http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/complit1035.html
Research Guide for Comparative Literature 103.5:
Of Mice and Men.
Creation Myths from Adam's Rib to the Clone
Question? Ask a Librarian
DEVELOPING A SEARCH STRATEGY
DEVELOPING A SEARCH STRATEGYSearch strategy is a library term for the process of finding information in a logical, step-by-step manner. Using a search strategy insures that you will find the information or material you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Research Steps:
- Choose your topic
- Find background information
- Find books on your topic
- Find periodical articles
- Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
- Cite your sources
For online help using on library research strategy and using library resources, try using Library Research, a Hypertext Guide - online, hypertext-based tutorial on library research.
- FINDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Guides and Handbooks
- The materials listed below are a selection of reference resources for finding background information and context for topics you will be covering in this class. Note the call numbers and library locations for these materials and check the reference collections for additional sources of background information.
The authors of articles in reference books often provide bibliographies of selected books and articles for further study.
- The materials listed below are a selection of reference resources for finding background information and context for topics you will be covering in this class. Note the call numbers and library locations for these materials and check the reference collections for additional sources of background information.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography.Detroit: Gale, 1978- .
Uris Ref PS 129 D55+; selected volumes in Olin Ref PS 129 D55+An ongoing set of volumes designed to provide biographic, bibliographic and critical material on major writers of America and Great Britain as well as some writers of Canada, France and Germany. Each volume is arranged alphabetically by the writers covered. There are numerous portraits and often there are appendices containing special information. A list of further reading concludes each volume. An index to all volumes appears at the end of each latest volume. Olin buys selected volumes. See volumes 81, 110, 116 for biographical material on Mary Shelley and Kafka.
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Eliade, Mircea, ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion. 16 vols. New York: MacMillan, 1987.
Uris Ref BL 31 E55+; also Olin Ref BL 31 E57+The first truly comprehensive encyclopedia for religious topics since the work of Hastings in 1908. Entries are alphabetically arranged. Essays are scholarly and accompanied by a selective annotated bibliography. Excellent coverage of both Western and Eastern religions.
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Mythologies. Compiled by Yves Bonnefoy; a restructured translation of Dictionnaire des mythologies et des
religions des societes traditionnelles et du monde antique, prepared under the direction of Wendy Doniger;
translated by Gerald Honigsblum ... et al. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Olin Ref BL311 D55 1991A two-volume encyclopedia of world mythologies, ranging from Africa to the Ancient Near East. Excellent short essays on many aspects of mythology and religion within cultures, as well as mythic figures. For example, in the section on Rome, there are essays on "Roman divination" and "Etruscan daemonology" as well as "Mars" and "Quirinus." Each essay is signed and provided with a useful bibliography.
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Gray, Louis H., ed. The Mythology of All Races. 13 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1916-1932.
Uris Ref BL 310 M99 1964, and Olin Ref BL 25 M99"A comprehensive collection by competent scholars of myths from all quarters of the earth and all ages." (Preface) For the technical student and the general reader. Arranged by cultures, volume one contains a survey of Greek and Roman mythology. Good subject index. Many excellent illustrations.
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Seigneuret, Jean-Charles, ed. Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs. 2 vols. New York: Greenwood Press,
1988.
Uris Ref PN 43 D55 S55; also OlinA dictionary of major literary themes and motifs, with an emphasis on Western Literature. Lengthy articles are followed by suggestions for further reading. An index provides access to terms and authors discussed within the major topics.
FINDING BOOKS
Cornell Library Catalog Plus, Olin Library Card Catalog
FINDING BOOKS
Cornell Library Catalog Plus, Olin Library Card Catalog
- Help Using the Cornell Library Catalog
Search Commands, Subject Searching, Keyword Searching, and other functions of the online catalog are explained on these pages. Some typical subject searches are:
S=CREATION
S=CLONING
S=EVOLUTION IN LITERATURE
S=LITERATURE AND SCIENCE
S=SELF IN LITERATURE
S=BODY HUMAN IN LITERATURE- Connect to the Cornell Library Catalog
- The Cornell Library Catalog currently includes all items from all Cornell libraries cataloged since 1973, some pre-1973 items, and items on order or in process. Included in the Cornell Library Catalog are books, periodicals and government documents, as well as some other materials located in the libraries at Cornell. The catalog provides the call number, the name of the library, and the circulation status for most materials.
