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Before
looking for book, film, or performance reviews, ask yourself the following
questions:
What type of review do I need? (General interest?
Scholarly? Trade?)
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-
General
interest?
- A
general interest or popular review will be written for the layman and
can be found in newspapers, popular magazines, or reviewing sources such
as the New York Review of Books or The Los Angeles Times.
-
Scholarly?
- A
scholarly review will generally be a longer, more in-depth treatment of
the item with a more critical discussion aimed at an academic audience
or at other scholars in the same field.
-
Trade?
- A
trade publication is one marketed to professionals in a particular
industry. A review in a trade publication will be aimed at others
in the same field, but may not be as in-depth as a scholarly review.
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Remember:
- The title
of the review will not necessarily contain the title of the work reviewed.
- The author
of the review and the author of the work are not the same.
Strategy:
- Book
Reviews:
- Search
the book author's last name and one or more distinctive terms or phrases
from the title of the book.
- Search
in KEYWORD or ANY FIELDS (depending on the database) unless otherwise
noted below.
- Remember,
you are not searching for something written BY this author; you are
searching for something written by another author ABOUT this book.
- Databases
usually put the author of the review in the author field and
the title of the review in the title field. Having said
that, some databases do put the author and title of the work
reviewed into the AUTHOR and TITLE fields. If you aren't sure,
try both, especially for the author.
- Film or
Performance Reviews:
- Search
one or more distinctive terms or phrases from the title. Names of
actors, directors, troupes, etc. may help to narrow your search.
- Search
in KEYWORD or ANY FIELDS (depending on the database).
What general field of study includes this title?
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- Many of
the best databases for finding reviews are the same subject-specific
databases that you would use to search for articles on a particular
topic. Identifying the field of study will help you to choose a
database to search. Your item may fall into more than one category
(e.g. a book on female soldiers in the civil war would fall under both
American history and women's studies).
When was the book published?
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- Start with
the book's date of publication.
- Make
sure that the database or index that you search includes that year plus
the next 2-3 years.
- Search
for 2-3 years after the date of publication, release date,
etc.--especially for scholarly reviews which can take some time to get
published.
- For
film reviews:
- Also
search around the time that the film was released as a video or DVD.
- For
classic films included in lists such as the American Film Institute
Century Collection, look for reviews published at the time the list
was announced.
- NOTE: You will probably find more comprehensive reviews published at the
time of the theatrical release.
- NOTE: If you do find reviews from recent years as a result of these types
of events, remember that contemporary criticism of the film may be
very different from current views.
Created by
Margaret Hogarth (2002).
Updated and
maintained by
Barbie McConnell:
bmcconnell@fullerton.edu.
An instructional page of Pollak Library at California State University,
Fullerton.
(c) 2002 California State University, Fullerton. All rights
reserved.
Last Updated:
01/22/07 . |
