Performance
Whether you're a new student starting your first assignment, further on in your studies, or starting a research project, this page will help you find and use the best information for your subject. You will also find resources to help develop your academic, study and digital skills.
If you can’t find what you need here, please contact your Academic Support Team: library-SAM@salford.ac.uk
Key resources for performance students
Books & Journals
The first place you should look is your reading list – you will find a link to this in your Blackboard modules. It lists all the core texts for your subject as recommended by your lecturers. All our other books and journals can be found in Library Search.
Databases
Whilst Library Search is your starting point when researching a topic, sometimes it’s helpful to restrict your search to one of our specialist sources.
- Digital Theatre + - a great resource for video of theatre productions as well as interviews with performers, directors and others. Well worth exploring.
- Drama Online - scripts for some of the most studied modern and classic plays, plus over 60 books providing analysis and criticism of some of these plays, playwrights, and genres.
- Box of Broadcasts – a huge collection of TV and radio programmes broadcast in the UK. Worth exploring for drama and films. In addition, a number of programmes regularly discuss culture and the arts, so this can be an important source for reviews and critical opinion.
- Kanopy - another good source for Films, especially international cinema. Arts & Humanities Database - lots of articles on all kinds of cultural topics.
- Performing Arts Periodicals Database – journal articles on all aspects of performance, including dance, theatre and music.
- JSTOR - a great range of books and articles on all kind of topics including performance.
- Broadcast - key source for up-to-date news and other information about television drama and broadcasting industry more generally. The Library subscription allows all our staff and students access, however please put Salford's Lean Library on your browser before linking to Broadcast to ensure access is granted.
- Google Scholar – always worth checking for academic books and journals. To get the most from it, make sure you've added Lean Library to your browser.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of professionally produced online courses covering technical, creative and professional skills. It includes support for managing your time, improving personal effectiveness and using s office software, such as Microsoft 365.
Always use our institutional login to log in – you will need your University email address and password.
The first time you log in, you will be taken through a setup process to discover courses tailored to your interests.
Find out more in our video: Using LinkedIn Learning at Salford.
Newspapers
These are a great source for reviews and comment on film, television and theatre productions as well as interviews with directors and actors.
Sources to try include Gale OneFile News and Newsstream. Check our Newspapers web page to see which papers we have access to.
Useful Links
There is wealth of information on the internet, just remember to evaluate what you find carefully. These are just a couple of examples.
- BBC Writers Room Script Library - a wonderful resource for up-to-date TV scripts and there is lots of other useful scriptwriting guidance on the site as well.
- ScreenOnline (BFI) - information on British film and television drama.
Browse your Reading Lists
Your tutors select books, articles, videos and other resources for your reading lists and the Library buys them so you don't have to.
Find the lists for your modules in Blackboard, or in Library Search.
Referencing
APA 7th Edition is the main referencing style in use at the University. We've compiled an easy to follow list of guidebooks and examples to help you get to grips with complexities of referencing.
Newspapers
Newspapers are a valuable source of information. They provide insight into what interests and concerns people both now and in the past.
The Library provides some excellent newspaper sources that allow you to search simply and easily across many newspapers at once.
Dissertations and Theses
During the course of your studies, you may find that you need to search for dissertations or theses.
You can use Library Search to help you find them and there are a number of different ways to search, depending on what you want to find.
New Performance Students
Book a one to one
If you’ve tried our eLearning and classroom sessions and need more help, you can request a one to one appointment for information finding, academic and writing or digital skills. Select your chosen time slot and book on through Advantage.
Book on a workshop
We offer a wide range of face-to-face skills training. If you need to improve your IT skills, learn how to find information for your assignments or improve your study skills this is a great place to start.
All workshops are bookable through Advantage by clicking on the workshop title. Where a session has no remaining spaces you can add yourself to the waiting list.
Develop your Digital Notemaking skills [online]
Starts: 6 Dec 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 6 Dec 2023, 2:15 pmRemaining places: 35This workshop introduces some free digital tools for improving your notemaking and explores some little known features of software we all have access to. It is aimed at anyone who wants to get more organised for studying.
Get IT qualifications with Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) [Online]
Starts: 6 Dec 2023, 12:00 pmFinishes: 6 Dec 2023, 1:00 pmRemaining places: 40This one-hour webinar will introduce you to our free Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) programme which allows you prove your Microsoft Office IT skills to potential employers, by studying for and sitting Microsoft certified exams in a range of Microsoft Office applications. This webinar is online.Develop your Digital Notemaking skills [online]
Starts: 6 Dec 2023, 1:00 pmFinishes: 6 Dec 2023, 2:15 pmRemaining places: 35This workshop introduces some free digital tools for improving your notemaking and explores some little known features of software we all have access to. It is aimed at anyone who wants to get more organised for studying.Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Exam session [On Campus]
Starts: 8 Dec 2023, 3:00 pmFinishes: 8 Dec 2023, 4:00 pmVenue: Frederick Road Campus, Allerton, C811Remaining places: 9This one-hour EXAM SESSION for MOS certification takes place ON CAMPUS. At the time of booking, you must have scored over 70% in GMetrix's 'Testing' mode for your chosen application. Bookings not meeting this criterion will be cancelled.