When to Check the Card Catalog
- When the book you want was published before 1973 and it's not in the Cornell Library Catalog, check the card catalog located in the John M. Olin Library. This card catalog contains cards for authors, subjects and titles filed in an alphabetical, word-by-word arrangement for books cataloged through December 1972. Whenever you cannot locate the material you need, ask at a reference desk for assistance.
- Connect to the Cornell Library Catalog
FINDING PERIODICAL ARTICLES
Periodical Indexes and Abstracts
FINDING PERIODICAL ARTICLES
Periodical Indexes and Abstracts
Articles
Periodical articles are an excellent source for detailed analysis or up-to-date information on a topic. These articles are from materials that are published "periodically" or in daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual or even irregular intervals. They are found in newspapers, magazines, journals, yearbooks, and other sources.
Periodicals are available in several formats: bound paper volumes (like books), microfiche or microfilm, and increasingly as electronic text.
Indexes and Abstracts
Periodical Indexes and Abstracts are Reference resources that identify and locate articles in periodical publications. They are often subject-oriented and list author, title, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication in entries called bibliographic citations. For information about bibliographic format and how to cite resources that you use in your research, go to Citing Sources.
Abstracts are specialized indexes that also include summaries of the content of the articles with their citations.
Periodical Indexes and Abstracts also come in several formats: traditional and historical bound paper volumes, stand alone CD-ROM computer workstations, and more recently as networked databases available via the Internet.
Networked indexes and abstracts come in a variety of versions and interfaces: telnet, Web, InfoShare (linked to the Catalog), and full-text, to name a few. For more information about finding Networked Resources available through the Cornell University Library, go to Finding Networked Resources.
Linked Indexes
InfoShare indexes are directly linked to holdings in the library catalog. This means your search will yield two kinds of information: 1) It identifies articles on your topic. And 2) It tells you where that source is in the Cornell Library system.
When using indexes and abstracts linked to the catalog, look for the message: Held by library--type HOL for holdings information. This note will appear in the lower lefthand corner of the screen in records where the Cornell Library has the journal or magazine listed as the source of the article. Typing HOL will take you to the Holdings information detailing what libraries on campus have the journal, what volumes they have, call numbers and special locations, and the circulation status of the material.
When using unlinked indexes (essentially all non-InfoShare indexes), search the Cornell Library Catalog (CU) by the title of the periodical (i.e. Time, Scientific American, etc.). If you have questions, ask at the Reference Desk.
Full-text Articles
An ever growing number of periodical indexes offer access to the full-text of articles electronically. Use the Library Gateway to find full-text resources.
(Cornell Library Gateway; also in print at Olin Ref)
An international index and database providing references to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals
dealing with languages, literature,
folklore, linguistics and film. It is useful for finding literary criticism of a particular author or work, as
well as articles on literary
theory, women's studies, popular culture, and performing arts. The online version of MLA covers
1963 to present. The print
version, available at Olin Ref (Z 7006 .M68), covers 1921 to the present.
MLA International Bibliography (Linked to the Catalog version) InfoShare Telnet interface
MLA International Bibliography (Web version) OCLC Web interface
(Cornell Library Gateway)
Indexes and abstracts over 1600 general interest magazines and scholarly journals including all the
magazines in Reader's Guide
and most of the scholarly journals from Social Sciences Index, Humanities
Index, General Science Index. It also includes citations
and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Cornell University Libraries subscribe to
most of the periodicals
indexed. Holdings can be found easily since the titles are linked to the online catalog. The full
text of some transcripts from
the television and radio programs can be found by searching the Transcripts section of the General News Files of LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe.
Periodical Abstracts/ABI Inform (Full-Text Web version) ProQuest Direct Web interface
Other indexes and abstracts of interest to this class can be found in paper volumes or at non-networked CD-ROM computer workstations in Olin or Uris Reference. Selected titles include:
An international index and abstract of books and journal articles on philosophy and related disciplines of
aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, metaphysics published in the United States and the western world. The
print version began in 1967; the CD-ROM version covers 1940 to the present for U.S. materials and 1967 to the
present for non-U.S. materials.
An author and subject index to periodicals dealing with church history, biblical literature, theology, the
sociology and psychology of religion, and mythology. It covers some 220 English language journals. Keyword searching
of titles and abstracts.
Cornell Library Gateway
The Cornell Library Gateway is a new web site which provides a unified approach to finding information about the Cornell University Library and to selecting and connecting to our diverse and growing constellation of networked electronic resources and services.
