Comparative Literature 109 : Revealing the End
Getting to Know the Library
Search strategy is the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information and materials you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Seven Steps of Research:
- Choose your topic
- Find background information
- Find books on your topic
- Find periodical articles
- Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
- Evaluate your sources
- Cite your sources
Background Information
Literature and the Bible
Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doublebday, 1992. Uris Library Reference BS440 .A53 1992
Achtemeier, Paul J., ed. Harper’s Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985. Uris Library Reference BS440 .H29
Metzger, Bruce Manning and Michael D. Coogan, editors. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Olin Library Reference BS440 .M59
Reichardt, Mary R., ed. The Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press , 2004. Olin Library Reference PN485 .E53 2004
Photography
Warren, Lynne, ed. Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. 3 vols. New York: Routledge, 2006. Fine Arts Library Reference TR642 .E5 2006
Lenman, Robin, ed. The Oxford Companion to the Photograph. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Fine Arts Library TR9 .O94 2005
McDarrah, Gloria S., Fred WW. McDarrah, and Timothy S. McDarrah. The Photography Encyclopedia. New York: Schirmer Books, 1999. Fine Arts Library Reference TR9 .M39x 1999
Music
Hitchcock, H. Wiley and Stanley Sadie, editors. The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. 4 vols. New York : Grove’s Dictionaries of Music, 1986. Olin Library Reference ML101.U6 N53
Pendergast, Tom, and Sara Pendergast, editors. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit , MI : St. James Press, 2000. Uris Library Reference E169.1 .S764x 2000
Online
Reference Universe
Searchable database of back-of-the-book indexes to subject encyclopedias
Finding Books
Click
on the image to connect to the Cornell Library online catalog:
About
the CU Library Catalog
The Cornell University Library Catalog includes the holdings of 19
Cornell University libraries. The catalog contains records for books, computer
files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores,
periodicals, serials, sound recordings, and visual materials.
Finding Articles
Two approaches to finding articles:
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1. Search a Specific Database
Multidisciplinary
ProQuest Research library [Restricted to Cornell]
Indexes and abstracts general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences.
Academic Search Premier [Restricted to Cornell]
Provides full text for nearly 4,650 academic multi-disciplinary serials, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles.
Literature and the Bible
ATLA Religion Database [Restricted to Cornell]
Contains citations from international titles and multi-author works in and related to the field of religion.
LION (Literature Online) [Restricted to Cornell]
Ffull-text articles from literary journals; and biographical information on widely studied authors.
LRC (Literature Resource Center) [Restricted to Cornell]
A complete literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works
MLA Bibliography [Restricted to Cornell]
The largest and most comprehensive database covering scholarship in the modern languages, linguistics, literature, folklore, and drama, including film, opera, radio, television and theater. Literary criticism and literary theory are covered extensively.
Photography
Grove Art Online [Restricted to Cornell]
Provides web access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art( 1996, 34 vols) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art (2001).
Artbibliographies Modern [Restricted to Cornell]
Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews. Coverage from Impressionism in the late 19th century up to the late 20th century; photography is covered from its invention in 1839 to the present.
Art Full Text [Restricted to Cornell]
Indexes, abstracts and full-text from international periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins. Areas covered include archaeology, architecture, art, film, humanities, marketing, motion pictures and photography.
Music
Grove Music [Restricted to Cornell]
Covers all topics related to music, including biographical entries on composers, performers and writers
Music Index [Restricted to Cornell]
Indexes relevant materials from over 640 international music periodicals. Covers every aspect of the classical and popular world of music
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature [Restricted to Cornell]
Citations on international music corresponding to the printed RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
2. Search a number of databases at the same time using Find it!
The Find it! feature on the Library Gateway allows you to perform a simple search across multiple databases. For more precise searching, it is best to search the databases individually. See the Recommended Databases above.
Using Find it!, you can do a simple search in 4 general resources or you can select a list of subject-specific databases to search.
Find Relevant Websites
allmusic.com
From the paper copy publishers of the standard reference All Music Guide, this site contains ratings and reviews of more that 400,000 record albums. Search by artist, album, song, style, or label.
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of scholarly research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.
How
to Critically Analyze Information Sources
Lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness
of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.
Distinguishing
Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria
Shows how to evaluate periodicals by looking at their format, intended audience,
and appearance.
Evaluating
Web Resources
Lists ways to analyze the Web sites you find.
Evaluating
Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
See this page for additional suggestions specific to Web sites.
Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
Offers a table of suggestions.
Citing Sources
Documentation styles offer standard and prescribed methods for citing references. Different academic disciplines use different documentation styles. Two of the most popular and widely used documentation styles are produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). APA is most often used in the behavioral and social sciences and MLA is widely used in the humanities. You should always ask your course instructor whether or not a particular documentation style is required for your research papers.
For help with citing references, email CiteManage-L@cornell.edu
Wendy Wilcox
ww83@cornell.edu
Reference Librarian
September 6, 2007
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu