Frankenstein Literary Salon (Siano)

Note: Review the assignment directions from Ms. Siano before you get started.

Character Biography Research

• Literature Resources from Gale

  • Authors and their works, literary movements and genres. Start here if you're working with a character.

• Biography in Context

  • Search for (real) people in reference e-books and added multimedia content.

• World History in Context

  • Great resource for additional information on historical trends, events, etc.

Scientific Background Research

• Opposing Viewpoints

  • Opinion pieces from a variety of sources on both sides of debatable issues in today's society.

• Science In Context

  • Search authoritative content from reference books, magazines, journals, multimedia, websites, and more.

• Science Online

  • Another great science database from Facts on File. You'll need the username and password from Ms. Kitsis. Then choose Science Online from the list of database options.

  • New York Times

  • The New York Times website has great information. If you hit the limit of articles that you're allowed to use for free, access it through our database subscription.

Books and e-Books

• Minuteman Library Catalog

  • Set your library location to Arlington to view materials currently available at the Robbins Library.

• Project Gutenberg

  • This site contains thousands of free e-books in the public domain.

• Internet Archive

  • The Internet Archive also has free e-books in a variety of formats, including PDF and EPUB. Download directly to your mobile device.

Citing Sources & Academic Integrity

Avoid plagiarism by giving credit where credit is due ... whenever you use ideas or information from another person, you must give them credit by citing them in the text of your paper and on a works cited page. Note that most database resources have citations in MLA format that you can copy and paste.

• • Avoiding Plagiarism (Purdue Online Writing Lab)

  • Excellent explanation of what is and is not plagiarism. Start here if you are at all confused ... or better yet, talk to your teacher or the librarian.

• Son of Citation Machine

  • Interactive citation generator for online and print sources.

  • Research and Documentation Online (Bedford/St. Martin's)

  • Detailed explanation of in-text citations and works cited entries in perfect MLA format for a wide variety of sources.

• Arlington High School Guide to Student Research Projects

  • Our very own guide to the research process.

Search Tips

Combine search terms to get results targeted to your exact topic. For example, Prometheus appears in many different literary works, from ancient mythology, to Ayn Rand, to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Add the author's name to narrow your search:

Prometheus AND Percy Bysshe Shelley

Use quotation marks to find complete phrases, especially for proper names and titles. For example:

"Ancient Mariner"

Check your spelling. If you don't find anything on your topic, sloppy spelling is often to blame!

Be a power Google searcher. When using Google, add site: to limit your search to specific domains. For example, site:.edu or site:.gov will give you results from educational or government sites.

Evaluating Websites

Use the following criteria to evaluate sources you find on the open web. It's as easy as ABC(A). Want more information? Use the Checklist for Evaluating Websites from the University of Maryland.

Authority

• • Who is the author or the person responsible for the page? Remember, anyone can create a website.

  • Is the author an expert in this field? How can you tell?

  • Is there a way to contact the author?

  • Is the website sponsored by a particular group or organization?

Bias

• • What is the purpose of the page? To teach? To sell? To persuade? To entertain? To complete a class assignment?

  • Is the site primarily subjective (opinionated), objective (factual), or mixed?

Currency

• • When was the site last updated?

  • Is the site well maintained, or are there a lot of broken links?

Accuracy

• • Where does the information come from?

  • Are there references or other works cited information?

  • Are there grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?

  • Does the information conflict with things you know to be true?