Step 1<\/strong>: Focused Overviews<\/h3>\n\n\n\nStandard encyclopedia entries tell you basic facts, without any particular perspective. To find the good stuff more quickly, you should choose, instead, specialized reference works that are focused\u2014like you\u2014on the literary life and achievements of authors. For this purpose, the Library offers several excellent options. Note that to make the best use of these resources, you need to learn to actually find<\/em> the articles and critics they reference. Can you go from a citation to a specific journal article? It\u2019s a crucial skill. (Ask a librarian if you\u2019re stumped. Big<\/strong> hint: The main library page has a link to \u201cJournals by Title or Subject.\u201d<\/span><\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\nOxford Reference Online<\/strong>: Lots of Oxford<\/em> resources, together in one place. (Find the link under the \u201cDatabases, eBooks, and More\u201d<\/mark><\/strong> link at our library site.) Entries of various sizes, all good first steps\u2014orienting you to what\u2019s out there on your author, what sorts of things critics are writing about the author, and (often) who\u2019s writing it. To get the most out of these database resources, you must play with the search limiting tools<\/span><\/strong>. For example, with this one, limiting to unlocked articles, free articles, and articles relevant to literature is going to be very helpful.<\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\nGale Databases<\/strong>: Gale does great reference-work resources, and Gale’s Literature<\/em> database (listed under the \u201cDatabases, eBooks, and More\u201d<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark> <\/strong>link at our library site) is an excellent place to begin to deepen your research on writers. Use the search tools to limit down to biographies<\/strong> here (and sort newest-to-oldest), to start things right. Many longer essays and lots of references to critics whose work you might want to dig up. Very good bibliographies of useful critical work. A note: As good as Gale\u2019s stuff is, your research shouldn’t end here. Including a reference resource as one of your key sources is like saying to your readers, \u201cI didn’t do any real digging, but you might search online for the answer yourself.\u201d<\/em> (The Gale databases have more and more straight-up literature criticism in them, too. Choosing that search limiter\u2014\u201cLiterature Criticism\u201d\u2014will lead you to some sources that you might confidently cite in your final write up.) Gale eBooks<\/em> (available via a separate database link) is another Gale resource that’s likely to pay off for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nActual Books from the \u201cOffline\u201d Reference Section<\/strong>: The library contains a number of useful, specialized reference works available only as actual, physical books. Walk into the reference section and ask to be pointed toward the subsection for literary criticism and commentary. (I know we tend to do all we can online these days, but the books can give you a different brain-space to work in, just by giving you a break from screens. Give it a try.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nAudio-Visual Resources:<\/strong> Often, libraries have documentary-type overviews of an author\u2019s life and work. These can be a welcome and worthwhile break from reading. Use the main library search to find these. Limit down to the audiovisual sources. (You can expand to a \u201cSUMMIT\u201d<\/span><\/strong> search for a\/v sources, too, and maybe find some that can be shipped to us from elsewhere.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Step 2<\/strong>: Head to the Stacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou should spend some quality time in the physical section<\/em> of the stacks devoted to your author. Don\u2019t just check the library catalog for books on your author. Go<\/em> to the section. Look<\/em> at all the books shelved together. Pull<\/em> several of them (or all of them) down to get a sense of the range of work being done on your author (at least as represented in WU\u2019s collection). In particular: <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Look for overviews of critical opinion in the introductions<\/em> to collections of critical \/ scholarly essays about<\/em> an author and collections of works by<\/em> an author. Pay attention to what these critics say is being said and has been said about your author. They\u2019re a great window on the scholarly conversation. If you start with recently published books, they will often give you a sense of what (and who) less recent books on your author have considered important. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Look for similar overviews and information in introductions<\/em> to biographies. Try to get your hands on the most recent substantial biography and work your way backwards, rather than relying on the oldest bios, which won\u2019t necessarily reflect current thinking (or, more exactly, won\u2019t reflect the current state of play in the critical conversation about your chosen author.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If we have no bios, or if long bios and scholarly treatments are mentioned in your research but unavailable in the library, try using SUMMIT or interlibrary loan to get them (see below).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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Step 3<\/strong>: Check in with the Non-Academic Journalists<\/h3>\n\n\n\nEspecially for more contemporary authors, it pays to look for articles printed in big-name (or fairly-big-name) magazines and newspapers that cover culture and the arts (for example, Paris Review<\/em>, NY Times<\/em>, Washington Post<\/em>, Atlantic Monthly<\/em>, New Yorker<\/em>, New York Review of Books<\/em>, New York Times Review of Books<\/em>, Harpers<\/em>, The Believer<\/em>). Through the library website, try the dedicated newspaper search and also ProQuest and\/or Academic Search Complete (where you can limit your searches to magazines, for example). Online, try the Google \u201cNews\u201d search. Make sure you can defend the quality of any \u201cnon-academic\u201d resources you include.