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English Research Guide: English 102

This research guide features resources and strategies for finding information and conducting research related to English.

Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism Research Project

 Literary Research with Scholarly Journals

Sources of information for your research paper will be found in books or scholarly journals. Articles from these journals are gathered into databases and indexed for your retrieval. To make this information most accessible, the library has organized the databases into specific subject areas.

Databases for critical literary research

LITERATURE DATABASES

Databases for literary criticism are housed under Literary Texts and Criticism. 

  1. On the main library page - Click on browse all databases.
  2. Click on the arrow next to all subjects.
  3. Choose Literary Texts and Criticism.

Critical Analysis

The following databases are excellent resources to use for a critical paper.

Database

Description

Gale Literature

Gale Literature searches the literary databases provided by GALE.  Includes Literature Criticism Online and Literature Resource Center.

Cambridge Core

Cambridge Companions offers introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and period

JSTOR

Provides access to back issues of over 1,000 core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences

Language and Literature (JSTOR)

JSTOR includes articles from academic journals covering writers and core literary movements.

Magill on Literature Plus (EBSCO)

Magill includes full text articles on authors worldwide with critical analyses and brief plot summaries.

Project MUSE

Project MUSE provides access to high-quality humanities and social sciences journals.
Romantic Era Redefined Focuses on the period between 1800 and 1830. Works from the British Empire and North America. Has full text of The Wordsworth Circle.

Scribner Writers Online (GALE)

Contains biographical information and critical reviews of authors of literature for children and young adults.

Twayne's Authors Online

Offers critical introductions to the lives and works of major writers of the world, including close analysis of key work.

Reference

Credo Reference

Has content from hundreds of reference books covering every major subject. 

The Literary Encyclopedia

Integrates current knowledge of literature and culture and with an understanding of historical contexts and connections.

 

Finding and Choosing Articles

FINDING AND CHOOSING ARTICLES

General principles for searching:

All research involves searching keywords, phrases or concepts in appropriate databases.

  • Fewer words are better when selecting keywords to search
    • Use single words instead of phrases or sentences.
    • Enclose short phrases in quotation marks.
  • Enclose titles in quotation marks
    • Ex: "Hills like White Elephants" 
  • In literature focused databases it may or may not be necessary to add "history and criticism" as a subtopic.
  • Choose scholarly or peer-reviewed articles. 

Finding and Choosing Books

LITERARY RESEARCH USING BOOKS

1. Remember - there are not always  books dedicated to a single work. 

2. Look for a book about the author or the type of work or the literary time period. Then use the table of contents or index to look for your title.

3. When searching for authors, type the last name first as your subject.

4. Start with a broad simple search (ex: author's name). Use additional terms to narrow result if needed (ex: "History and criticism" or "Analysis").