SWG 554 Movie Analysis

This guide will help you with your movie analysis assignment by showing you how to:

• Find movies at the library.
• Find additional sources to describe the theory you are using to assess your character.
• Find scholarly references.
• Use Google Scholar.

Helpful Reference for the Assignment

Your professor provided an article that serves as a helpful reference for the assignment. Click on the article title below to access it. 

Ballard, M. B. (2012). The family life cycle and critical transitions: Utilizing cinematherapy to facilitate understanding and increase communications. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 7(2), 141-152. 

To check if the library has a movie:

1. Go to the Library Search box on the library's homepage.
2. Enter the movie title and switch the box that currently says Everything to Catalog.
3. Click Search. 
4. Scan the results for your title. 

If too many results are showing up, and it's hard to find just the DVDs:

1. On the left, look for the heading Source Type.
2. Click on Audio Visual.

Where to Go to Check Out Movies in the Library

You'll need to go to the first floor of the library to check out our movies.  Look for the IMC service desk - give them the movie's call number and they'll check it out to you!

Search Credo Reference using this search box to find additional descriptions of the theory you are using to assess your character.  Credo Reference contains entries from subject encyclopedias, which focus on providing clear, comprehensive explanations of a topic (unlike scholarly articles, which showcase research on a particular aspect of a topic).  

You can use the Library Search box to find scholarly articles and books: 

1. Enter your topic as keywords.  Keywords are short 1-3 word phrases that cover the main aspects of your topic. For example, you might use the theory you are using to assess your character as one of your keywords.
   • Put phrases into quotation marks, like "attachment stability" or "public assistance"
   • Try synonyms to bring back different results.  "child care" "public assistance" will bring back different sources than "child care" SNAP.
2. After you click Search, a page with results will come up. On the left hand side look for the heading Source Type.
   • Choose Articles to find scholarly articles.
   • Choose Books to find books.
3. For scholarly articles, choose Scholarly/Peer-reviewed Journals under Show Only.
   • If you are looking for books, don't choose this option. To find a scholarly book, you'll need to look at the book itself - it should have references to the literature and may be published by a university. 
4. To get the full text of an article, click on the article title, then look for the View it section of the page that appears. Click on the link next to Full text available at to go to the full text of the article. 
    
5. You can also get a citation for the article in APA style by clicking on the Citation button ().  Then choose APA as your citation format.  Be sure to double-check this citation before you submit it with your paper using the Owl at Purdue or another style guide. 

Enter your search in the Library Search box below.

Let Google Scholar know you should have access to WCU resources by: 

1. Click on the menu ()in the upper left on the Google Scholar homepage.

2. Choose Setting from the menu that appears. 

3. Click on Library Links from the left menu. 

4. Search for West Chester University, then click on the box next to the result that says West Chester University Libraries-- Find-It @WCU, and select Save. 

After you have done this, look for links that say either Find-It @ WCU or Check Availability @ WCU, to see if full text is available through WCU.