SEARCH TERMS
For this assignment, you have basically two search terms: "Dance" and "[your country/culture]". But you might not find everything you need by only using these terms. Do a little bit of brainstorming prior to searching to get the most of your search time.
Here is how we explored different search terms in class:
1 - Go to the International Encyclopedia of Dance
2 - Look up your type of dance. Make sure you look through all of the results to find the closest match to your topic.
3 - Read through the introduction or first few paragraphs, and look on the left for "related topics" in this work.
4 - Now that you know a little more about your topic, make a list of possible search terms. Include:
- The main search term and variations (ex., Polynesia, Polynesian dance)
- Different words to describe the same area (ex., Pacific Islands)
- If a small area, find the bigger area (Bali --> Indonesia)
- If a larger area, find smaller areas, countries or specific cultures (Polynesia --> East Polynesia, West Polynesia or Tonga, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand. The main native culture in New Zealand is the Maori culture)
- Also look for specific names of dances (Hula, Haka); if you already have a specific kind of dance, add the word "dance" as a larger term
5 - Now you have a large group of terms to work with and to adjust your searches to get the best results.
