Subject Guides: Dance 396: Methods of teaching ballet: Research Help

Doing Dance Research

1. Locate background information.

- use encyclopedia articles to find keywords (terminology, words for narrowing topic, important scholars) and citations to other materials.

2. Develop and narrow your topic; form an issue or research question.

3. Find research materials you may use in your paper.

- books, journal articles

4. Evaluate and select materials that you will use in your paper.

5. Write draft, cite sources, and write final paper.

- use an approved citation format, and consult style manuals as needed.

- begin writing early.

Online Dance Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Oxford Reference Online - Performing Arts This link opens in a new window Oxford Reference Online brings together language and subject reference works from one of the world's biggest reference publishers into a single cross-searchable resource. The Core Collection contains over 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. It is a fully-indexed, cross-searchable database of these books, giving subscribers unprecedented access to a comprehensive information resource. Also includes access to Oxford Digital Reference, a collection of 17 ebooks covering The Renaissance, Dance, Global Change, The Reformation, Byzantium, Theatre and Performance, The Enlightenment, Economic History, Evolution, Ancient Egypt, Food and Drink in America, The Middle Ages, American Literature, Latinos and Latinas in the United States, British Literature, Linguistics, and Children's Literature.

International Encyclopedia of Dance With nearly 2,000 articles written by scholars from fifty countries, the Encyclopedia covers the full spectrum of dance—theatrical, ritual, dance-drama, folk, traditional, ethnic, and social dance. Cultural and national overviews are accompanied by entries on dance forms, music and costumes, performances, and biographies of dancers and choreographers.
MusRef: An Online Guide to Print and Internet Resources for Music and Dance MusRef is a site devoted to music and dance bibliography and reference. The site consists of five main features: An online bibliography of music and dance bibliographies and reference sources (both print and online), A blog devoted to music and dance bibliography and reference, Basic introductions to reference tools intended to help students understand how reference sources can guide them to appropriate research materials, Links to unpublished bibliographies, A corresponding Facebook page designed as a forum for interested librarians, scholars, and students. At present the bibliography includes more than 7,300 bibliographies and reference sources (both print and online), approximately 1,880 of which are annotated with critiques on use, coverage, organization, and pros and cons (click here for guidelines on writing critiques).
American Ballet Theatre's Ballet Dictionary A unique interactive resource designed to bring dance to the Web and make it accessible to everyone. Dover Publications has graciously allowed the use of 170 terms from the Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet, which are then demonstrated by ABT Company dancers.

Evaluating Information

RADAR for source evaluation

RADAR Video from Brock University

RADAR Video from UTSC

When evaluating the quality of an information source, the acronymn RADAR can be useful:

Rationale

Authority

Date

Accuracy

Relevance

Here are some questions to ask yourself for each category:

Rationale - What is the rationale, or purpose, of the resource? Is it to inform, entertain, etc? Is the purpose clearly outlined in the foreword or introduction? Is the work's audience an expert in the field or a layperson?

Authority - Who is the author of the work, and what are his/her credentials? Who published the work - a scholarly press, a commercial publisher, or is it self-published? If it is an online resource, can you determine who the author is?

Date - How current is the information? Is the age of the publication likely to affect the conclusions drawn by the author?

Accuracy - Does this work present you with high quality information? Was the information reviewed by editors or subject experts before it was published? Was it fact-checked? How do you know? Do the citations and references support the author's claim?

Relevance - Is your topic treated as the main subject, or is it peripheral? Does the information support or disprove your thesis? Is the resource useful to your research need?

Dance 396: Methods of teaching ballet: Research Help

Citation Help

Doing Dance Research

Online Dance Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Evaluating Information

Other Criteria: