This guide explains how to conduct literary research in
the library’s
catalog and some of its indexes. (NOTE: the term “literary research” as
it is used in this guide refers to research that focuses primarily on an author,
an author’s work or works, a literary genre or a literary movement.)
For the most part, literary research is very similar to most other kinds of
research. However, there are just a few small differences that you need to
be aware of when you do literary research. This guide is intended to help you
navigate the particulars of literary research but, if you have any difficulty,
please ask a librarian for more help.
Researching an Author in the Library Online Catalog
To find books in Grace Library's online catalog about
an author or an author’s
work, you should use a Subject search (e.g., s=austen jane). This is the kind
of
search
that will be most helpful for doing literary research. Please ask a librarian
for the “Researching an Author in the
Library Online Catalog” handout
for a fuller explanation of how to understand the results you will get when
you do a Subject search in the catalog on an author’s name.
To find books in Grace Library by a particular author, you would use an Author
search
(e.g., a=steinbeck john).
To find a specific book in Grace Library, you would use a Title search (e.g.,
t=grapes of wrath).
Academic Search Elite
The Academic Search Elite database (also available through the EBSCOhost
subscription service on the Grace Library home page) may also provide you
with some scholarly
articles on literary topics. Academic Search Elite is a general index and
is not specifically devoted to literature, so you may get lots of useful
material
or you may get very little.
The advantage of using Academic Search Elite is that
many of the articles are available in full text format—whereas many
of the other resources that you may use for literary research will provide
only citations and abstracts
(meaning that you still have to track down the articles yourself). Therefore,
it is often worth your time to find out if Academic Search Elite contains any
articles on your literary topic before proceeding to the other resources described
below.
To find out if Academic Search Elite has any information
on a particular novel or short story or poem, the best approach is usually
to type in the author’s
name in the first search box (e.g., Mark Twain) and the name of the novel/story/poem
in the second search box (e.g., Huckleberry Finn). If you get a lot of material
with this type of search, you may wish to put additional words in the third
search box, such as a theme or character (e.g., racism or Jim), to further
narrow the results.
MLA International Bibliography
The MLA International Bibliography is the most comprehensive index to articles
on literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Any time you are doing
literary research, it is a good idea to find out what MLA has indexed on your
topic. The index is available on CD-ROM on the “Red” computer,
located in the Reference Area on the 2nd level of Grace Library. The MLA CD-ROM
covers articles published from 1963 to September 2003. (NOTE: It is NOT available
through the Grace Library web page. You must come in to Grace Library to use
it.) Please refer to the “MLA on CD-ROM” Grace
Library Research Guide for more information on how to use this tool.
Wilson Omnifile Full Text Select
Wilson Omnifile Full Text Select is a 100% full text database that will provide
you with some scholarly articles on literary topics. Like Academic Search
Elite, Wilson Omnifile is a multidisciplinary, general index that can supply
a great deal of useful material. It is important to review articles retrieved
by Wilson Omnifile to make sure they are relevant to your topic.
To find out if Wilson Omnifile has any information on
a particular novel, short story or poem, type in the author’s name in the first search box
(e.g., Mark Twain) and the name of the novel/short story/poem in the second
search box (e.g. Huckleberry Finn). If you get a lot of material with this
type of search, you may wish to put additional words in the third search box,
such as a theme or character (e.g. racism or Jim), to further narrow the results.
Please refer to the “Wilson Omnifile” (PDF) Grace Library Research Guide
for more information on how to use this tool.
Other Resources
There are many other resources that might be helpful for different kinds of
literary research. In particular, we have a large collection of books in the
Reference collection (located on the 2nd level of Grace Library) that can be
invaluable for some literary topics. A librarian can help you locate some Reference
works that might be appropriate for your topic. We have also created Research
Guides that list Reference books in certain literary subject areas, for example, “Women
Authors.” These are available in the turning racks located in the Reference
Area on the 2nd Level of Grace Library and online through the Grace
Library home page.
For some more difficult topics, you may need to find
out whether other libraries in the area or around the nation have other relevant
books or journal articles.
For more information on these possibilities, refer to the “Borrowing
From Other Libraries” Grace Library Research Guide.
eac & tjb
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