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Step 4<\/strong>: Drill Down to Specifics… <\/h3>\n\n\n\n…by Thinking Like a Researcher, not a Web Surfer<\/strong>. Remember that you can move from source to source, not just from search to search<\/em>. As you read, you should be making notes about articles, books, and critical writers whose work on your author earns respect and attention from the writers of overviews and introductions<\/em>. You should also be paying attention to the sorts of things they\u2019re talking about. What are the most debated issues? Which critical discussions interest you? Armed with that kind of information, you can return to the books and article databases with a more efficient, purposeful search agenda. Instead of doing a blanket search for everything\u2014anything!\u2014available, you\u2019re now looking for work by the most respected critics, in the most respected books and collections. Instead of reading at random, you\u2019re choosing the chapters and articles you know will be most helpful and relevant to you. You\u2019re searching for articles that address specific questions and controversies. What you\u2019re not<\/em> doing is a series of basic keyword searches, as if that was the only\u2014or the best\u2014way to learn about a subject. It\u2019s just not. <\/p>\n\n\n\nGetting Beyond the Indexes and Introductions. <\/strong>Those collections of critical essays and single author book-length studies? It may pay to go back and read some of the chapters, once you know what you\u2019re looking to find. And it may pay to use what you find there to further refine your searches and give yourself some specific critical works to go find.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLiterature Online (LiOn), JSTOR, and MLA (Databases). <\/strong>The extensive Literature Online (LiOn) <\/span><\/strong>database includes the important MLA database<\/span><\/strong> and a lot of full text entries. It\u2019s an excellent place to begin your search for specific articles and specific critical writers. JSTOR is also very good. And we have an MLA-only database, called MLA International Bibliography. <\/em>Learn about all three. They are your allies for literary critical research. Two big notes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Always find the tools to organize search results in reverse chronological order, something that will be very helpful for this kind of research, where you’re in part trying to see how the conversation around an author or literary text has changed over time. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If the article you want isn\u2019t available in full text from within a database, be sure to try the \u201cFIND IT\u201d link, which will look for other full text options for you; if that fails, go directly to the periodicals list (see below), which may get you there. (And\u2014finally\u2014if we don\u2019t have the full text online, try Interlibrary Loan or SUMMIT! See below, again.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Try limiting results to books, using the search tools, so you can see what\u2019s happening just with full-length printed books that address your author\/subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Search \u201cJournals by Title\u201d \/ Use the Periodicals List<\/span>.<\/strong> This is an incredibly important research ally. Say you\u2019re in LiOn and you see an article that looks great, but you\u2019re not sure we have access to it because sometimes it\u2019s just not clear. Hop back to the main library page, open this search, and look for the periodical itself. This will tell you if we have the journal or not, and it will sometimes help you locate a database where the article is available in full text. (Stop freezing in terror when asked to look up a specific journal article! This is the way\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\nSUMMIT and Interlibrary Loan (ILL). <\/strong>If you strike out in the periodicals list, first try the \u201cSUMMIT\u201d search from the library\u2019s main page, to see if one of our main partner libraries has what you need. If SUMMIT doesn\u2019t work, ILL the article or book you need. Choose \u201cBorrow, Renew, Request\u201d<\/span><\/strong> at the library\u2019s main page to get to the ILL request. If you order up an article, you\u2019ll receive a PDF via email, often within a day (but count on it taking a couple of days). If you ask for a whole book, it will arrive in a few days, under normal<\/strong> circumstances.) Research early so you can take advantage of SUMMIT and ILL<\/em>. <\/strong>A librarian can help you figure all this out, if it\u2019s giving you trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAmerican Periodicals 1740-1940 Database. <\/strong>Not so useful for very contemporary literature (since its coverage ends somewhere in the 40s), but top notch for dredging up PDFs of periodicals from 1740 to 1940. I list this here in part to point out how deep our databases go. While you\u2019re a student here, you have access to crazy interesting historical documents. Use it! (Play with it!)<\/p>\n\n\n\nScholarly Societies<\/strong>: Look for scholarly societies online dedicated to your author. Sometimes these are absolute treasure troves of information and recommendation. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe NPR Maneuver (Especially for Recent\/Contemporary Authors). <\/strong>Also valuable: NPR.org, the website of National Public Radio. If you\u2019re researching a contemporary author of note, there’s a good chance the author has been interviewed by NPR. A search at NPR.org often reveals one or several radio shows or podcasts that will lead you to more good material on the author.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Wikipedia Gambit (Especially for Recent\/Contemporary Authors). <\/strong>When you\u2019re studying contemporary authors, the databases may not offer much. If that\u2019s true for your chosen author, it may be time to use Wikipedia.org as a gateway to great material that is not on Wikipedia<\/em>. The links at the ends of Wikipedia<\/em> articles often point to excellent resources, periodical articles, and sites for authors. See where they get you. (And then\u2014follow the logic here\u2014use those resources to get to other great resources. Move from source to source, not form search to search.) Necessary Caveat<\/em>: Of course, under normal circumstances, you shouldn\u2019t quote Wikipedia<\/em> or rely on it as an authority, just like you shouldn\u2019t rely on reference books in general as ultimate authorities. Reference works are best used as a roadmap to the real authorities, not a replacement for them. (Citing the Encyclopedia ritannica<\/em> can make you look like an amateur hack just as surely as citing Wikipedia<\/em> can.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n