Embedded Files
To search for Lit Crit in our school library, go to the Destiny Homepage. You can do a basic search (if it's super broad, or a relatively-easy one), or you can do an advanced search to find hard-copy texts in the library. Here is a video I made to walk you through how to do this!
Boolean Search
A Boolean search is a type of search allowing users to combine keywords with operators (or modifiers) such as AND, NOT and OR to further produce more relevant results.
For example, a Boolean search could be "hotel" AND "New York". This would limit the search results to only those documents containing the two keywords. For a great reference on a way to search BETTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY, use this link
Google Scholar: The difference between Google and Google Scholar is that Google Scholar focuses on the scholarly literature available on the Internet. Resources in a regular Google search do not have to be scholarly, and do not have to be based on research.
You can also create your own personalized Google Scholar Library. Just find an article you are interested in and click on the star icon underneath the article. You can create folders, save articles in them, and then access them later by clicking on the My Library link on the top right.
You can also create your own personalized Google Scholar Library. Just find an article you are interested in and click on the star icon underneath the article. You can create folders, save articles in them, and then access them later by clicking on the My Library link on the top right.
For log in and password information, please ask Mrs. Caldwell, or click HERE (only accessible to logged in Wayne Hills students and faculty). I created tutorial videos for using all these sources. To view them, go to our HOW TO page.
For log in and password information, please ask Mrs. Caldwell, or click HERE (only accessible to logged in Wayne Hills students and faculty). I created tutorial videos for using all these sources. To view them, go to our HOW TO page.
For finding information about an author:
For finding information about an author:
Biography Reference Center (Ebsco): Provides thousands of reliable full-text biographies, including the complete full text of Biography Today and Biography, plus narrative biographies not available in other databases. In addition to keyword search, users can locate biographies by subject occupation, nationality, activity, gender, lifespan and more.Go to Bio Reference Center (Ebsco), login, then select “Bio Reference Center”
To learn about the time period your book takes place in, or when it was written:
Daily Life Through History: Provides info on all aspects of daily life from antiquity through the present day from reference works, monographs, and primary documents. Search by era, region, or subject. Colonial and Native American and other ethnic cultures are featured. Weblinks to multimedia sites, video, and audio files are available. Go to ABC-Clio Social Studies Databases and then click on Daily Life * For Contemporary issues, once in Daily Life, select “A New Millennium, 1991-present”To learn about the time period your book takes place in, or when it was written:
Pop Culture ABC CLIO: Digital library of information on American and World movies, television, radio, music, sports, fads, fashions, and foods from the 1920’s to the present (with options to search by era). Weblinks to other reliable sites also are available on this site.
If your book deals with controversial issues:
Issues and Controversies Points of View (Ebsco): Information on controversial issues, including overviews of the topic, and links to magazine and academic journal articles. Go to Points of View (Ebsco), login, then select “Points of View”- there is also a whole section under “Labor & Economics”If your book deals with controversial issues:
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (Gale): An online database featuring reprinted articles from books, magazine articles, and websites with comprehensive information on social issues arguing both sides pro and con. Audio files are included. Type in your search term, and you will get several results of articles relating to your topic.
For Literary Criticism:
Bloom’s Literature (Infobase): Offers a comprehensive resource for the study of literature. Edited and curated by Yale University professor Harold Bloom, this database includes thousands of critical essays and discussion questions, plus author biographies and character analyses, full-length poems, the full text of hundreds of reference books, full-length videos of classic plays and films, and more.For Literary Criticism:
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL): An ebook collection of over 300 reference resources in all subject areas including the arts, biography, business, education, environment, history, law, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, nation and world, religion, science, and social science. The articles are reproduced exactly as the print edition.
JSTOR - Database of Academic Journals: A collection of journals and ebooks on a variety of topics. Searchable by subject, title, publisher, or via libguides.
Lit. Crit. Ebooks - GaleLog into Gale, then scroll down and click on the “view all” button next to Literature. Students can select an ebook for their research, and then search it using the index or table of contents. These are full textbook-style books. Students also have the option to listen to the content via the “Listen” button at the top of each page, and can print out selections as well.
Lit. Crit. Ebooks - Infobase- Literary criticism and commentary, as well as companion guides for certain books and authors. *ESL: There is a Google Translate option at the bottom of the opening page that allows users to translate the instructions and options into another language (the text of the ebooks is still all in English).
Lit. Crit. Ebooks - Salem Press Offers critical approaches, and critical insight into select themes, authors, and works, as well as Cyclopedias of Literary Characters & Places and an introduction to literary context. It also has a “History” section that includes information on decades (click on one, and you can see everything from the Academy Awards to fashion to environmental issues to people).
Literary Resource Center Database (EBSCO): Literary Reference Center is a rich full-text literary database covering all genres and timeframes. It includes thousands of synopses, critical essays, book reviews, literary journals and author biographies, plus full-text classic novels, short stories and poems. Content Includes:More than 100,000 classic and contemporary poems, 28,000 classic and contemporary short stories, 8,000 classic novels, 36,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, 77,000 articles/essays of literary criticism, 250,000 author biographies, 10,000 author interviews, 370 full-text literary journals, and over 1 million book reviews.*Log into Ebsco, then scroll down to Literary Reference Center
What is Literary Theory: Offers an overview about what Literary Theory is, as well as insights into popular lit theories such as: Traditional Literary Criticism , Formalism and New Criticism , Marxism and Critical Theory , Structuralism and Poststructuralism, New Historicism and Cultural Materialism , Ethnic Studies and Postcolonial Criticism , Gender Studies and Queer Theory , and Cultural Studies.
CITING YOUR SOURCES:
There are a lot of websites on the internet (anyone can make a website!), and many of them are based on people's opinions, outdated data, or questionable information. It is important to be able to tell these apart from reliable sources that are current, authoritative, and accurate. In order to do this, you can apply the C.R.A.P. test for evaluating resources, which was developed by Molly Beestrum, and is used by educators and students. The link below to Evaluating Websites is to a website that delves into the specifics of how to evaluate a resource, and be sure it is something that you want to use in your research.
Evaluating WebsitesThis website, part of Colorado Community Colleges Online, explains how to evaluate websites using the C.R.A.P. test. Comprehensive and easy to understand, it's an excellent resource for teaching students to evaluate websites.
One of the most important things when writing a report or researching is to give credit to your sources. This is called CITING your sources, and the links below will help you to do that properly. PLAGIARISM is when you copy an idea or quote and do not give credit, so it is important to cite not only quotes, but paraphrased ideas as well. You can use the links below to help you ensure that you are giving credit properly and effectively.
Citing Sources with Easy BibEasy Bib has resources to check your citations, as well as information on how to properly cite in MLA and APA format.Citing in MLA FormatEverything you need to know to cite in MLA formatCiting in APA formatEverything you need to know to cite in APA format
There are a lot of websites on the internet (anyone can make a website!), and many of them are based on people's opinions, outdated data, or questionable information. It is important to be able to tell these apart from reliable sources that are current, authoritative, and accurate. In order to do this, you can apply the C.R.A.P. test for evaluating resources, which was developed by Molly Beestrum, and is used by educators and students. Evaluating Websites is a website that delves into the specifics of how to evaluate a resource, and be sure it is something that you want to use in your research.
This website, part of Colorado Community Colleges Online, explains how to evaluate websites using the C.R.A.P. test. Comprehensive and easy to understand, it's an excellent resource for teaching students to evaluate websites.
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