MLA guide to undergraduate research in literature

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Title:

Author:

Brookbank, Elizabeth, 1982- author.

ISBN:

9781603296298

Personal Author:

Brookbank, Elizabeth, 1982- author.

Edition:

Second edition.

Physical Description:

vi, 154 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Series:

MLA guides,

MLA guides.

General Note:

"First edition published 2019."--Title page verso.

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"Provides strategies for research in literature, from understanding an assignment and choosing a topic to citing sources and creating a bibliography. Gives guidance on searching library catalogs, subject-specific databases, and the Internet. Offers advice on choosing keywords, evaluating online sources, distinguishing between primary and secondary sources, and making interlibrary loan requests"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Starting the research process -- Searching your library discovery system or catalog -- Searching subject-specific databases -- Searching the internet -- Finding reviews -- Using contextual primary sources -- Finding background information -- Managing sources and creating your bibliography -- Guides to research in literature written in English.

Subject Term:

English literature -- Research -- Methodology -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

American literature -- Research -- Methodology -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

English literature -- Electronic information resources -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

American literature -- Electronic information resources -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Internet research -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Internet searching -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Library orientation for college students -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Added Author:

Christenberry, H. Faye, 1963-

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Book	PR56 .B76 2023	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	PR56 .B76 2023	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A guide to help students use research sources in literature and film

What makes a good research topic in a literature class? What does your professor mean by "peer-reviewed" sources? What should you do if you can't find enough material? This approachable guide walks students through the process of research in literary studies, providing them with tools for responding successfully to course assignments.

Written by two experienced librarians, the guide introduces the resources available through college and university libraries and explains how to access the ones a student needs. It focuses on research in literature, identifying relevant databases and research guides and explaining different types of sources and the role each plays in researching and writing about a literary text. But it also contains helpful information for any student researcher, describing strategies for searching the web to find the most useful material and offering guidance on organizing research and documenting sources with MLA style.

Extensively updated and revised, the second edition emphasizes digital resources that can be accessed remotely, offers critical thinking strategies for evaluating sources, and includes more information on writing about audiovisual as well as written works.

This book contains an introduction and the chapters "Starting the Research Process," "Searching Your Library Discovery System or Catalog," "Searching Subject-Specific Databases," "Searching the Internet," "Finding Reviews," "Using Contextual Primary Sources," "Finding Background Information," "Managing Sources and Creating Your Bibliography," and "Guides to Research in Literature Written in English" as well as a bibliography of sources for studying literature in English and a glossary of terms.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

The MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature updates Nancy Baker and Nancy Hurling's A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students: English and American Literature (5th edition, CH, Jan'02, 39-2509). It reflects the profound transformations that technology has brought about in student behavior and expectations and the landscape of libraries. Librarians Elizabeth Brookbank (Western Oregon Univ.) and H. Faye Christenberry (Univ. of Washington) seek to help readers understand the types of information available, "how and where to find specific primary and secondary resources," the processes involved in bibliographical creation, and how to deal with obstacles. The book is wordy but also needs amplification in various places. The authors recommend the definitive 5th edition of James Harner's Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in Literary Studies (CH, Nov'08, 46-1230) rather than later online editions. Brookbank and Christenberry reveal changes in MLA online citation practices; for instance, it is no longer necessary to include the date on which an internet resource was used. They do attempt to encourage students to go beyond the obvious and to be selective, and they do try to demonstrate how students should distinguish between one internet tool and another. The absence of an index is a fatal flaw. Summing Up: Not recommended. --William Baker, emeritus, Northern Illinois University

Introduction	1
1 Starting the Research Process	5
Understanding Your Research Paper Assignment	6
Developing a Topic	11
Developing a Search Strategy	13
The Research Process: Five Top Tips for Doing Better Research	19
2 Searching Your Library Discovery System or Catalog	25
Is This like Google? Your Library's Discovery System	27
The Library's Special Language: Library of Congress Subject Headings	32
Moving beyond the Basics	33
Using Materials from Other Libraries	39
Choosing the Right Library Sources for Your Assignment	41
3 Searching Subject-Specific Databases	43
How to Select the Right Database	44
Subject-Specific Databases	47
Advanced Searching in the MLA International Bibliography	50
Interdisciplinary Databases	52
4 Searching the Internet	59
Finding Scholarship on the Internet	60
Accessing Scholarship Online	63
Searching Smarter: Search Engine Advanced Tools	65
Evaluating Internet Sources	67
Evaluating Library Sources	71
5 Finding Reviews	75
6 Using Contextual Primary Sources	83
What Is a Primary Source?	83
Periodicals as Primary Sources	85
Audiovisual Media as a Primary Source	86
Using Primary Sources in Literary Research	86
Finding Primary Sources Using a Library Database or Catalog	89
Finding Primary Sources Using the Internet	91
7 Finding Background Information	95
Library Sources for Biographical and Historical Information	96
Internet Sources for Biographical and Historical Information	101
Finding a Definition or the Source of a Quotation	106
8 Managing Sources and Creating Your Bibliography	111
Creating In-Text Citations and a Works-Cited List	112
Organizing Your Research	116
9 Guides to Research in Literature Written in English	121
Harner's Literary Research Guide	122
Series on Literary Research from Scarecrow Press	123
Appendix. A Selected Bibliography of Research Sources for Literature and Literary Studies in English	125
Glossary	143
Index	149

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (1)

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Table of Contents