ProQuest  

ProQuest is a platform containing over 100 databases. ProQuest contains publications (i.e., newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and eBook titles) in different subjects areas including film. Remember you might find content in a non-film related resource from your time period, (i.e., newspapers, business or tech magazines).

1) Choosing your Search Terms

• Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request. Use Boolean Operators to improve your search:

  • Quotations marks (search for specific phrases or names)

    • "media events", "Rodney King", "Mardi Gras"

  • AND (narrows your search)

    • e.g., 9/11 AND "motion pictures" 

  • OR (widens your search)

    • film OR movies OR cinema

    • media OR "mass media"

    • "pseudo-events" OR "pseudo events"

2) Sort your Results 

• Sort your results (Relevance, Date) 
  • Sort by Date: It may be useful to arrange the results chronologically (oldest first) in order to follow the entire production process of a particular film, from gossip about potential stars to reviews and box-office grosses.

3) Using ProQuest Search Filters

• Narrow your search results using filters on left sidebar:
  • Source Type (e.g., Scholarly Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Trade Magazines)
  • Publication Title (e.g., Cinema Journal, New York Times, Variety)
  • Document Type (e.g., Feature, Front Page/Cover Story, Article, Literature Review, Interviews, Editorial, or try excluding advertisements)

4) Mark relevant records

If you find interesting articles, be sure to . 

• Go to the results page and click the check box to the left of the article title  
• When you are ready to email the articles to yourself, scroll to the top of the results list and click on Email link (on right side)
• Email the marked records to yourself 

Another option is to create a free ProQuest MyResearch account.

a) Google Scholar 

•  Set up Google Scholar to recognize that you are a UofT Student: https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/linkit/google-scholar

b) Other Popular Databases

c) Databases by Subject A-Z