ENG 209 - Essay 2: Research Essay (Jordan)

4. Find Sources

Once you've narrowed your topic and thought about keywords, try searching the databases below for literary criticism.

Basic Search: a good first search is just the name of the work in quotation marks, followed by the word 'and' and the author's last name.

"The Diaries of Adam and Eve" and Twain

This general search will show you everything we have on a certain work (sometimes there is more than others). If there are only 5 articles, you can browse through them. If there are 100, you may want to narrow your search a bit by using keywords from your topic.

Narrowed Search: "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" and Twain and gender  [Remember to search many times with different keywords!]

Remember, though, not to count on keywords too much. If your keywords aren't working, ask a librarian for help!

Databases / Articles

The following databases are the best place to start. 

Finding Film Sources

Finding Books and eBooks

These are a few of the books that the library recommends, but they are by no means the only ones available to you. Check the library catalog and eBook databases below for even more books related to your topic. These sources may also include several versions of a particular work if you are making that comparison in your paper.

Some of the books will refer to multiple works, so you will need to search inside to find the particular chapter or section that refers to your work or topic.  EBooks make this easy by allowing you to open the book online.  Once you have the full text of the book open you can use the Search Within feature (often to the left of the screen) to search for particular keywords.  Remember to use quotes around more than one word.  The database will give you linked results that take you directly to the pages of the book on your topic.