Skip to Main Content

2023 Research Guide Template

Citation Resources

The most often used citation styles for Drama & Theatre Studies are:

 Chicago Manual of Style Online

 MLA Formatting and Style Guide at Purdue's Online Writing Lab

 Organize your sources using Zotero. 

Finding Sources

Also known as "Scholarly Articles,", "Peer-Reviewed Articles," or "Academic Articles," these are:

  • Written and reviewed by scholars and provide new research, analysis, or information about a specific topic.
    • "Review" means the article is approved by other experts before publication
  • Usually focused on a narrow subject or a single case study
  • Intended for an academic audience

Why You Should Use Them:

  • Information is based on research and expertise
  • Information is detailed and focused on a narrow topic
  • The peer-review process (mostly) insures that the information is accurate
  • They add to a growing understanding of a topic by contributing new ideas

Find Drama & Theatre Studies Articles:

Books written by scholars are a good source of information for many topics. 

Why You Should Use Them:

  • Written on a broad subject
  • Easier to read than journal articles, and written for a broad audience
  • Often undergo a peer-review process
  • May contain a collection of chapters written by different authors
  • Contain less recent information, due to the lengthy publication process

Remember: you may only need to read one chapter of a scholarly book!

Find Books:

  • Search Belk Library's online system to find both library materials and articles in our databases. Use the search box below to do a basic search on library materials and databases.

 

Use these resources to find monologues & full text scripts online.

Why You Should Use Them: 

  • You can analyze and review them as you would any academic text 
  • Performance scripts that were used by actors, directors, and stage designers are important because they may include notes or direction 
    • These can be valuable when you're exploring a specific production or the history of a play's performance

Find Plays & Monologues:

Performance recordings and interviews with actors and production members are great resources for theatre and performance studies.  These are available through several online streaming platforms in the library's database collection.

Why You Should Use Them:

  • Get first-person accounts from cast members, directors, playwrights
  • Compare different production interpretations
  • Study choreography, set design, lighting, and thematic elements up-close
  • See behind-the-scenes footage

Find Videos & Images:

Use these resources to find primary and secondary critical commentary about how a theatrical production was received by critics and audiences

Why You Should Use Them:

  • Intended for a general audience
  • Reviewed by one or more editors for quality and accuracy
  • Provide information on a recent event or topic of interest
  • Provide the perspectives of average people, not experts

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all news sources are created equal! Do some background research into who owns the news organization to learn more about it.

Find Critical Commentary & Reviews: