Digests, Synopses, Author Biographies
Biography
and Genealogy Master Index Useful database when it
is unknown
what biographical source to use
Ref. PR 105.K9
British Authors Before
1800
Ref. PN 451.D32
Dictionary
of Literary Biography
MagillOnLiterature
Plus Contains fulltext of author biographies, summaries of
works, and basic criticism.
Literature
Resource Center Contains fulltext of author biographies,
brief criticisms, and some criticial journal articles.
Use the
Library
Catalog
to find full-length biographies and criticisms of authors. Look for
Norton Critical editions which contain criticism with
the work.
WorldCat
is a wonderful
database which lists all published resources (Not specific journal
articles, but books, facsimile editions, AV, dissertations, etc.)
Use the databases listed in the
next section to find biographical articles about authors.
Criticisms on Specific Works
The following databases are useful for research on authors and specific
works. Search by the author's last name and an important word from the
title of the work. You can also include a particular
aspect. For instance, if searching for the religious aspects
found in E.M. Forster's
A Passage to
India, try searching <forster and passage and
religio*>
Note: In EbscoHost the * is a truncation symbol which will look
for religion, religious, religions, etc.
Humanities Full Text
MLA
Bibliography
There are also literary explictors that index that indicate where
criticisms can be found, in either books or journals, on specific works.
Ref. PN 1721.C65
Drama Criticism
Ref. PN
1861.B8
Dramatic Criticism Index
Ref. PR
821.P26
English Novel Explication
Ref. PR 2894.C53 1993
The Essential Shakespeare: An
Annotated Bibliography of Major Modern Studies
Ref. PN 1721.P2 1977
European
Drama Criticism
Ref. PR 311.M34 1991
Guide to British
Poetry 4 vols.
Internet Resources
Of course, there are many resources available through the Web. The
librarian for the department has created the
English
page which lists some useful Web sites. The
Eserver is a very good English Web
site. The library provides a list of
search engines.
Search the following Web pages for interesting
resources:
The Internet Public Library, Best Information on
the
Net, Infomineand
Librarians' Index to the Internet.
Cross Disciplinary Sources
Whether researching literary topics or other fields in English, it is
important to remember to look outside the field for information.
Historical materials are useful and can be found in books and articles
using such databases as
America
History and Life,
Academic
Search
Premier, and
Humanities Full Text.
Education journals are helpful and can be found in
ERIC
and
Education
Full Text. Other useful disciplines can include psychology,
religion, and philosophy.
Evaluating Sources
With all resources, it is important to assess the quality of what you
find. Use the following checklist to assist with that
determination:
1. Identify the author(s) and determine his/her credentials.
Does the author have a degree in the field; is the author a
professor;
does the author have other works published on similar topics?
2. What is the date of the publication? Currency is important in
most fields. It is especially important for Web pages.
3. Does the publisher have a good reputation? Is the resource
published by a professional association or university press? Is
the journal
refereed? For Web sites, check the URL to determine the sponsor.
Gov
sites are government sites; com are commercial; edu are educational.
4. How do the critics perceive the work? Are there reviews
available?
5. Is the material complete? Does it have an index, bibliography.
Is it well written with few grammatical or spelling errors?
6. Is the language slanted or biased?
7. Does it include references to well known facts or research studies?
8. For Web pages, do the links work?
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan is available for books and journal
articles not available at NSU. Use the
ILLiad
system to order materials from other libraries. Allow several
weeks for the materials to arrive.
Citing Sources
To avoid plagiarism, it is important to cite materials correctly.
Indiana University has a good guide on
plagiarism.
To cite the resources that you've found, check the
Citation
Clip tutorial. The
M.L.A. Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
is located on the first floor of the library, Ready Ref. LB
2369.G53. Also, try the
MLA
Web site. For help in citing sources, try
KnightCite
Bibliography Machine.
Professional Associations
International Writing
Centers
Association
Linguistic Society of America
MLA (Modern Language
Association)
NCTE (National
Council of
Teachers of English)
