Research Guides: English: ENG 299 Sircar

Helpful Library Research Tools

Scholarly Encyclopedias

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism This link opens in a new window
Provides a comprehensive historical survey of the field's most important figures, schools, and movements. Includes alphabetically arranged entries and subentries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.

Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism
Provides brief overviews of different critical approaches plus helpful questions when considering a particular literary text.

Article Databases

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Covers literature, language and linguistics, folklore, film, literary theory and criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Over 6,000 journals and series, plus 1,200 book publishers, are indexed. Articles date from 1926-present.
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
Provides excerpts from criticism on literature from classical times to 1800. Our subscription includes: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400 – 1800, Shakespeare Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literature Criticism and Contemporary Literature Criticism.
Literature Online This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to over 350,000 works of American and English literature (poetry, fiction, drama, prose, and the Bible) from the 8th century to the present day. Search criticism, primary texts, author pages, and reference works.

Find Books Using MUSCAT Plus and WorldCat

MUSCAT Plus This link opens in a new window
MUSCAT Plus searches for books, journal articles, media, and more in Musselman Library and beyond.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Provides citations to books & other materials owned by over 10,000 libraries around the world (subject matter covers material from all time periods).

Organizing your research

Thinking about how to organize a large research project? You can use the following tools to help you track topics within a single article or across all of your research, helping you make connections and find gaps!

Evaluate Information Sources

Evaluating Sources

Think critically about information sources that you use. Here are a few things to consider when evaluating sources…

Who wrote it and why?

What qualifies the author(s) to write about the topic?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the purpose -- to inform / entertain / persuade / summarize / report new findings?
What is the context in which it was written?

How does it support your research question?

What do you know now that you didn’t know before reading it?
What does the source argue or demonstrate that none of your other sources do?
What questions remain or what new questions are raised when considering the information?

What makes it reliable?

What evidence did the author use to support his/her claims?
Have other people cited or referenced it?
How might someone dismiss it?
Who had to approve or review it before it could be published?

Scholarly vs. Popular Sources

For much of the research that you do at Gettysburg College, professors will request that you use scholarly articles (from peer-reviewed journals, rather than popular magazines and websites.) If you need help telling the difference, see this guide on the library website.

Borrowing Materials from Another Library

If the library doesn't have an item you want, you can request to borrow a copy from another library via our interlibrary loan service.

Articles (PDF) usually arrive within 24 hours. Books may take 4-7 days. A book chapter (PDF) may arrive in 1-2 days.

small button with the words Gett It! For articles, use the Gett It button in databases to see if we have access. If not, you will see an option to sign into Muscat Plus and submit your request.

For books and book chapters, search Muscat Plus. If you don't see what you want, click "search other libraries" and then submit your request with the "request from other libraries" link on the results page. Or, you can use the interlibrary loan form at the top of Muscat Plus.

More directions for requesting books/book chapters and journal articles are on the library website.

Citation Help

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: LB2369 .M52 2021
ISBN: 9781603293518
Publication Date: 2021-04-22
Find copies of the MLA Handbook at the Research Help Desk or in the stacks (call number: LB2369 .M52 2021)

MLA Handbook This link opens in a new window
Provides access to the online MLA Handbook for writers of research papers and anyone citing sources according to the Modern Language Association defined style guide/format. This is the ninth edition, 2021 MLA Handbook.

Online Help with MLA

An online guide to MLA citation style is also available via Purdue University's OWL website.
Using MLA Format (MLA Style Center)

For help with other styles (Chicago, APA, etc.), see the library's online citation guide.

English: ENG 299 Sircar

Research, Instruction, and Student Success Librarian

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