ENG 120 - Intro to Literature

Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Writing the Paper

For further research assistance, please contact Tim Lynch tlynch@usm.maine.edu; (780-5156), Research and Instructional Services Librarian; Gorham Campus Library, University of Southern Maine.

Please use this course guide anytime you need help with your research. Also please feel free to contact the Gorham Reference Desk at (207) 780-5344 or your liaison above if you have more questions. You can also use our Ask a Librarian service.

• Keyword/Title/Author/Subject
• Basic Search Using Keywords
• Advanced Search Using Keywords
• URSUS (Our Catalog)
• Subject Headings

The key to all your library research is your USM Card. On that card is your Library Barcode beginning (2502. . .) This card will gain you access to remote databases, Interlibrary Loan, Request items from other libraries in Maine and will allow you to check-out books from the University of Maine Library system. This card should already be activated by the University of Maine System.

To start us off, lets begin by learning how to search the catalog and databases at USM:

Searching Using AND and OR: (This process can be used in most any database including journal indexes and databases)

Keyword, Title, Author, and Subject

Currently search strategies are catagorized by four types of searches: Keyword; Title; Author; and Subject. Keyword searches use "key words" from areas of the book or document record like the title and the abstract and match the exact instructions of your search (See Basic Search below). Title searches are performed by entering the exact wording of the title, While Author searches are performed by entering the last name of the author followed by a comma and the first letter or first name of the person or in the case of corporate authorship by entering the name of the entity responsible for the content of the work.

Subject searches are altogether different. A subject search (See Subject Headings Below) is an attempt to find a collection of works determined to be in the same subject area. The Library of Congress creates these Subject Headings and new works are either matched to an existing Subject Heading or new Subject Headings are created. The best way to use a Subject Heading is to find a book, using a Keyword search, (See above) that very closely fits your topic, then look to the bottom of the record for the Subject Headings that belong to that book. Using the blank subject search on its own is possible but will probably not give you the information you are looking for unless you know exactly the right Subject Headings to use.

Basic Search using Keywords

1. State your topic in one sentence. (Ex. I'm looking for information about the romantic period in English literature)
2. Separate important terms. (Ex. romantic AND english and literature)
3. Did you find enough information? If not continue. . . .
4. Add IMPORTANT synonyms and related terms that you would find in the professional literature: romantic and (english or british or world) and (literature or work or writing)
5. Truncate terms to get plural as well as singular form.
   Ex. romantic* and (engl* or brit* or world*) and (litera* or work* or writ*)

Advanced Search using Keywords (Default)

AND and OR searching can also be accomplished by filling in the search boxes using the AND connector in the Advanced search mode. Make sure and place all the OR terms (ie synonyms) together in the same box connected with the word OR. Also place the AND terms in the same box, connected with the word AND.

URSUS
In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials owned by the University of Maine system you will need to consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject). Essentially, the difference between URSUS and other databases is that URSUS searches items like books, journal titles and videos in their entirety. URSUS can show you Time Magazine and tell you the issues we have in our collection, but it cannot reach into Time magazine and show you the articles. Just as it cannot reach into a book and show you specific chapters. Other Databases called Indexes can do those things!

Subject Headings

The following is a listing of selected Subject Headings relating to ENG 120 Each Subject Heading is hotlinked directly to URSUS. Notice how they appear at the bottom of the record of each book you choose.

To obtain materials not located at USM, but within the University of Maine System, you will need to click on the black Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card). Remember, your barcode will need to be activated at the Circulation Desk usually on the first floor of our libraries. Remember also to choose a location for the item to be delivered. Items requested in this manner require 3 to 5 days for delivery.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or Maine InfoNet (A serice including the additional public and private libraries in the state of Maine) you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad). Interlibrary Loan is a service by which students can request books, articles and other items from outside the USM libraries, the state of Maine, or even outside the United States to use for their classwork or for leisure.

Unfortunately, many students are reluctant to use such a powerful service, relying instead on full-text items online. When doing assignments, it is often more advantageous to look for articles and books that narrowly define one's topic. This will result in more serious research and ultimately a better grade!

To use the Interlibrary Loan service called Illiad. First look for the Interlibrary Loan Forms and the "First Time Users" link. Read the information and continue to follow these links until you reach a screen that requires you to input your personal information. It is on this screen that you will choose a Username and Password that will allow you to quickly access your Interlibrary Loan service, minimizing the time and effort to make requests and, if you have an article, allowing you to get that article right from your screen!!

