EN 135 - Introduction to Literature

How to Get Help

Reference desk (785)670-1483 or toll free 1-800-736-9060
E-mail refemail@washburn.edu
Instant Messaging http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/im/imreference.html
Maps of the library http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/banner/maps_location.shtml

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Scholarly or Not?

Scholarly journal

Scholarly, Peer-reviewed (Refereed) Journal

Popular Magazine

Can't tell the difference? Check out this research guide that will help you identify scholarly journals.

Scholarly journals are often key resources for academic assignments. The articles in a scholarly, academic journal are reviewed and evaluated by experts in the field prior to publication. This process assures the reader that the content is reliable and timely.

In many of the Libraries' electronic databases, you may limit your search to articles in peer-reviewed journals.

What's the difference?

 

Electronic Literature Resources

Step 1

Select an appropriate electronic database from http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/researchTools/elec_dbs.html . Many of our article databases include the full text, in either HTML or PDF format. Research guides are available for many of the electronic databases at http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/researchTools/dbguides.html .

For your assignment, try these subject-specific databases:

  • Biography Index - Indexes articles, books, and autobiographies for biographical subjects from antiquity to the present.
  • Contemporary Novelists - Contains biographical/critical essays on the most important living novelists writing in English worldwide.
  • Literature Resource Center - Rich in biographical, and critical content, use the Literature Resource Center for information on literary figures writing in such genres as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, journalism, and more.
  • MLA International Bibliography - Consists of bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore.

You may also want to try these general databases:

  • Academic OneFile - A collection of peer-reviewed, full-text articles from more than 8,000 journals with extensive coverage of the arts, literature, and other subjects; intended primarily for academic researchers. It also contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC, as well as full-text New York Times content to 1995.
  • Expanded Academic ASAP - Research in all academic disciplines.
  • General OneFile - General OneFile is a comprehensive periodical resource that puts more than 39 million database records at researchers' fingertips. More than 9,200 titles and backfile coverage from 1980 - from mainstream to specialized sources.
  • JSTOR - Database of back issues of journal literature with coverage of some journals going back to volume 1, issue 1 in the 1800's.
  • ProQuest Research Library - From literature to psychology, ProQuest Research Library provides one-stop access to a wide range of popular academic subjects. It features a highly-respected, diversified mix of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers.
  • Reader's Guide Full Text - Arts, humanities, social sciences, science & technology.
  • Wilson OmniFile Full Text - Wilson OmniFile Full Text is a multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content from six of Wilson's full-text databases: Education Full Text, General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Readers' Guide Full Text, Social Sciences Full Text, and Wilson Business Full Text.
Step 2
 If the full text isn't available, conduct a "journal title" search of the library catalog to find out if we subscribe to the journal. Sometimes the Libraries' subscribe to both the print and electronic versions of a journal (see the sample).
Step 3
 If the journal is not available from the Mabee Library, request a copy through Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery

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Print Literature Resources

The Library's online catalog is called ATLAS.
Use the library catalog to search for books, CDs, DVDs, videotapes, and journal titles (not journal articles). You may search by title, author, subject, a combination of author and title, or by periodical title. Keyword searching using Boolean operators is also supported.

For your assignment, to find literary criticisms about an author, conduct a keyword search for the author's last name followed by the word cricitism. Example: Poe and criticism

To find literary criticisms or general information about a work of fiction, conduct a keyword search for the title of the work. Example: "the cask of amontillado"

Access it from the Library's home page at http://www.washburn.edu/mabee

There are books in the Reference Collection on the main floor of the library which are good sources for information about authors and works of short fiction:

African Authors (Ref PL 8010 .H38)

 Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century (Ref PN 642 .J48)
Masterplots (Ref PN 44 .M33) Critical Survey of Short Fiction (Ref PN 3321 .C7)
Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors (Ref PN 86 .M73) Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Ref PN 3326 .M27)
European Authors (Ref PN 451 .K8) Short Story Criticism (Ref PN 3373 .S56)
Cyclopedia of World Authors (Ref PN 451 .M36) Hispanic Writers (Ref PX 7081.3 .H58)
World Authors (Ref PN 451 .W67) British Writers (Ref PR 85 .B688)
Multicultural Writers since 1945 (Ref PN 451 .M88) American Writers (Ref PS 129 .A55)
Great Women Writers (Ref PN 471 .G74) Black Writers (Ref PS 153 .N5)
Modern Black Writers (Ref PN 841 .M58)  

Need more help? Check out this research guide on how to find books in the Mabee Library.

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Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery

If the Mabee Library does not own or have access to a particular book or journal, you may request a copy of the article or the book through Interlibrary Loan; this free service normally takes 7-10 days for books and 2-3 days for journal articles.

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Citing Your Sources

Style manuals provide the necessary information for documentation and style in writing research papers and reports. Check out the research guides on the different styles if you need help citing your sources.

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http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/crc/courses/en135

October 2007