Subject Resources for Performing Arts, Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre

Key journals and databases

• Cambridge Core is a collection of multidisciplinary scholarly journals useful for locating full-text articles for English Language, Music and Performance studies on subjects such as dance, theatre and music technology..
• Critical Studies and Performance Practice is a Drama Online collection containing hundreds of academic textbooks from Methuen Drama and Arden Shakespeare, in addition to a series of actor training videos.
• Drama Online Core Collection provides access to a rich catalogue of plays by the world’s leading dramatists published by Bloomsbury’s imprints, Methuen Drama, The Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber.
• Film and Television Literature Index with Full-Text is a database of full-text journal articles covering the entire spectrum of film and television theory, preservation and restoration, script writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects and reviews.
• International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full-Text is a key research database for theatre and dance studies providing comprehensive indexing and full-text articles in drama, performance theory, Shakespeare and contemporary world theatre.
• JSTOR (Journal Storage) is an extensive archive of journals, books, images and primary sources across a range of arts, humanities and education disciplines – as it is an archive, the most recently published issues (past 3-5 years) are not available.
• Kanopy is an on-demand video streaming platform providing access to thousands of documentaries, classic and indie films.
• Literary Reference Center Plus is useful for information on literary authors from a wide variety of genres, covering writings such as poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction.
• Nick Hern Books Modern Plays is a Drama Online collection providing access to hundreds of plays from many UK and Ireland’s preeminent playwrights, as well as new voices, offering a wide and varied range of award-winning and widely studied plays.
• Project MUSE provides access to full-text scholarly journals from many of the world’s leading university presses and scholarly societies, with hundreds of publishers currently participating across the humanities and social sciences.
• Studies in Musical Theatre is a refereed journal which considers areas of live performance that use vocal and instrumental music in conjunction with theatrical performance as a principal part of their expressive language.

These resources are great for use across all disciplines and programmes of study.

• Academic Search Premier is a multidisciplinary database with more than 4,600 magazines and journals, including full-text access to nearly 3,900 scholarly and peer-reviewed journals.
• Box of Broadcasts is an on-demand TV and radio service for educational research brought to you from Learning on Screen. The academically focused service enables you to watch and record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels in the UK and search an extensive archive of over 2.2 million broadcasts. The service includes ten foreign language channels and allows you to create clips and playlists to share or embed into presentations.
• Browzine gives you access to top journals from your area of study in the Browzine Scholarly Journal Room. Browzine is a browsable newsstand of the University Library’s top journals, which lets you easily discover, read and monitor the key journals in your field. Learn more about Browzine in this short video.
• CREDO Reference is a general knowledge database and a great place to begin exploring your research topic as it has thousands of introductory level reference titles, millions of articles, and lots of images, charts, maps and more covering a wide variety of subjects.
• DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books) is a community-driven discovery service that indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books and helps users to find trusted open access book publishers.
• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) is an online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
• Gale Power Search is a multiple search platform that searches across numerous Gale databases. These include Gale Academic OneFile, Gale General OneFile, Gale OneFile: News, Gale eBooks, Gale Literature: Scribner Writer Series and Gale Literature: Twayne’s Author Series. It gives access to a large number of academic journal articles, eBooks, newspaper articles and other materials.
• Gale Research Complete provides access to proprietary databases, eBooks, scholarly articles and rare primary sources that can enhance your research, learning and discovery, including thousands of journals and other authoritative sources in Academic OneFile.
• Libby (OverDrive) is a reading for pleasure collection of eBooks, audiobooks and magazines, providing you with a new digital library via the Libby app open 24/7 to all Edge Hill students and staff.
• LinkedIn Learning gives you full, free, unlimited access to thousands of high quality online courses and video tutorials written by industry experts. The courses cover many topics including using a wide range of software, and personal development skills in education, public speaking, employability and much more. You can even claim and display certificates for courses you complete on your LinkedIn profile, to give your online CV a boost!
• Overton is the world’s largest searchable index of policy documents, guidelines, think tank publications and working papers. You can access this platform with your University email address to search the literature and find out who is influencing policies and policy makers.
• OED (Oxford English Dictionary) is widely accepted as the most complete record of the English language ever assembled.
• Oxford Reference is an online reference database, covering a wide range of subject areas, providing access to millions of digitised materials from across Oxford University Press’s Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias.
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses is the world’s most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day.
• Sage Datasets is a collection of US and international datasets sourced from governmental, commercial and private organisations, allowing you to search and browse billions of datasets, compare and contrast variables of interest, and create customised exportable charts and tables.
• Sage Research Methods is a database which supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through each step of the research process. From writing your research question and choosing a method, to analysing data, writing up and publishing the findings. Resources include a methods map, books, reference works, journal articles, podcasts and instructional videos from world-leading academics. With information on qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, Sage Research Methods is the ideal tool to support you through your research.
• ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scientific database offering access to thousands of journal articles and book chapters for subjects including physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, health sciences, sports and physical activities, social sciences and humanities.
• Scopus is the world’s largest abstract and citation database, containing 24,600 journals from 5,000 publishers. It is excellent for literature reviews or for finding out what has been published in your area as it can locate high quality journal articles, book chapters and more, for any subject. 
• Springer Nature Link provides researchers with access to millions of scientific documents from journals, books, series, protocols and reference works.
• Statista is a comprehensive statistics platform offering over 1.5 million data sets. Find studies and reports, forecasts and surveys from over 400 industries that you can download in a range of formats. There are also video tutorials and a quick user guide to help you make the most of Statista.
• Taylor and Francis Online is a collection of multidisciplinary journals covering subjects from arts, humanities, business, computer sciences, social sciences, geography, sports, social work, education and many more.
• Wiley Online Library is a leading scholarly articles databases providing access to thousands of full-text multidisciplinary journals, covering life, health and physical sciences, nursing, psychology, social work, education, media, technology, business, social sciences and the humanities.

In addition to journals and databases, you can also access printed and electronic books (eBooks) within your subject area.

The table below is a great place to start browsing the physical Library shelves. It lists a range of useful topics related to your subject area and the associated call number for that subject. The call number is the numbers (and usually letters too e.g. 808.042/GIL) on the spine of the book, which allows them to be arranged in a logical order on the Library shelves.

The call numbers listed below are the general area you will find books on the related subject, but you can also complete a search on Discover More for more specific titles and to access any eBooks on your chosen topic.

Referencing

Referencing is the acknowledgment of all the sources that have been cited in your assignment, whether you have quoted them directly or paraphrased. This can include sources such as books and journal articles. There are various referencing styles available and your tutor will let you know which one they want you to use in your work.

Visit the UniSkills Referencing web page to learn more about academic integrity; the what, why and when you should be referencing; information, guides and interactive toolkits to support your referencing skills development; further Edge Hill Harvard Referencing support; and how to access further referencing support.