Best Bets for Starting Your Research in...

:: Literary Criticism::

Use databases to find articles on your topic. These databases are the best place to start.

• Literature Criticism Online
  Provides online access Contemporary Literary Criticism, Drama Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Nineteenth Centuary Literary Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400-1800, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, and Children's Literature Review. For access to Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and other literature products from Gale, St. James Press, and Twayne Publishers, please use Gale's Literary Index. Updated regularly.
  
  
• Literature Online (LION)
  Includes English and American poetry, drama and prose, plus biographies, bibliographies and key criticism and reference resources. Searches MLA International Bibliography as part of its Criticism & Reference section.
  Date coverage: 1700-present.
  Listen to a fun podcast "interview" with this database: iTunes RealPlayer
  Watch a quick "how-to" video: Flash

• Literature Resource Center
  Includes more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors.
  Date coverage: Varies-present.
  
  
• JSTOR
  

  Full-text archive of scholarly journals in various disciplines, including language and literature.
  Date coverage: Varies-about 2002. Many journals are archived back to the first issue. For the most part, contains journal issues published up to 3-5 years ago.
  Listen to a fun podcast "interview" with this database: iTunes RealPlayer

Tips: When searching databases, use AND, OR, and parentheses to focus your search.

The asterisk * symbol will search for all variations of a word. For example: basket* will search for baskets and basketry. Using quotes will search for a phrase.

Combine synonyms with OR and put them inside parentheses, like this:

"Literary criticism" AND (poet* OR drama*)

Here's another example:

Shakespear* AND (Hamlet OR Lear) AND crit*

 

Already have the citation? Find an article with citation linker!

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Find books using the library catalog. Browse these subjects to get general information on your topic.

1. American literature - 20th century - History and criticism
2. Faulkner, William, 1897-1962 - Criticism and interpretation
3. Science fiction - History and criticism

Search the library catalog! Find books, media materials, and more.

Other searches:
Browse | Advanced Search

Tips: When searching the library catalog with keywords, use the dollar sign ($) to search for a word and all of its variations.

For example: poet$ will search for poet, poets, poetry, etc.

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Reference tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are good places to start your research because they provide an overview of the topic as well as keywords, dates, and facts.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks

• Contemporary Literary Criticism
  Ref. Low PN771 .C59
• Drama Criticism
  Ref Low PN1601 .D59
• Poetry Criticism
  Ref Low PN1010 .P499
• Short Story Criticism
  Ref. Low PN3373 .S386
• Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
  Ref. Low PN771 .G27
  

Tips: Try looking at the bibliography at the end of the entry for a list of other sources such as relevant journal articles and books.

When you have found books on your topic, look at the books on the shelf nearby to see if they are related to your topic.

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These web sites have been evaluated by librarians (that's a good thing) for your use in an academic setting.

• Internet Public Library: Literary Criticism
  http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit
  Provides links to more than 1,300 critical and biographical Web sites about US and British literary works from pre-1500 to the present.

• Literary Resources on the Net
  http://www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/
  A collection of links to sites on the Internet dealing especially with English and American literature ... including literary history, biography, and criticism.
  
  Tips: Any web site can be changed without notice, so be sure to evaluate every site you use.

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Use these short e-learning modules to get quick answers!

• Find a video/DVD in the catalog
• Find an e-book in the catalog
• Generate a bibliography automatically using RefWorks
  • RefWorks import/export directions
  • RefWorks login information
  • Refworks tutorial

Still have questions?

• Get help 24/7! Via Web chat at http://www.fairfield.edu/lib_askalibrarian.html
  

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