Research Guides: Film Studies : Articles

Research Databases & Journals

Research Databases are collections of articles from a multitude of print journals and magazines as well as "born-digital" journals that researchers can find via a single interface. Each database covers different periodicals with minimum overlap.

EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
NexisUni This link opens in a new window
Provides discovery across all content types, personalization features such as "alerts" and saved searches, as well as a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window

American Cinematographer
Covers feature films, television, commercials, music videos, digital video, new equipment, DVD, book releases, and much more.
Film Literature Index 1976-2001
The Film Literature Index (FLI) annually indexes 150 film and television periodicals from 30 countries cover-to-cover and 200 other periodicals selectively for articles on film and television. The periodicals range from the scholarly to the popular. More than 2,000 subject headings provide detailed analysis of the articles. The FLI Online contains approximately 700,000 citations to articles, film reviews and book reviews published between 1976-2001.

Media Trade Journals

Variety
01/05/1998 to present
Hollywood Reporter
12/18/2001 to present
Search only from 05/15/1991 to present in LexisNexis Academic

Research Helpers

Take some of the guess work out of searching for articles!

If you have an article - or another document - in pdf format, you can find other articles on a similar topic with the click of a button. You will also learn how to use key words and topic terms effectively.

Or you can choose a work of literature or biblical book and find articles related to specific passages

JSTOR Understanding
Find articles in JSTOR on specific phrases or passages in Shakespeare, British Literature and the Bible.
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Useful for close readings and literary analysis.
JSTOR Text Analyzer
Upload a document from any source and find additional articles in JSTOR. Add key words and topics as needed.
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Useful for building a bibliography of related research.

With Google Scholar you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.

Search Google Scholar from here:

Be sure to link Google Scholar to the MSMU Library to get free access to many library resources.

To do this from the Google Scholar homepage:

Click on Settings in the upper-right corner, or from the menu
Click on "Library Links" on the left
Type in "MSMU" or "Mount Saint Mary's"
Then check the box that says "MSMU Library- Full-Text @ MSMU"
Now your results will link to the MSMU libraries' resources.

Once you are connected to MSMU you will see Library Links on the right-hand side.

Open-Access Film Journals

Open-Access Journals are available to read for free on the Worldwide Web without a subscription. Some are born digital (no print edition exists); others are print journals that offer free online access.

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae
Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media
Animation Studies
Bright Lights Film
Film Comment
Mostly reviews, but contains some features as well.
Film-Philosophy
Images Journal
Jump Cut
NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies
Scope: Film and Television History, Theory and Criticism
Screening the Past
Senses of Cinema
Wide Screen Journal

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) This link opens in a new window
DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals. DOAJ is independent. All funding for DOAJ is via donations, 50% of which comes from sponsors and 50% from members and publisher members. All DOAJ services are free of charge including being indexed in DOAJ. All data is freely available.

Find A Specific Article

Need to find a specific article that you have a citation, title, or author for?

1: Know the Journal Title? Search E-Journals

Virtually all journals that MSMU has full-text access to online are indexed in our E-Journal search. Simply type in the title, hit search, and you will find all the databases where you can access the journal.

2: Only Have the Article Title? Try Google Scholar

If you don't have the full citation, try using Google Scholar to find the article. Check out Google Scholar Search Tips here.

3: Can't Find it Anywhere? Request it through Article Request (Document Delivery)

If you cannot find the article using the first 2 steps, we probably do not have immediate full-text access to the article, but that doesn't mean that we cannot get it for you! Try requesting it through Document Delivery.

Articles are usually delivered within 2-3 business days.

Scholarly and Peer-Reviewed Articles

Sometimes called scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic, or even "refereed', these terms all refer to journals that require review by a group of experts in the field before an article can be published. These experts are looking for things like appropriate methodology, proper research, and citations, advancements to the field, etc.

When searching for articles, look for the option to narrow your search by peer-reviewed, scholarly, or ‘refereed’ materials. There will most likely be a box you can check to limit your search.

Learn more about the peer-review process in this video from the University of Kansas: Peer Review In Three Minutes

Film Studies

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