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English
187.07: Portraits of the Self http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/eng187_07_fall07.html |
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Finding Background Information |
| 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 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.
Use the Gateway to:
- Connect to our digital library--thousands of databases, e-books, e-journals, online exhibits, and collections.
- Navigate the physical library--20 libraries, 7.5 million books, maps, microforms, and media.
- Learn more about the information Services the Library provides to connect you with the information you need.
- Contact our knowledgeable staff who are here to assist you with any questions you have.
Finding Background Information
Literature
Resource Center (LRC)
A complete literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism).
LION
(Literature Online)
Includes critical and biographical references on English and American authors. Search tip: To find biographical entries as well as critical analysis, choose author from the left-hand tool bar. Enter the author's last name, first name, e.g.Kincaid, Jamaica.
Encyclopedia
of Life Writing: Autobiographical and Biographical Forms. Ed.
Margaretta Jolly. 2 vols. London : Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001.
[Olin Reference CT 21.E53 2001]
Includes an entry on Jamaica Kincaid (pre-dates publication of My Brother), and an entry on the Holocaust that discusses Art Spiegelman's Maus.
Encyclopedia
of Women's Autobiography. 2
vols. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2005.
[Olin Reference HQ 1185.E63 2005]
Holocaust
Literature : An Encyclopedia of Writers and their Work. Ed. S. Lillian
Kremer 1939-. New York : Routledge, 2003.
[Olin Reference PN56.H55 H66x 2003 +]
Includes an entry on Art Spiegelman.
Holocaust
Novelists. Ed. Efraim Sicher. Dictionary of Literary Biography ; v.
299. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
[Uris Library Reference
Index Table, PS129 .D55 v.299 +]
Each article includes a biographical profile, followed by critical analysis of the author's work. Articles also include black-and-white illustrations and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, including the sources of published interviews. The appendix includes three valuable essays on Holocaust fiction.
Abrams Encyclopedia of Photography. New York : Harry N. Abrams, 2004.
[Fine Arts Library Reference PN 1195.9.D6 E53 2005]
Includes an entry on Nan Goldin.
Encyclopedia
of the Documentary Film. 3
vols. New York : Routledge, 2006.
[Olin Reference PN 1195.9.D6 E53 2005]
Includes an entry on Werner Herzog (pre-dates Grizzly Man).
About
the CU 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. There are also
records for items that are on order or in process. CU
Library Catalog Help Pages
How to Find Books on the Shelves
Interlibrary
Loan Services
If Cornell Library does not have an item you need, Use ILLiad (InterLibrary
Loan Internet Accessible Database) to request that we borrow materials from
other libraries.
Borrow
Direct
A new rapid book request and delivery system that enables Cornell faculty,
staff, and students to search the combined library catalogs of Brown, Columbia,
Cornell, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale, and directly
request expedited delivery of circulating items.
Finding Articles
Recommended Specialized Subject Databases
Literature
Resource Center (LRC)
A complete literature database combining biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism).
LION (Literature Online)
Includes critical and biographical references on English and American authors. Search tip: Choose author from the left-hand tool bar. Enter the author's last name, first name, e.g. Kincaid, Jamaica.
MLA
International Bibliography
An index to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals dealing with languages, literature, folklore and linguistics. Search tip: Enter the author's name on one line and a word from the title on the next line. Set language or document-type limits, if desired.
International Index to the Performing Arts: IIPA Full Text
Covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry--including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more.
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.
Multidisciplinary Databases & Full Text Collections
Provides indexing, abstracts (summaries) and some full-text. Includes over 200 linguistics journals.
Indexes and abstracts general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Many articles are available full-text.
JSTOR: the scholarly journal archive. New York, N.Y. : JSTOR, c1996- .
A full-text collection containing the back issues of hundreds of scholarly journals.
Project
MUSE: Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins University Press, c1995- .
A full-text collection of recently published articles in the social sciences and humanities.
Get it! Cornell - Use these links to get articles available online.
Sample record from the MLA Bibliography:
The Find it! feature on the Library Gateway
The Find it! feature on the Library Gateway allows you to perform a simple search across multiple databases. For more precise searching, it's 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.
Please note: If your search in Find it! pulls up too many results, or if the results do not seem relevant, try searching one of the recommended databases above.
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.
- Code of Academic Integrity
- APA citation style (Print pdf) Electronic Media and Online Sources
- MLA citation style (Print pdf) Electronic Media and Online Sources
- Chicago Manual of Style Online
- Annotated bibliography how-to
RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and
organize bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly
with Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly
formatted according to the style of your choice. RefWorks workshops are offered at Uris Library, Mann Library.
Research and Reference Help
- Library Gateway Help
- CU Library Catalog Help
- Reference Desk Directory
- Reference Desk Schedules in Olin and Uris Libraries
- Olin Library Reference phone number: 255-4144
- Uris Library Reference phone number: 255-2339
11/8/2007
Kaila Bussert, kjb82@cornell.edu
Reference Librarian
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, okucirc@cornell.edu