Here are the PowerPoint slides for my presentation to your class. Click in the lower right corner to expand the slides to full screen.
Your two research assignments
Two of your assignments involve library research: an 8-10 page research paper on an aspect of entertainment technology and design, and a project/presentation on design and technology in contemporary entertainment.
Background information
Learn the basics of a topic by reading background information (overviews and summaries). Wikipedia is useful for this. You can also use encyclopedias in the Reference section of Simpson Library. I recommend the Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance:
Databases
You can use Quest to search all subjects, or use individual databases to search specific subjects (such as theatre or history or literature). Out of the 200+ databases that UMW subscribes to, these are the most useful databases for this class:
Call number ranges
Browse these areas in Simpson Library to find relevant books on the shelves:
I recommend that you follow these steps to complete your research assignment:
Step 1: Reread the assignment description
Step 2: Find a topic
Step 3: Find overviews of your topic
Step 4: Find sources
Step 5: Read!
Step 6: Write your paper, or plan your presentation -- and cite your sources
Advice and recommendations for FSEMs in general, and for Theatre and Dance research.
The Citing Resources guide gives you examples of perfectly-formatted citations. Zotero is a free app that keeps track of the sources you've found, and generates citations without any typing.
Use Quest to search the library's physical collection and the contents of most of the library's electronic databases.