ENGL 299: Library Research Workshop

Mackenzie Brooks

Assistant Professor & Digital Humanities Librarian

English Department Liaison // Leyburn 218

February 10, 2017

By the end of this session, you will...

  • have experience with literature databases
  • have a framework for evaluating sources
  • be ready to start your research paper!

How do you research?

Research!?!

words of wisdom

1. Research is iterative.

2. Information overload = filter failure.

3. There is no perfect source. There is no perfect database.

4. Have fun!

 

 

RESEARCH WORKSHOP

  • Select a database:
    • Search Everything
    • MLA
    • Google Scholar
    • EEBO
    • Gale Literary Sources
    • WorldCat.org

RESEARCH WORKSHOP

  • Who made this database?
  • What's in it?
  • What are the features?
  • Search for "John Donne." What are the results?

 

  • Select a result
  • Can you find it in another database? How?
  • Is it peer reviewed?
  • What are the credentials of the author?

Search Everything

  • a product the library pays for
  • combines all our print + electronic collections
  • can be overwhelming
  • good for starting out + interdisciplinary research

MLA Bibliography

  • Specific to languages and literature
  • It's an index, so not all full text
  • Search by publication title

Google Scholar

  • Run by a corporation
  • Content = mostly journal articles
  • Updates quickly!
  • Connected to library holdings
  • Good for citation chasing... "Cited by 37"

Early English Books Online

  • Pages images and full text (50%) of works in English from 1473–1700
  • Search by variant spellings and forms
  • Continues to be updated
  • Based on Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection and the Early English Books Tract Supplement aka microfilm.

Gale Literary Sources

  • Reference/encyclopedia content like biographies, overviews, reviews as well as criticism
  • Search by "name of work" or "name of person" or peer-reviewed
  • Topic Finder + Term Frequency

Worldcat.org

  • All the books!
  • 2 billion library holdings from across the world.
  • An attempt to record all published books.
  • We can interlibrary loan books from other libraries.

Zotero is your friend.

library.wlu.edu/zotero

ENGL 299: Library Research (Gertz)

By Mackenzie Brooks

ENGL 299: Library Research (Gertz)

ENGL 299: Library research session for Prof. Genelle Gertz // February 10, 2017 // Mackenzie Brooks

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