Film Research: The Basics
Gary Handman
ghandman@library.berkeley.edu
3-8666
Film Research: The Basics
Gary Handman
ghandman@library.berkeley.edu
3-8666
1. Describes organization of library information
2. Point out some unique aspects of film as a
research topic
3. Discuss how to select article databases (and
determine what’s in them)
4. Discuss how to develop search strategies
5. Introduce a group of basic moves and features
common to many online catalogs and indexes.
6. Practice using these features in selected
databases
The Information Universe
The guy next to me
is soooo hot!
•Books
•Journals (Magazines) &
Newspapers
•Government docs
•Maps
•Media (video, sound
recording, etc.)
•Computer files (e.g. CDROMS, data files)
•Dissertations
•Manuscripts
& THE WEB…
The Information Universe
Why/when books?
Why/when journals
Not all books or
journals are created
equal
Writing About Film…
Scholarly/
In-depth
Current
Pop and fan
Industry
Historical
Sources for Film & Scholarship and Research
•Periodicals (aka magazines, journals,
serials)
•Newspapers
•Pop periodicals: Reviews
•Scholarly and professional periodicals
•Reviews
•Critical analysis/scholarly writing
•Books
•From schlocky to scholarly
•Biography, genre writing, individual
films, individual directors
•Web Sites (more about this later…)
•Other online databases
Periodical Articles:
Reviews? Critical Writing?
What’s the diff?
Reviews:
•Assessment of aesthetic and content merits of a film
Found in popular periodicals, film periodicals, and
(less often) in more scholarly journals
In pop periodicals: Current and Historical (older)
Usually cover current releases, more pop theatrical
releases
Tend to be relatively short and relatively superficial
(with some exceptions and depending on the publication
and who’s doing the writing)
Interesting sources of info about audience reception
and “current think”
Periodical Articles:
Reviews? Critical Writing? What’s the Diff?
Critical analysis:
Discuss films in:
broader historical, cultural, political, artistic
context and/or
Focus on a specific aspect of a film, film
genre, or filmmaker
Found in books and scholarly or film-related
journals
Tend to be longer, more substantive than reviews
(with some exceptions and depending on the
publication and who’s doing the writing)
Often include notes, bibliographies, other
scholarly apparatus
…But how do you locate this stuff?
Robert DeNiro
Taxi Driver
The Information Universe
Library Catalog(s)
Journal/Newspaper
Indexes (article databases)
Library Catalog(s)
Pathfinder: UCB Library holdings only
MELVYL (CDL cat): All 9 UC Campuses
•An inventory of what the library owns
•Search by Author, Title, Subject
•Whole books and print and electronic
journals, NOT what’s inside of those
publications
The Information Universe: Books
Look it Up in Pathfinder or MELVYL by Author, Title, or Subject :
Doherty, Thomas Patrick.
Teenagers and teenpics: the juvenilization of
American movies in the 1950s
Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2002.
UCB Main
Call #
Get da Book in da Stax
PN1993.5.U6 D53 2002
The Information Universe: Finding Articles
Article Databases
(Indexes/Abstracts)
•
Allow subject/author searching in
a group of journals in a particular
discipline or topical area.
•
Produced by different commercial
publishers; often look/act
differently from one another.
•
Some indexes also offer:
•Abstracts
•Full-Text
•UC e-Links
All databases are not created equal (or by the same company)…
•Two possibilities:
•Links you to full-text in
ANOTHER article database
Or
•Flips you over to MELVYL so you
can locate a physical copy of the
journal at UCB or elsewhere.
Choosing an Articles database (index)
•Look at the listings of article databases
available via the library www.lib.berkeley.edu:
includes listings by SUBJECT, NAME, etc.
•General Databases are often good places to
start (particularly for newsy/topical issues)
•Listings of subject-specific electronic resources
Gary’s Desert Island
Index/Article Database List
GH Desert Island
Index/Article Database List
•Academic Search Complete
•MLA Bibliography
•International Index to the
Performing Arts
•JSTOR
The Information Universe (Now)
Online is Cool
But Remember: Not everything is online!!!!!:
•Article Databases: Generally only go back 1020 yrs online (some exceptions – e.g. Historical
Newspapers)
•Not every publication is indexed
•Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the
books and journal universe is currently available
in full-text
The Information Universe
Remember Also:
•Not every topic has lots written about it,
either in books or journal lit.
--Research on very current topics
--Research on radically specific topics
--Research on topics off the beaten
academic track or off the pop culture
radar
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK
•Formulate a concise, concrete statement of the
research problem
•Formulate your search in terms of
keywords and key phrases:
The impact of television advertising
and television violence on school
performance and pre-adolesecent
social interaction.
How to Begin? Before you click: THINK
•Think of synonyms for key words/phrases
Academic achievement
Grades
…etc.
Commercials
Ads
…etc.
Children
Youth
Adolescents
…etc.
The impact of television advertising
and television violence on school
performance and pre-adolesecent
social interaction.
Media
TV…etc
Socialization, relationships,
peer interaction…etc.
The Information Universe
What to do if nothing is turning up:
•Tweak your topic: Broaden it / select a
different angle
•Rethink your search strategy (new keywords,
new concepts, etc.)
•Bail out completely and choose another topic
A few cautionary words about research on the Net
The Net
Google
Rocks!
LibraryLand
Google Scholar
google.scholar.com
Common Search Features:
•Basic and Advanced Search Screens
•Trunction: “wild card” that allows you to scoop up
broader results:* # or ? Depending on db
--e.g.: Advertis* will give you:
advertise,
advertising,
advertisers,
advertisements
•Search by keyword or by phrase
•Search specific fields (e.g., SUBJECT, TITLE)
•Use of AND, OR, NOT
<Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson>
< Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen>
< Bob Dylan not Bruce Springsteen >
Common Search Features:
--Save list of good stuff
--Mail Articles/Citations to yourself
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/
FilmBibMenu.html
a growing listing of
bibliographies on various film
topics and individual films
compiled by MRC (includes bibs
for genres, filmmakers, national
cinemas, and individual film).
Connecting from off-campus
…being driven over the edge
by your research?
Call me:
Gary Handman
643-8566
ghandman@library.berkeley.edu