Winter 2008 - Nancy Cho

In this guide:

• Finding Criticism
• Finding Biography
• Finding Primary Sources
• Finding the Complete Article from a Citation

Getting Help:

• Email Iris
• Schedule a meeting with Iris
• Chat with Iris (AIM: gouldijastram)
  

Finding Criticism

Below are a few of the most important places to look for pieces of literary criticism. You can find many more resources listed on the Subject Research Guide for English.

• MLA International Bibliography
  This is one of the most comprehensive databases for literary studies. Remember that articles are not indexed by the theoretical approach taken by the author, and that you may want to think in terms of creating concept clusters and combining those clusters using the "search history" section of the "search tools" tab. Also remember that you can search for criticism about a specific author or work by typing the author's name (last name first) or work title into a search box and selecting "descriptors" from the drop-down box.
• Literary Theory (ancient to 1994)
  This tool makes complete works of literary theory available online. It includes works ranging from Plato's writings to that of Judith Butler.
• Humanities International Complete
  Full-text of journals, books and other sources from around the world in all aspects of the humanities.
• JSTOR
  Similar to the MLA International Bibliography, this database allows you to search for articles on your topic. Try clicking on "Advanced Search" above the first search box and limiting your search to the discipline "Language & Literature."
• Bridge (or WorldCat)
  To find works about an author (rather than by that author), type the author's name (last name first) into the search box and select "subject begins with" from the drop-down box to the left of the search box. To further specify that you want works of criticism, click "advanced search," do a "subject contains" search for the author's name (last name first) and then in the next line do a "subject contains" search for the word "criticism."
• Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  Covers more than 1,140 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals in a broad range of disciplines from 1989-present.

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Finding Biography

• Contemporary Authors
  Biographies of 20th and 21st century novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters. If you don't find what you need here, look in the Dictionary of Literary Biography (see below).
• Dictionary of Literary Biography
  PN451 .D4
  This is the print version of the Contemporary Authors database. It is more complete than the online version, so if you don't find what you need online, look here before you give up. This version also does a better job of giving you places to find out more about the author. To find an author, go to the latest volume having a cumulative index. The index will give you the volume number where you can find your author. Authors are alphabetical by last name within each volume.
• Bridge (or WorldCat)
  To find works of biography on a particular author, click "advanced search." Then do a "subject contains" search for the author's name (last name first) and in the next line do a "subject contains" search for the word "biography."

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Finding Primary Sources

Fiction, Poetry, and Prose by an Author

• Bridge (or WorldCat)
  To find works by a particular author, put that author's name (last name first) into the search box and choose "Author begins with" from the drop-down box to the left of the search box.
• Literature Online (or LION for short)
  This will give you searchable access to thousands of American, English, and Canadian fiction, plays, and poems.
• Google Book Search
  Google is busy scanning books and making them searchable online. Books published before 1923 may be fully viewable and even available for downloading. Books published after that time may only be available in "snippet" view (only showing you a few lines), or not viewable at all. Also, you may have to sign in using a Google account to view some books.
• More free, online, searchable books
  As I find them, I gather links to sources of freely searchable books online in my del.icio.us account.

Other Primary Sources

Searching for Bridge or WorldCat for books by a particular author will yield the fiction, collected essays, poetry, and other published works. It may even show you diaries and collected letters of your author. Finding things like images, ads in magazines, and manuscripts may be a bit trickier. See the section on Finding Primary Sources from the Subject Research Guide for U.S. History for some places to start looking for these kinds of sources.

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