InfoGuides: ENGL 3360 (Dr. MacDonald): American Literature to 1865: Introduction

Research - What is it?

Use this course guide to help build sources for your research project

If at any time you feel confused or frustrated, please ask for help!

Research requires:

time
patience
focus
initiative
reasoning
analysis

Scholarly Articles

What is this searching?

Start here

Credo Reference
Over 1,390 reference books offering more than 3.6 million full-text articles. Also offers around 100 videos and tutorials on aspects of research skills, evaluating information, avoiding plagiarism, study skills, and creating and delivering presentations.

Topic pages include mind-mapping tool and simultaneous search of other resources. Advanced search is necessary for exact phrase searching. For power searching operators, see http://academic.help.credoreference.com/search/power-searching.html
Gale Literature Resource Center
Full-text database that includes biographical, bibliographical, and critical information on some 2,500 literary writers and their works. Identifiers include ethnicity, nationality, literary period, genre, theme and literary/historical timeline.

Format: Full-text, Coverage: 1993 - present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ? Or !, Search Tips: Boolean commands. Proximity searching. Use ( ) to construct powerful searches.
MLA International Bibliography
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Contains more than 1.8 million citations about language, literature, linguistics and folklore (culture). Source types include journals, books, dissertations, bibliographies and conference proceedings.

Format: Citations; some full-text via link resolver, Coverage: Begins 1920 - present. Updates 9 times/yr., Truncation and Wildcard: * and ?, Search Tips: Use quotation marks to phrase search. Allows Boolean AND, OR and NOT searching. May limit to full-text, scholarly journals, date, length, publication name and type. HELP link on each screen, which includes Citation information. Can print, save, or email results. Some full-text publications may have the most current 3-12 months in abstract only, due to publisher restrictions.
Literary Reference Center (EBSCO)
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Over 35,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, nearly 100,000 articles/essays of literary criticism, 252,000 author biographies, 693,000 book reviews, over 78,400 classic and contemporary poems, more than 19,700 classic and contemporary short stories, and more than 6,600 author interviews.
Project MUSE
Full-text of more than 680 journals, focusing primarily on humanities and language. Some coverage for the performing arts, social sciences, and education. Almost all publications are scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. 25 journals continue the JSTOR coverage of the publication.

Format: Full-text, Coverage: Varies, begins as early as 1995, Truncation and Wildcard: * and None, Search Tips: Use quotations for phrase searching. Supports Boolean AND, OR and NOT. Group complex search strings with parentheses. Browsable help section and journals list. Use advanced search to specify field types for search string. E-mailed articles are sent as a URL link to the individual article.
JSTOR
** Until June 30, 2022, due to the COVID-19 crisis, JSTOR is providing free access to a much greater number of journals. **

Back volumes for 880 journals from the very first issue but excluding the most current 2-5 years. About 20 titles have coverage through the most recent issue, and about 5 have current but not historical coverage. General subject areas include art & architecture, Asian studies, botany, ecology, economics, education, finance, history, language & literature, mathematics, music, philosophy, political science, population studies, sociology and statistics.

Format: Majority full-text; some additional full-text via link resolver, Coverage: Dates vary with beginning date of journal., Truncation and Wildcard: + and ----, Search Tips: Boolean commands are supported. Use quotation marks to search keywords as a phrase.
Gale eBooks (Virtual Reference)
Full-text, searchable access to more than 175 specific encyclopedias in many subjects, including business, social sciences, history, biography, religion, popular culture, and much more.

Format: Full-text, Coverage: 1993-2007 publication dates, Truncation and Wildcard: * and ? Or !, Search Tips: Search by title, keyword, author, subject, ISBN, full-text, and image caption. Limit by date, document type, or audience type. You can also drill down through a subject classification list from general to specific.
Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory
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Comprehensive international list of journals, magazines, newspapers, and online full-text electronic references. For each title indicates subject area, publisher, publication schedule, where indexed/abstracted, if peer reviewed and more. Search by title, ISSN, publisher, subject, keyword, dates, and more.

Format: Finding aid, Coverage: 1930s - present, Truncation and Wildcard: * and $, Search Tips: Use the Advanced Search link to add limits include Current, Ceased, Forthcoming, Online, Refereed, Abstracted/Indexed, Website/URL, Journal Citation Reports, ScienceDirect, Ingenta Select, Serial Solutions, Open Access, and Type (such as Academic/Scholarly, Consumer, Newspaper, etc.).
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Online version of the premier dictionary of English language, with more than 600,000 words. Search for a specific word or phrase, or browse by categories, language, region, etc. Each word has definitions, examples, pronunciation guide and chronology of usage. Updated four times a year with new words and revised entries.

Format: Full-text, Coverage: ca. 500A.D. - present, Truncation and Wildcard: ? Any one character, * two or more characters and ? Any one character, * two or more characters, Search Tips: Word lists can also be filtered by language, region, date of first use, part of speech, and usage. Results list will return entry words, and also items that use the searched term in the definition, sample quotations, or etymology.

Interlibrary Loan

If you need a book or article that we don't have, you can get it via Interlibrary Loan Details (ILL).

Request a book or article.
Most articles are emailed within 1-2 weeks. Books may take longer.

Get Help from the Library

Research & Access Help

Use our 24/7 Live Chat located on the bottom right of library websites.
Call (806) 651-2215 during library hours
Use "Email a Librarian" to ask a question. Most responses within 1 business day.
Stop by the first floor Research & Access Desk anytime the library is open
Renew items using My account feature of the online catalog

Other Departments

Staff Directory

ENGL 3360 (Dr. MacDonald): American Literature to 1865