http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/eng158a.html
Research Guide for
English 158: American Literature and Culture
Developing a Search Strategy
Finding Background Information
Finding Books
Finding Periodical Articles Finding Networked Resources
Finding Internet Resources
Citing Sources
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
- 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 American History. Ed. Louise Bilebof Ketz. 2nd ed. rev. 8
vols. New York: Scribner, 1976-1978. (Uris Ref E 174
.A21 1976; also Olin)
In general, consists of clear, compact articles each dealing with a separate and definite aspect of American history and each signed with the full name of the contributor. Also contains a number of articles on broader subjects, which include cross references to related articles on specific aspects. Covers political, economic, social, industrial, and cultural history, but omits biography. Volume VIII is a separate index volume that includes all subjects covered in the Dictionary.
- 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.
- Kanellos, Nicolas. Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United
States : the Literature of Puerto Ricans, Cuban
Americans, and other Hispanic Writers. New York: Greenwood, 1989. (Uris Ref
PQ 7420 2 K16; also Olin)
"Designed to make accessible to the English-language reader a literary world that, for the most part, has been articulated only in Spanish", (Preface) this is a guide to representative Hispanic writers living and writing in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Mexican American writers are excluded. Entries are divided into three sections: biography, major themes, and survey of criticism. Each entry ends with a substantial bibliography of works by and about the author. A general bibliography on Hispanic literature and an index round out the volume.
- Kellner, Bruce, ed. The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the
Era. Westport: Greenwood, 1984. (Uris Ref E 185.93
N56 H28)
People, places, events, literature, music and the arts all have a place in this alphabetically arranged dictionary. The period covered is 1917-1935. Appendices provide a chronology of significant events for the period, lists of books and plays, and a glossary of Harlem slang. An index completes the volume.
- Meier, Matt S. and Feliciano Rivera. Dictionary of Mexican American History.
Westport: Greenwood, 1981.
(Uris Ref E 184 M5 M511; also Olin)
An alphabetical listing of both brief and long entries describing the Mexican-American experience from the days of the opening and development of New Spain through 1980. Numerous cross references, and an index make finding specific terms, events or people relatively easy. Contains charts, statistical tables, lists of Mexican-American journals and much more. Many entries contain citations to further reading.
-
Contemporary Literary Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Today's
Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, and Other
Creative Writers. Detroit: Gale, 1973- . Vol. 1- . (Uris Ref PN 771 C762)
Designed as an ongoing series of selective excerpts from critical writings (books and periodical articles) on contemporary authors. Writers treated are those who are either now living or who have died since January 1, 1960. In addition, consideration is given to writers of current interest and authors of mystery and science fiction writing. Full citations to the source follow the excerpts. Arrangement of each volume is alphabetical by author's surname. Index to authors covered in series is cumulated in each volume. Olin Library has volumes one through eighteen in the stacks.
- The Hispanic American Almanac: A Reference Work on Hispanics in the United
States. Detroit: Gale, 1993. (Uris Ref E 184 S75
H557x 1993; also Olin stacks)
The Almanac surveys Hispanic life and culture in the U.S. Individual chapters cover the family, population, language, politics, education, religion, the arts, history, and primary documents. Signed essays are augmented by selective bibliographies of additional sources of information on the topic.
- Masterpieces of Latino Literature. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. (Uris
Ref PQ 7081 A1 M41 1994)
This source includes 140 articles on classic and newly popular works of fiction and nonfiction (arranged alphabetically), and 33 general essays about the plays, short stories, poetry, and essays of major Latino writers and thinkers. Essays on specific works include plot summary, brief descriptions of major characters, and critical analysis of the work.
- Roses, Lorraine Elena. The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary
Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers 1900-1945. Boston:
G.K Hall, 1990. (Uris Ref PS 153 N5 R81)
"It is the purpose of this book to focus attention on black women writers whose work belongs primarily to the first half of the twentieth century and whose achievements or existence have been little recognized...." [Preface] One to four page biographies are followed by a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. Includes an index to titles mentioned in the text and a general bibliography.
There are also a number of networked reference resources including online encyclopedias and dictionaries available via the Cornell Library Gateway at General Interest and Reference.
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.
- 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.
Selected Periodical Indexes and Abstracts
- MLA International Bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association,
1964- .
(Bear Access and Cornell Library Gateway; also in print at Olin Ref)
An international database providing references to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals dealing with languages, literature, folklore and linguistics. 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
- Periodical Abstracts. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1986- . (Bear Access and
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 Transcript Files on the LEXIS/NEXIS terminals.
Periodical Abstracts (Linked to the Catalog version) InfoShare Telnet interface
Periodical Abstracts (Web version) OCLC Web interface
Periodical Abstracts/ABI Inform (Full-Text Web version) ProQuest Direct Web interface
- Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature/Readers' Guide Abstracts. New
York: Wilson, 1900/04-. (Uris Ref AI 3 R28; also Olin
Ref, Bear Access and Cornell Library Gateway)
The Readers' Guide indexes approximately 160 current American popular and semi-popular periodicals. Author and subject entries are in one alphabet. Each entry gives the necessary information for finding the article: author, title, name of periodical (abbreviated), volume number, inclusive paging, and date. Maps, portraits, illustrations and bibliographies are noted. Published semi-monthly with cumulations annually. Book reviews appear at the end of each volume. Readers' Guide Abstracts includes indexing from January 1983, abstracts from September 1984.
- H.W. Wilson Select. Indexes a selection of scholarly journals and popular magazines and supplies access to the full-text of articles from a variety of the Wilson Company's indexing sources, including the Readers' Guide. (Use the Library Gateway, discussed below, to find this resource.)
Other networked indexes and abstracts can be found in the Cornell Library Gateway. Other selected titles of interest to this class to be found there include:
- Arts and Humanities Citation Index
- Humanities Abstracts
FINDING NETWORKED RESOURCES
Cornell Library Gateway
FINDING NETWORKED RESOURCES
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.
Searching for Databases
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.
Browsing for Databases
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.
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?
- 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 chosen by the O*K*U Reference staff
- The Circle Association's Weblinks to
The Harlem Renaissance
- Hispanic Magazine
- Latino Links
- The Voice of the Shuttle: Minority Studies Page
CITING SOURCES
CITING SOURCES
- APA and MLA Style sheets for print sources
- APA and MLA Style sheets for Internet sources
- 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
February 20, 1998
Lance Heidig, ljh5@cornell.edu
Reference Services Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries
Cornell University Library
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/eng158a.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