LibGuides: ASLA 204 Theory and Practice of Sign Language Interpreting: Home

Develop a Topic

Explore Reference Sources

Reference sources such as scholarly, discipline-specific dictionaries and encyclopedias can be a great place to start your research. Explore entries of interest to build background knowledge on a topic and uncover major arguments and perspectives. Be sure to check out the bibliographies for relevant entries – they can be a great place to find scholarly resources. Here are a few scholarly reference sources to get you started:

Routledge Encyclopedia of Interpreting Studies
Call Number: P306.5 .R65 2015 or online
Publication Date: 2015
Routledge Handbook of Sign Language Translation and Interpreting
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2022
SAGE Deaf Studies Encyclopedia
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2016

Browse Journals

One way to find inspiration is by browsing through academic sources in the field. What have scholars recently published? What themes do you notice? What articles spark your interest? Use the links below to explore journals that often include research on sign language interpreting.

American Annals of the Deaf "For 175 years, the American Annals of the Deaf has been a professional journal dedicated to quality in education and related services for deaf and hard of hearing children and adults. The Annals publishes scholarly articles about deaf education as well as other recent research of interest to professionals associated with the educational development of these students."
International Journal of Interpreter Education "The International Journal of Interpreter Education (IJIE) is a pioneering journal covering topics of interest to all those researching and working in interpreter education. The Editors welcome material on any aspect of interpreter education theory, policy, application or practice that will advance thinking in the field. IJIE addresses issues of current and future concern to interpreter educators, encouraging interdisciplinary discussion."
Interpreting (Request via ILL) "Interpreting serves as a medium for research and debate on all aspects of interpreting, in its various modes, modalities (spoken and signed) and settings (conferences, media, courtroom, healthcare and others). Striving to promote our understanding of the socio-cultural, cognitive and linguistic dimensions of interpreting as an activity and process, the journal covers theoretical and methodological concerns, explores the history and professional ecology of interpreting and its role in society, and addresses current issues in professional practice and training."
Interpreting and Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal "Interpreting and Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal is an international, open access, peer reviewed journal which aims to broaden the scope of interpreting studies as a burgeoning field of enquiry whose societal, political and scholarly relevance has grown considerably over the past decade."
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education "Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal integrating and coordinating basic and applied research relating to individuals who are deaf, including cultural, developmental, linguistic, and educational topics."
Journal of Interpretation "The Journal of Interpretation (JOI) is a scholarly publication of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf that includes articles, research reports and commentaries relevant to the interpreting field. The JOI reflects a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the interpretation and translation of languages."
Sign Language and Linguistics "Sign Language & Linguistics is a peer-reviewed, international journal which aims to increase our understanding of language by providing an academic forum for researchers to discuss sign languages in the larger context of natural language, crosslinguistically and crossmodally. SLL presents studies that apply existing theoretical insights to sign language in order to further our understanding of SL; it investigates and expands our knowledge of grammar based on the study of SL and it specifically addresses the effect of modality (signed vs. spoken) on the structure of grammar."
Sign Language Studies "Sign Language Studies publishes a wide range of original scholarly articles and essays relevant to signed languages and signing communities. The journal provides a forum for the dissemination of important ideas and opinions concerning these languages and the communities who use them. Topics of interest include linguistics, anthropology, semiotics, Deaf culture, and Deaf history and literature."
Translation and Interpreting Studies "Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS) is a peer-reviewed journal designed to disseminate knowledge and research relevant to all areas of language mediation. TIS seeks to address broad, common concerns among scholars working in various areas of Translation and Interpreting Studies, while encouraging sound empirical research that could serve as a bridge between academics and practitioners. The journal is also dedicated to facilitating communication among those who may be working on related subjects in other fields, from Comparative Literature to Information Science. Finally, TIS is a forum for the dissemination in English translation of relevant scholarly research originally published in languages other than English. TIS is the official journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association (ATISA)."

Search Subject Terms

Library catalogs and databases often include "subject terms," tags assigned to a source to convey relevant themes. Researches can use these subject terms to find related sources, but they can also be helpful when choosing a topic. Below are some sample subject terms that are used for scholarly literature on interpreting studies. Check them out to see if you can find articles of interest.

Discover Sources

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a great starting place for most topics. Particularly strong in the humanities and social sciences, JSTOR provides access to a wide range of journals and e-books including many relevant to interpreting studies.
Subject areas include African-American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, business, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology, statistics. The University of Rochester Libraries currently subscribes to the following multidisciplinary JSTOR Collections: Arts and Sciences I through XV. JSTOR also packages their content in disciplinary collections; however, the only ones of these that we have licensed are the Biological Sciences segment and the first of the Business collections. For alumni access, see also Alumni Library Gateway.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Project Muse is a great resource for finding articles on your topic. Like JSTOR, it provides access to scholarly journal articles from a range of humanities and social science disciplines.
Communication and Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
This database includes articles on all aspects of speech, rhetoric, debate, broadcasting, and media studies including sign language and interpreting studies.
Many major journals have indexing, abstracts and searchable cited references from their first issues to the present (dating as far back as 1915).
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts - LLBA This link opens in a new window
LLBA is focused on language research with a range of resources related to sign language and interpreting studies.
Education Full Text This link opens in a new window
Looking for education research? Try Education Full Text, a database with journal articles in education and its related fields.
Includes administration, teaching methods, curriculum, literacy and government funding.
APA PsycINFO via ProQuest This link opens in a new window
If you're researching a topic related to psychology such as interpersonal relations, how the brain processes information, power dynamics, or more, try PsycINFO.
Wilson OmniFile This link opens in a new window
This multidisciplinary database has a wide range of resources for humanities and social science scholars. Be sure to use the "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" filter to limit your results to scholarly literature.
Includes full text from these databases, when available: General Science Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, Index to Legal periodicals & Books, Library Literature & Information Science Index, Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Abstracts, and Wilson Business Abstracts.