Reality TV

Preparations for Research

A. Close Reading/Textual Analysis of the Works
What, in the text, interests or puzzles you?

The title, the plot, and/or the setting?
The character(s) (dialogues, nonverbal language, actions, etc.)? Point of view (the narrator)?
Symbolism, the recurrence of imagery and/or events?
Any stylistic or generic peculiarities of the texts?

B. You focus on the play as literary works or as cultural artifacts?
Examine the contextual questions about the works:

1. The time period in which the work was written
2. The writer's biography and other works
3. Contemporaneous works (stories, plays , films written or produced by other artists)
5. What particular theoretical or critical question that the work engages?

C. Your Argument about the Text based on your Interpretations

1. Avoid a general argument that most readers could reach from a simple reading of the text.
2. Your statement of opinion should have such a depth that it requires further reasoning throughout the whole paper.
3. Your argument may not be completely original; but it might include some unique set of evidence and illustration as well as individual reasoning.

Sources:

Writing Center at UNC (handouts)

Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing About Literature. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2009.

A Short Guide to Writing about Literature by Sylvan Barnet. (2009 11th ed.) book cover

PART 3 Up Close: Thinking Critically about Literary Forms; 11. WRITING ABOUT DRAMA– Types of Plays (Tragedy, Comedy); Aspects of Drama (Plots, Themes, Characterization and Motivation, Conventions, Costumes, Gestures, and Settings). 15. Writing a Research Paper

A Short Guide to Writing About Film by Timothy J. Corrigan. (2009 11th ed. PN1995 .C66 2010)

Check also the Film Research Guide

1. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre

2. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance

3. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers

4. Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory.
Ref. PN1993.45 .C75 2001

5. Oxford Reference Online

(Literature in the English speaking world, Including The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance; social, political, religious history; history of ideas; all periods.)

4. Textbooks on Course Reserves.

Thematic Guide to Modern Drama. Stacks: PN1861 .A235 2003

The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama. PN1861 .C65 2007

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays. PN1625 .P38 2005

A Few Titles to Get Started:

Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture. PN1992.8.R43 R45 2009

Reality Television, Affect and Intimacy: Reality Matters. PN1992.8.R43 K38 2008

Understanding Reality Television. PN1992.8.R43 U53 2004

Television and Criticism. PN1992.6 .T3795 2008

The Television Studies Reader.< PN1992.5 .T375 2004/p>

Reading Television. PN1992.55 .F5 2003

Readings on Course Reserves.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

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Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.

Author	Hill, Annette.
Title	*Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television.*
Publisher	London; New York: Routledge, 2005
Subject	Reality Television programs.

Perform an Advanced Keyword Search for a broader question: audience and/or participation; limit to print materials. .


	Material Type:

Click here to see Search results.

Note:

1. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;
2. participat* for all forms of the word: participate, Participation, etc.
3. limit search results to books.

A. Use the Catalogs to find plays directly:

1. Use names of playwrights or title of plays as keywords in your search.

2. The Best Plays (1899 – present) Stacks: PN2266.A2 B4

B. Often, plays, if published at all, are collected in a book, printed in a journal/magazine, instead of being published in singular volumes.

So, use Play Index to find

1. Where a play is published, e.g., in a book, in a magazine/journal

2. Use Library Catalogs to find that book or magazine/journal

1. Academic OneFile (all subjects)

2. Film & Television Literature Index

3. Search MLA (International Bibliography of Language & Literature)

Enter your search terms:

4. Collection of Journals

JSTOR (with omission of the current years)
Project Muse (with current years only)

5. Additional Databases

America: History and Life

Women's Studies International

Click on the number to pause the slide.

Some Database Characteristics

Each Database is selective

Subject Matter —disciplinary perspective, period, geographical region, and more;
Scope —types, number, and years of publications covered
Depth (of indexing) —citation, abstracts, full texts, which determines their search capabilities.

Strategy in Selecting a Database

First, run a relatively broad search in them to assess their relevance on a topic;
Next, try out a variety of keyword, subject, and author searches in a chosen database.
Last, use newly learned ideas and words in other databases.

About JSTOR and Project Muse

1. The collections include journals from all disciplines— literary studies, Performing Arts, and others;

2. JStor are likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.

3. Must check for up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR.

Click to browse some journals here:

Range of Keywords—Scope of a Research Question

1. Start with a general search with simply the author's name, or title of a play.

2. Examine the general search results to discover possible focuses on some typical elements; evidences you have collected in your reading of the text and you will use to support your thesis of the paper.

Evaluation of Search Results:

In what types of journals and publications (besides literary studies) did you find relevant work? What does this suggest about research on your topic?

What sorts of audiences seem to be addressed in works on your topic? How can you tell?

What aspects of the search results surprised you? Why? Did “peripheral materials” lead you anywhere? How?

Based on your search, how would you characterize the main approaches to your topic? What do you think are some of the central debates in the study of your topic? What is your evidence for thinking so?

Read a Couple of Articles Carefully and Identify:

the "problem" addressed (the thesis of the article);

the central debates on this problem;

the major arguments by the author;

the methods applied in making these arguments;

the evidence (e.g., language, imagery, narrative forms, original documents, or secondary sources);

if the conclusions are based on speculations, are they convincing?

Throughout your reading:

Compare and contrast methods by authors: key points of difference or convergence

Note controversies and weaknesses; explain and clarify gaps

How about the presentation, logic and clarity of the article?

State your own positions; provide your own interpretations and critiques

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the button to these three options:

a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;

b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.

c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

a.Tufts Library Catalog (including e-journals)
b. Electronic journals list
c. Use ILliad to request your article, if Tufts does not have your journal.

Current (United States and International)

Ethnic, Altenative and Independent Press

Historical

American Periodicals (1740 - 1900)
The Nation Digital Archive (1865 - present)
Time Magazine (1923-Present)
New York Times Online Archive
(1851 - 3 years before current date)
African American Newspapers - 19th Century
American Newspapers (1690 - 1922)
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers (British)
19th Century British Newspapers
British Periodicals (1680s - 1930s)
Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)

Factiva includes content in over 22 languages from over 150 countries and 350 geographic regions.

Print Sources

New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. (1944 to 1994) Ref. PN1601 .N4
(Continued by National Theatre Critics Reviews. Ref. PN 2000 .N3)
Tip: Use the Year End Index, either in the front or in the back page in the binder.

Theatre Record 1985- . (Bound Periodicals PN2596 .L6 L66)
Presents cast and production details for London’s West End and fringe shows, and reviews from many British daily and weekly drama critics.

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