English 168.02 — Imagining the City
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Basquiat (1996). Dir: Julian Schnabel |
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Developing a Search Strategy
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.
Research Steps:
- 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
For more information about library research strategy and using library resources, consult:
The Seven Steps of the Research Process
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. CU Library Catalog Help Pages
- 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. - 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.
Selected reference sources for your class
Browne, Ray B. and Pat Browne, eds. The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, c2001.
Olin Library Reference E169.1 D399x 2001 +
A collection of bibliographic essays on various aspects of American popular culture, including advertising, animation, editorial cartoons, film, magazines, radio, sports, and television. Each chapter “provides a brief chronological survey of the development of the medium; a critical guide in essay form to the standard or most useful bibliographies, reference works, histories, critical studies, and journals; a description of the existing research centers and collections of primary and secondary materials; and a checklist of works cited in the text.” (Preface)
Cayton, Mary Kupiec,and Peter W. Williams, eds. Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner’s, 2001.
Uris Library Reference E 169.1 E624x 2001
A 3-volume encyclopedia that attempts "to comprehend the ever-changing character and rich variety of American thought and expression." (Introduction) Includes articles on advertising, media, visual arts, and technology.
Cayton, Mary Kupiec, ed. Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner's, 1992. Uris Library Reference HN 57 .E56 1992; also Olin Library Reference
This 3-volume encyclopedia uses the scholarship of historians, sociologists, geographers and anthropologists to present various aspects of American social history, including periods of social change, patterns of everyday life, family history and science, medicine and technology.
Horowitz, Maryanne Cline, ed. New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005.
Olin Library Reference CB9 .N49 2005+
Also available online as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.
This six volume set is "designed to introduce a general audience to the main ideas and movements of global cultural history from antiquity to the twenty-first century." (Preface)
Inge, Thomas M, and Dennis Hall, eds. The Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture. 4 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.
Olin Library Reference E 169.1 .G7555x 2002 +
A collection of bibliographic essays on various aspects of American popular culture, including such topics as comic books, computers, fashion, film, magazines, best-selling books, radio, sports, or TV. Each chapter was "prepared by an authority on the subject, provides a brief chronological survey of the development of the medium; a critical guide in essay form to the standard or most useful bibliographies, reference works, histories, critical studies, and journals; a description of the existing research centers and collections of primary and secondary materials; and a checklist of works cited in the text.
Payne, Michael, ed. A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1996.
Olin Library Reference HM 101 D55 1996
A "reference guide to modern ideas in the broad interdisciplinary fields of cultural and critical theory, which have developed from interactions among historical traditions of thought." (Preface) Entries cover concepts, individuals, and movements that bridge the traditional boundaries between the humanities and social sciences (e.g., hermeneutics, structuralism, post-colonialism, multi-culturalism). Secondary references are provided for each. Indexed, with a general bibliography.
Pendergast, Tom and Sara Pendergast, eds. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit, MI : St. James Press, 2000.Uris Library Reference E 169.1 S764x 2000
Also available online as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Contains nearly 3,000 essays on topics in the areas of film, music, print culture, social life, electronic media, art and performance, with an emphasis on post-World War II America. Entries are arranged alphabetically, and often provide cultural context as well as factual information. Short bibliographies are appended to each.
Finding Images/Archival Resources
There are a number of databases available for finding images located in the Images category of Find it!.
Image Search Options:
Use the Quick search form to search for images by keyword or words. A Quick search retrieves images from the following databases: AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive, American Memory (Library of Congress web site), Artstor, Catalog of Art Museum Images Online (CAMIO), and NYPL digital (New York Public Library Digital Gallery).
Use the Images Subject Area list to identify and search additional image databases.
Look for the 
icon in other Subject areas for subject specific image resources.
Other Visual Resources:
Wikipedia:Public domain image resources
TASI: Finding Images Online (Technical Advisory Service for Images)
Recommended Sources:
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive [Restricted to Cornell]
AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive is an electronic library containing the AP's current photos from their 50 million image print and negative library, as well as charts, graphs, tables, and maps from the AP's graphics portfolio.
Lexis Nexis [Restricted to Cornell]
Lexis Nexis Academic provides access to full text resources on topics including current and general news; business and financial information; newspapers; company directories; government and politics; medical and health topics; accounting, auditing, and tax; federal and state laws; legal cases; and regulations. Resources include TV and radio news transcripts.
Finding Articles:
Two approaches to finding articles:
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1. Search a Specific Database
Recommended Databases:
Literary
MLA International Bibliography [Restricted to Cornell]
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.
LION (Literature online)
Articles, monographs and dissertations from the Annual bibliography of English language and literature (ABELL); full-text articles from literary journals; and biographical information on widely studied authors.
Sociological
Sociological Abstracts [Restricted to Cornell]
Abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Subjects covered include community development, culture and social structure, demography and human biology, environmental interactions, family and social welfare, health and medicine and law, religion and science, social psychology and group interactions, welfare services, and women’s studies.
Historical
America: History and Life [Restricted to Cornell]
A complete bibliographical reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present, covering over 2000 journals published worldwide.
APS Online [Restricted to Cornell]
APS Online spans over 1,500 titles and 7 million pages of content, from the first American magazines, published in 1741, to the World War II period-200 years of American history as recorded in magazines, journals, and newspapers.
General/Interdisciplinary
Academic Search Premier [Restricted to Cornell]
EBSCO Academic Search Premier provides full text for nearly 4,650 academic multi-disciplinary serials, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles. This database is updated on a daily basis.
ProQuest Research Library [Restricted to Cornell]
Includes an extensive number of periodicals, covering general interest magazines and
scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Also included
are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Full
text of many articles is provided.
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.
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
| MLA
citation style
Olin and Uris Libraries Z253 .M68 2003 MLA citation style (CUL Gateway Help pages) MLA Style (MLA's web site)
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Managing Information using Bibliographic/Citation Software
- get citations from a favorite database
- move citations from EndNote to RefWorks or vice versa
- create a customized bibliographic style
- adopt effective information management strategies
Where: Olin Library Electronic Text Center
(Main Level, near LibeCafé, directly behind the Olin Reference Desk)
Can't wait until Friday?
Send questions about any aspect of RefWorks/EndNote to: citemanage-l@cornell.edu
Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity
Research and Reference Help
Reference Desk Schedules in Olin and Uris Libraries
Olin Library Reference phone number: 255-4144
Uris Library Reference phone number: 255-2339
Writing Walk-in Service (Knight Institute) — available in Olin Library
September 3 , 2007
Susette Newberry
Outreach Coordinator / Usability Librarian
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