Buttons on the left side of the screen will always be available to help you navigate among a variety of choices. The Cornell University Library Catalog is at the top of the array to make it easy for you to connect and search for books, journal titles and many other types of materials at Cornell. Networked Resources, the default display on the right side of the screen, enables you to identify and connect to networked electronic resources, such as periodical indexes, full text documents or numeric data files. About CU Library leads you to a wealth of information about the Library, including individual library web sites. Services provides information about library services such as circulation, instruction and reference, and enables you to make a variety of requests, electronically, for services such as book renewals and interlibrary borrowing. Help provides information on a wide variety of general and technical topics that will help you understand and use the CU Library as well as the Library Gateway. And if you need personal help you can click on "Ask a Librarian" at the bottom of each page. Last, but not least, the CUInfo button enables you to connect easily to the Cornell University information system.
Networked Resources contains titles, descriptive information, and links to over 1,200 networked electronic resources, including periodical indexes, numeric and spatial data files, catalogs, audio-visual materials, and full text documents such as electronic journals and reference sources. It is a "database of databases." There are two main ways to search for databases in your areas of interest: searching and browsing.
Click on the top search box to select the type of resource you are interested in, such as indexes or full text, or all types, then type a keyword or keywords in the second search box. The Networked Resources database will then generate a list of resources (databases) that match your search request.
Below the Search boxes you will find a menu of subject categories. Click on a subject category to browse lists of resources available in that subject area. Or, you can browse the lists of New Resources, "Greatest Hits" (frequently used databases), or the Alphabetical List of titles contained in the Networked Resources database (over 1,200 titles and growing).
Once you have identified the networked resource you are interested in, you can then connect to it directly to gather the information you need to perform a search on your specific topic in the file or database you have selected.
Other networked resources of potential interest to this class that can be found using the Library Gateway include the following titles:
Selected Periodical Indexes and Abstracts
Olin Ref Z 7125 P545; Compact Disk Z 7125 D53
Olin Ref Compact Disk Index
FINDING NETWORKED RESOURCES
Searching for Databases
Browsing for Databases
Return to Table of Contents
FINDING INTERNET RESOURCES
SEARCH ENGINES AND SUBJECT GUIDES
FINDING INTERNET RESOURCES
SEARCH ENGINES AND SUBJECT GUIDES
Use search engines or Internet subject guides to find resources or sites on the World Wide Web on your topic. Search Engines are software that allow you to search the contents of web pages and Subject Guides are web pages that use menus and lists to sort and classify web sites.
Question Authority! The Internet is a very democratic tool, in that anyone can write or say virtually anything they wish to on it. As you would do with books and journal articles, look to see who is responsible for producing the web page or site that you are accessing. Does the individual or institution have a particular bias or concern or agenda in presenting their information. How objective is the information? How accurate or truthful? How authoritative?
- Evaluating Web Sites
- Search the Internet
- Internet Subject Guides
- Library Web Servers World-Wide
- Library Catalogs World-Wide
- Listserv and Discussion List Directories
SELECTED INTERNET RESOURCES
- Internet Reference Resources By Subject
- Frankenstein and Mary Shelley Links
- Shelley Home Page
- National Library of Medicine Frankenstein Exhibit
- BBC Darwin Debate Page
- Franz Kafka on the Web
- Android World
- Human Cloning Links (in support of human cloning)
CITING SOURCES
CITING SOURCES
- MLA Style (MLA's web site)
- How to Cite Information From the Internet and the World Wide Web (APA's web site)
- APA and MLA Style sheets for print sources (U. of Illinois web site)
- How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
RESEARCH HELP ONLINE
- Library Gateway Help
- The Reference Home Page at O*K*U Libraries
- Library Research at Cornell: A Hypertext Guide
- Library Vocabulary: Definitions of Library Terms
REFERENCE HELP
You can ask your questions at our reference and information desks, over the phone, or by e-mail.
- Reference Desk Schedules in Olin and Uris Libraries
- Olin Library Reference phone number: 255-4144
- Uris Library Reference phone number: 255-2339
- Olin Kroch Uris Reference e-mail address: okuref@cornell.edu
Question? Ask a Librarian
Reference Home Page
September 22, 1998
Fred Muratori, fmm1@cornell.edu
Reference Services Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries
Cornell University Library
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/complit1035.html
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca
NY 14853
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu