Image from The Brothers Grimm Library at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Developing a Search Strategy Finding Background Information Finding Books and More Finding Articles Finding Internet Resources Citing Sources Research Help

Search 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:

1. Choose your topic
2. Find background information
3. Find books on your topic
4. Find periodical articles
5. Find networked resources or relevant Web sites
6. Cite your sources

Return to Table of Contents

Garland, Henry and Mary. The Oxford Companion to German Literature. 3rd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(Olin Reference PT 41 .G23 1997; also Uris Reference and Olin stacks PT 41 .G23 1986)

Intended as a "companion to the historical and cultural background to German literature as well as to the writers and works themselves. Spans the period from c. 800 to the early 1970's, and the aim has been to cover in a reasonably representative way every period of the literature of each German-speaking country." (Preface). Entries vary in length from a few lines to a page, and are arranged in alphabetical order.

Harmon, William. A Handbook to Literature. 10th edition. Englewood: Prentice Hall, 2006.
(Olin Reference PN 41 .H355 2006; 8th edition: Uris Reference PN 41 .H355x 1999)

A reliable and clearly-worded dictionary of literary terms and concepts. Entries range in length from a few sentences to several pages. Many provide references for further reading.

Konzett, Matthias, ed. Encyclopedia of German Literature. 2 volumes. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
(Olin Reference PT 41 .E53x 2000+)

Authors make up the majority of the more than 500 entries which conclude with bibliographies of works by the author, including English translations, as well as secondary scholarship. In addition to authors, literary movements and periods and types of literature (Fairy tales, Travel literature) are included. Also, the intersection of German literature with such topics as fascism, film, homosexuality, and religion is explored. Entries for important cities (Berlin, Vienna) and historical developments (National Socialism) provide the background of persons, places, issues, and events.

Zipes, Jack, ed. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
(Olin Reference PN 3437 .094 2000)

With more than 800 entries written by a team of 67 specialists from around the world, the Companion offers discussion of the classic tales themselves, both ancient and modern, from Jack and Jill and Cinderella to Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. The contributors also profile the writers who wrote or reworked these tales, as well as the illustrators, film-makers, choreographers, and composers who have been involved with creating or interpreting them. The Companion also covers such related topics as film, art, opera, ballet, music, even advertising. An introductory overview by Jack Zipes sets the subject in its historical and literary context, and special survey articles explore the development of the fairy-tale tradition in individual countries, focusing particularly on the European and North American traditions. The volume includes a detailed bibliography, to aid in further research into this fascinating topic. Illustrated with 70 pictures, from early engravings to 20th-century film stills.

Find nearly everything owned by the Cornell University Library by searching the Cornell Library Catalog. This includes books, journals, magazines, newspapers, videotapes, audiotapes, music CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, manuscripts, microfilm, microfiche--in short, anything the Library owns.

You can search by author, title, subject heading, call number, or journal title. You can also search by keyword--any combination of words in the author, title, subject, contents, and notes fields. Words are combined using the Boolean operators AND, OR, or NOT. You will have an opportunity to practice this searching in class.

This Web-based catalog also allows you to recall or put a hold on items that are currently checked out by other library users. Clicking on the Requests button allows you to see what you have checked out; you can also renew your books from this page.

If we don't have a BOOK that you need or if we have the book but it's checked out:

Online help for searching and other functions of the Cornell Library Catalog is available in Catalog Help section of the Library Gateway.

Two things to remember about the Cornell Library Catalog:

• The online catalog lists the holdings of all twenty Cornell libraries.
• You cannot find journal articles in the catalog. Only the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers are listed along with the years and volumes that we own. See the next section for more information about finding periodical articles.

Understanding Library of Congress Call Numbers

• Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.
  (Library Gateway/Find it!/Databases)

  A general periodical database that provides citations and abstracts for articles from over 4,100 journals and includes full text from over 3,170 journals. You can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles (scholarly articles).

• Literature Resource Center. [Farmington Hills, MI]: Gale Group.
  (Library Gateway/Find it!/Databases)
  The Literature Resource Center (LRC) is a literature reference database designed for undergraduate students. LRC combines biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information in articles on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism). Includes Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Literary Criticism, the Encyclopedia of Literature, The Scribner Writer Series, and The Twayne Authors Series: Twayne's US Authors, Twayne's English Authors and Twayne's World Authors.

• MLA International Bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association, 1963 - .
  (Library Gateway/Find it!/Databases)

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.
• ProQuest Research Library. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1986- .
  (Library Gateway/Find it!/Databases)

Indexes and abstracts over 2,000 general interest magazines and scholarly journals covering a wide variety of subjects and academic disciplines. It also includes citations and abstracts to selected newspapers, television and radio programs. The Library subscribes to most of the periodicals indexed. Many articles are available full-text. Use the Cornell Library Catalog Basic Search to find other journals, newspapers, and magazines.

Explore the Deep Web. The Library Gateway is the electronic front door to our libraries and a searchable database of the thousands of online resources that we subscribe to, resources not available on the open Internet, via Google for instance. These databases are sometimes called the Deep Web. For an overview of databases by subject and to search for these databases, go to Find Databases.

You might use web search engines or Internet subject guides to find resources or sites on the World Wide Web to supplement print material. Search engine software allows you to search the contents of open or free web pages and internet subject guides are web pages that use menus and lists to sort and classify web sites.

Evaluating Web Sites
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? For guidance, see Evaluating Web Sites

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. Click here for more information about RefWorks and to sign up for an account. RefWorks workshops are offered at Uris Library, Mann Library and ILR Library (ILR students only).

• MLA Citation Style (from Cornell's Research Strategy & Process pages)
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography

Help is available in person at our reference and information desks, over the phone, by chat, or by e-mail:

• Ask a Librarian (our chat reference service Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm)
• Reference Desk Hours
• Olin Library Reference phone number: 255-4144
• Uris Library Reference phone number: 255-2339
• Olin Kroch Uris Reference e-mail address: okuref@cornell.edu

Additional Online Help:

• Library Gateway Help
• Library Research at Cornell: A Hypertext Guide
• Library Vocabulary: Definitions of Library Terms
• The Olin & Uris Libraries Home Page

Question? Ask a Librarian