Nimitz Library, U. S. Naval Academy
English and American Literature
Skip Literature Site Navigation Bar
ASK A LIBRARIAN
NIMITZ LIBRARY 
USNA 
LIBRARY CATALOG
RESEARCH GUIDES BY SUBJECT
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
LITERATURE RESEARCH HOME PAGE

 

HE112: RHETORIC AND INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: Library Tips


Starting Your Research -- Library Catalog -- Reference Resources -- Web-Based Resources How To Search -- Evaluate Your Resources -- Where To Go If You Need Help

STARTING YOUR RESEARCH

  • A good place to start is by using the following steps to help you in the research process:
  • Identify and develop your topic (what question(s) are you trying to answer?)
  • Find background information (a good place to start is to use reference resources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.)
  • Use Innopac, the Library's catalog, to find books and other materials
  • Use indexes to find periodical articles
  • Find Internet resources, if appropriate
  • Evaluate what you find
  • Cite what you find using a standard format

LIBRARY CATALOG

Books and other materials in the Nimitz Library can be located through the online catalog (INNOPAC). Search under author, title, keyword(s), or subject. For example, to find books by an author, search under the author's name such as Shelley, Mary. To find books about an author, search under the author's name as a subject or use the keyword search to find books about an author (Tolkien) or a title (Frankenstein) or a concept (gothic). Consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings, 5 volumes Near the Reference Desk, for additional subject terms to search or look at the subject links in the INNOPAC records.

The Nimitz Library catalog will indicate what books, periodicals, government documents, etc. are available in the Library. Most of these materials can be checked out.

CALL NUMBERS (how library materials are arranged)

Remember that Library of Congress Classification arranges materials by subjects. The first sections of the call number represent the subject of the book and allows you to browse the bookshelves by subject. For Example:

  • PS represents American literature
  • PR represents English literature

REFERENCE RESOURCES

Sources for gaining background information in literary studies include:

  • Dictionaries and Handbooks (for brief overviews and definitions of terms)
  • Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia. 4th ed. (REF PN41.B4 1996)
  • Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. (REF PN41.C67 1991)
  • Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th ed. (REF PN41.A184 1993)
  • Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. (REF PN41.H6 1992)
  • Oxford Companion to American Literature. (REF PS21 .H3 1995)
  • Oxford Companion to English Literature. (REF PR19.D73 1995)

Collections of Criticism and Biographical Information (for biography and criticism)

  • Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. 35+ volumes. (Index Table 3a)
  • Contemporary Authors. 168+ volumes. (Index Table 3-4)
  • Contemporary Literary Criticism. 113+ volumes. (Index Table 4)
  • Dictionary of Literary Biography. 202+ volumes. (Index Table 3)
  • Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. 75+ volumes. (Index Table 4)
  • Twentieth-Century Literature Criticism. 81+ volumes. (Index Table 4)
  • Shakespearean Criticism. 47+ volumes. (REF PR2965.S43 1984)

WEB-BASED RESOURCES

The Nimitz Library subscribes to several reputable indexes and full-text journals that are available from the Nimitz Library Home Page (http://www.usna.edu/Library).� Select Britannica Online for background information and carefully selected Internet links.� From the Nimitz Library Home Page under Databases choose Humanities Full Text for references to journal articles in all fields of the Humanities including literature, history, philosophy, music and art or the MLA Bibliography for references to articles in journals, chapters in books and dissertations in languages and literatures. Also select Databases to search Project Muse or JSTOR (for full-text scholarly journals in the Humanities).

HOW TO SEARCH

When should you use keywords, subject headings, phrases, single words?

Keywords usually give you more resources (a broader search).
Subject Headings, which use a standardized vocabulary, usually give you more specific resources on your topic.

Boolean Logic (the logic used in constructing online searches)

Boolean Operators (especially OR and AND) allow you to combine words in a logical way to get the results you want.

EVALUATE YOUR RESOURCES

USE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE RESOURCES (especially from the web):

  • Who wrote it and can you tell the author's affiliation or background?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • What is the scope or coverage of the resource?
  • Why was it written/published (is the material objective or biased)?
  • When was it published?
  • Where was it published (who is the publisher?)?
  • How is the information presented (is there any supporting material?)
  • How accurate does the information appear?

Which Search engine should you use?? Try the following sites to help you evaluate them:

WHERE TO GO IF YOU NEED HELP OR HAVE QUESTIONS

  • Reference Desk in the Nimitz Library (x32420)
  • Michael Macan, Reference-Bibliographer for English (x36927)

-- MM / January 2006

Comments or suggestions?
URL: http://www.usna.edu/Library/Literature/He112hdt.html
Last updated: 31 October 2005