Because they are mailed, books requested by Interlibrary Loan may take a week to 10 days to arrive. Articles requested by interlibrary loan usually arrive in under 3 days!

Off-Campus (remote) connection to databases: Use your name and library barcode number (2502. . . . ) available from your student ID to access Indexes and databases from home. Indexes and Databases that can be accessed remotely will have a small yellow "remote access" icon next to the Index or database. If you are having trouble, try using the state funded Marvel Databases. Enter personal information including ZIP Code.

Reference sources are useful tools to obtain background information and to develop a vocabulary of possible search terms. The following items are selected resources available within the University of Southern Maine system.

American Writers
GOR and POR and LEW Reference PS 129 .A55

British Writers
GOR and POR and LEW Reference PR 19 .B68 1997

Concise Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory
GOR and POR Reference PN 44.5 H365 1994

Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs
POR Reference PN43 .D48 1988

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century
GOR and POR Reference PN771 .E5 1981

The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
LEW and POR Reference PN81 .J64 1994

Language of Contemporary Criticism Clarified
GOR Reference PN 81 .H66 1999

Literary Terms: A Dictionary
GOR Reference PN 44.5 .B334 1989

Motion Picture Guide
GOR Reference PN 1995 .M67 1985

Oxford Companion to American Literature
GOR and POR Reference PS 21 .H3 1995

Oxford Companion to English Literature
GOR and POR and LEW Reference PR 19 .D73

Academic Search Premier
Provides full text for nearly 4,000 scholarly publications of which 3,100 are peer reviewed. Academic areas of study include: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.

American Humanities Index
The American Humanities Index is a collection of bibliographic references to literary, scholarly and creative journals published in the United States and Canada. Produced by Whitston Publishing, this database covers over 700 journals published from 1975 to the present, many of which cannot be found in other reference works. All journals included in the American Humanities Index are indexed in their entirety (cover to cover). This database provides citation information for articles, essays and reviews, as well as original creative works including poems and fiction. Photographs, paintings and illustrations are also referenced.

Book Review Digest
Gor. Reference Z 1219 .C96

Book Review Index
Gor. Reference Z1035 .A1 B6

Contemporary Authors (regular and new revised version)
Gor. Reference Z 1224 .C6(15)

Gale Literature Databases
Includes: Twayne's Authors Series - Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Scribner's Writers Series.

Film Review Index (1882-1985) [2 vols]
Gor. Reference PN 1995 .F467 1986

LION (Literature Online)
A fully searchable library of over 300,000 works of English and American literature, published by Chadwyck-Healy.

Literature Resource Center
Includes: Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Scribner's Writers Series, and Twayne's Authors Series.

MasterFILE Premier
MasterFILE Premier provides full text for over 1,830 general reference, business, consumer health, general science, and multi-cultural periodicals. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,800 periodicals. Full text backfiles go as far back as January of 1990, while indexing and abstract backfiles go as far back as January of 1984. This database is updated daily on EBSCOhost.

MLA International Bibliography
Index to scholarly research in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Indexes articles from more than 3,500 journals and series. Also includes monographs, working papers, proceedings, and bibliographies. Updated 10 times / year.

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature (1900-1995 then continued by Academic Search Premier)
Gor. Reference AI 3 .R48

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

Department of English University of Michigan--Resources for Readers and Writers
Comprehensive collection of writing, language and literature resources

Luminarium
Medieval, Renaissance and 17th Century information

Project Gutenberg
Digitized texts online

Voice of the Shuttle
Excellent resource of information from the University of California, Santa Barbara

USM has a site license for EndNote, a personal citation database program. The main functions of this program include maintenance of a database of references, downloading references from other databases, using the database to link to references in a word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the EndNote Help for further information.

Writing Handbooks

Bedford Handbook, 7th Edition (Hacker)
Gor. Reference PE 1408 .H277 2006
companion web site

A Writer's Reference, 5th Edition
Por. and Gor. Reference PE1408 .H2778 2003
Includes sections on composing and revising, design, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, writing, and documentation. The Student Companion web site includes online help.

Citation Style

Citing Sources (MLA) (Indiana University)

MLA (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition
POR Reference LB2369 .G53 2003

Online! A Reference Guide Using Internet Resources

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format (Purdue University Online Writing Center)

Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism (University of California-Davis)

How to Recognize Plagiarism (Indiana University School of Education)

Created by: Tim Lynch
Created on: 03.06.2006
Last Updated: 03.20.2006