Diane Van Stone
English 102

 
Books & Media:

Use the CCBC Dundalk Library Catalog to find books about an author and criticisms of an author's work. (Hint: Use the author's last name in the subject search or do a keyword search type in the author's last name and criticism.) Resources at CCBC Dundalk Library:  Use the Literature Reference books in the library. They are in the REF P section. Some specific titles that might help with your research are the following:

Reference Books and research material with information on your author and criticism and information about their writings:
American Writers Ref PS 129.A55
Contemporary Literary Criticism Ref PN 771 .C59
Dictionary of Literary Biography Ref PS 221 .D5
Drama Criticism Ref PN 1601.D59
Drama for Students. Ref PN 1707.D7
World Literature Criticism Ref. PN 523.W67 1992
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature Ref. PS153.M56G742005
Black Literature Criticism Ref. PS153.N5B556 1992
American Women Writers Ref. PS 147.A4

Reference Material on Race and Culture:
Jewish-American History and Culture Ref. E 184 .J5 J48 1992
African-American Culture and History Ref. 185 .A2527 2001
Encyclopedia of Racism in the United States Ref. E185 .A2527 2001
American Civil Rights Ref. E184.A1 A56 1999
African American Encyclopedia Ref. E 185.A253 1993
Contemporary Black Biography Ref. E 185.96 .C66
Reference Library of Black America Ref. E 185 .R42 2000
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History Ref. E 185.E54 1996

Finding information in magazines/journals/newspapers:  Top

Use the Periodical Databases which include articles from magazines, journals and newspapers to find focused articles on your topic.
To access these databases go to Magazines, Journals & Newspaper page . Follow the instructions for off-campus access.

Use the Literature Databases page to find the best databases for finding articles on literature.
Below are a few of these databases:

• Literature Resource Center by Gale is a good literary database with overview of works, criticism and information on individual authors.
• LION - Literature Online is a literary database
• Humanities International Complete Some Full text. Scholarly articles on literature, and more.
• Proquest Direct has some literary articles. It includes a Humanities module and General Research module. You might also what to check Newspaper databases in Proquest.
• Academic Search Elite has some literary articles and information on the author.

 Search tips: Literature Resource Center

• Author search - last name of author, first name of author (Hansberry, Lorraine) - go to Literary criticism tab
• Keyword search - author's last name and title in quotes (Hansberry and "Raisin in the Sun")
• Keyword search - author's last name, title of story in quotes and topic of research (Hansberry and "Raisin in the Sun" and race")
• Additional resources tab - might include web pages and additional resources

 Search tips: LION

• Author search - author's last name, and author's first name (Hansberry, Lorraine)
• Keyword search - Title of of play in quotes and if needed author's last name ("Raisin in the Sun")
• Keyword search - author's last name, title of story in quotes and topic of research (Hansberry and "Raisin in the Sun" and race)

 Research Tips :Top

How to Do Research - helpful link on research
How to Write a Research Paper - From OCLC Hot Topics - June 5, 2002
Citing Sources -Make sure you use the correct citation for your research material.
MLA guide in pdf
MLA Style from University of British Columbia Library
Plagiarism - Make sure you do not plagiarize

Web Resources::  Top

Use Evaluative Web Guides, such as Librarians' Internet Index to find web sites on a general topic.
The Intute , an evaluative web guide, is from England. It has a free, "teach yourself" tutorial. There is one on English Literature. Use the tour to see the different web sites that might help you.
Use Search Engines , such as Google to focus your search for web sites.
To get better results connect your terms with the Boolean term "and" (ex:criticism and Hansberry,) or put quotes around a phrase (ex:"Raisin in the Sun".)
Performing Precise Searches on web searching

Evaluate:

Evaluate your material for its relevance and authenticity. See evaluation criteria for web sites.

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