USM Libraries: Research: Course Guides:

For further research assistance, please contact Maureen Perry (mperry@usm.maine.edu; 753-6546), Humanities Liaison at Lewiston-Auburn College Library, University of Southern Maine.

In order to find books and other background materials, you will need to consult URSUS, the University of Maine System online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

If you do not know the exact subject heading describing the topic you need, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic and then click on the subject heading links found within the relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

To obtain materials not located at your USM campus, but within URSUS, you will need to click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, always beginning with 25022....). Your barcode will first need to be activated at the Circulation Desk.

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

Creative nonfiction : researching and crafting stories of real life
POR Stacks PN145 .G427 1996

Because of the lengthy publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more information on how to find articles.

The following are some of the electronic indexing sources available to the University of Southern Maine community.

Academic Search Premier
Coverage at http://www.epnet.com/TitleLists/html/ap_h1.htm
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.

Alternative Press Index
Coverage from 1990
Indexes journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change

America: History and Life
Coverage from 1954
Index to research on the history of the United States and Canada, from prehistoric times to the present. Includes references to journal articles, books and book reviews, dissertations, and collective works.

American Humanities Index
Coverage from 1975
The American Humanities Index is a collection of bibliographic references to literary, scholarly and creative journals published in the United States and Canada. 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.

Communication and Mass Media Complete
Communication & Mass Media Complete originated as the result of the acquisition and subsequent merging of two popular databases in the fields of communication and mass media studies - CommSearch, formerly produced by the National Communication Association (NCA), and Mass Media Articles Index, formerly produced by Penn State University. In addition to the coverage available from these two databases, Communication & Mass Media Complete offers full text for over 160 titles and contains citation coverage for additional sources. In total, several hundred valuable sources are covered in the database.

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

MLA International Bibliography
Coverage from 1963
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.

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.

Breaking into Creative Nonfiction, Part 1: The Basics

Breaking into Creative Nonfiction, Part 2: Getting that First Acceptance, Assignment

Some Outlets for Creative Nonfiction

Maybe Later: a Creative Nonfiction Webzine

Verbatim Magazine

This category contains information on how to write the paper. In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in this process.

USM has a site license for Endnote, a personal reference 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 word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the Endnote Help for further information.

Bedford Handbook
POR, GOR, & LEW Reference PE1408 .H277 2006
Contains sections on the writing process, sentence construction, punctuation, doing research, and academic writing.

A Writer's Reference
LEW Reference PE1408 .H2778 2003; POR, GOR Reference PE1408 .H2778 1995
Includes sections on composing and revising, design, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, writing, and documentation.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition
POR and GOR Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001; LEW Reserve BF76.7 .P83 2001