Citizen Kane: Articles

What is a Database?

A database is a collection of articles, book chapters and other information from reliable sources.

Select one of the databases listed in the middle column to locate critical analysis of the work you are examining.

All of the resources in these databases come from magazines, newspapers, journals and books. Although they are delivered through the Internet, they are not considered "Internet Sources" by your professors. 

Articles from the databases may be printed, saved to a drive or emailed for later use.

When searching the databases, use the advanced search option.  Search for "William Randolph Hearst" and Citizen Kane or "William Randolph Hearst" and Orson Welles.

Dates are helpful in the Historical New York Times. Use these dates to limit your search:

Citizen Kane release year:   1941

Death of Hearst:         May 14, 1951

Death of Welles:    October 10, 1985

Need help using the databases? Try the tutorials below.

Shannon Stapleton  /  REUTERS

Orson Welles' Best Original Screenplay Oscar was set to be auctioned off by Sotheby's in 2007, but it failed to reach a reserve price of $1 million; on Tuesday a new seller had better success, though still didn't hit the million-dollar mark.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45749216/ns/today-entertainment/t/orson-welles-citizen-kane-oscar-sells/

General or multidisciplinary databases provide articles on many different subjects. Often, they have reviews, some literary criticism or articles about a topic. 

To locate articles from the time period, use Historical New York Times database.

Include keywords in your search and date ranges for best results.

 TOP CHOICES FOR ARTICLES, PLOT OVERVIEWS, AUTHOR INFORMATION

Use advanced search to include all terms in your search. Look for full-text. If full-text is not available, click on the "Full-text options" to see if it may be in another database. If not, use Interlibrary Loan to request the item from another library. Check out the box on the right for more information about it. 

There are three basic types of periodicals. Each can be used for research.  Your professor may specify the type of source required. What are the differences?

Popular Magazines

 Articles in popular magazines are written by journalists, reporters or staff on the magazine.  Some magazine articles have no listed  author. These articles are designed for the general public and have glossy pages with photographs and advertising. They may  include information from more scholarly studies. Magazines have editors and fact checkers who make sure the material included is reliable and accurate.  Some useful magazines for current topics include, Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report and The Nation. Magazines for business include Forbes, INC,  and Fortune. Other popular magazines include Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Latina, Essence and Psychology Today.

Scholarly Journals 

 Articles in scholarly journals are written by experts in their fields.  Often the articles report on studies or analysis and include charts, data or specific criticism of a literary work.  Scholarly journals are often called "peer-reviewed" because the articles must go through an approval process by other scholars before they are published. The articles are generally longer, more academic and include a list of sources at the end.  Scholarly journals generally  do not have glossy pages, photographs or advertising. Each field has its own set of journals or "literature" as they are sometimes called. Examples include Harvard Business Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Studies in Short Fiction and Journal of Psychology. 

Newspapers

Articles in newspapers are written by journalists, reporters and freelance staffers. Often, no author is listed. The byline indicates the name of the author. They generally focus on breaking events, but may also be stories or series that expose particular problems in society. Articles are generally short and less detailed than those in a magazine or scholarly journal. High quality newspapers use editors and fact checkers to authenticate accuracy of a story before it is published. National newspapers include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times and The Wall Street Journal.  Local newspapers include Newsday, Times Union (Albany) and The Daily Record (Rochester). Never use a supermarket tabloid for research.

If our Library does not have a book or article you need, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan.

We will borrow the item for you from another library, and notify you when it has arrived. Articles will be sent electronically to your ILLiad account.

 You are responsible for bringing all ILL books back to the NCC Library on or before the due date.

To request an item online, create an ILLiad account and follow the instructions on the ILLiad Login page.