HUM 399 - The Graphic Novel: Literary Art Form

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

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.

The following are a listing of URSUS related subject headings:

Bible stories, English--N.T.--comic books, strips, etc.

Bible stories, English--O.T.--comic books, strips, etc.

Big bang theory -- comic books, strips, etc. -- juvenile Literature

Cartoons and comics

Comic books, strips, etc.

Graphic novels

Graphic novels--authorship

Graphic novels--history and criticism

Graphic novels--United States

Heroes -- Comic Books, Strips, Etc

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Poland -- Biography -- Comic Books, Strips, Etc

Palestinian Arabs -- Comic Books, Strips, Etc

Racism -- Comic Books, Strips, Etc

Research -- Comic books, strips, etc

Underground comic books, strips, etc.

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.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or Maine InfoNet you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).

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.

The art of the funnies : an aesthetic history
POR stacks  PN6710 H35 1994 

Image & narrative: online magazine of the visual narrative
Electronic Serial in URSUS catalog

Imagetext: interdisciplinary comics studies
Electronic Serial in URSUS catalog

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
To check coverage: 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
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.

Art Index
Coverage from 1985
Art Index is a bibliographic database that indexes articles about art, architecture, archaeology, crafts, design, museology, photography, television and textiles, in addition to all aspects of art including graphic, folk, and decorative, from periodicals published throughout the world.

Communication and Mass Media Complete
To check coverage: http://www.epnet.com/TitleLists/html/uf_h1.htm
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. CommSearch offers bibliographic and keyword references to 26 journals in communication studies, with coverage extending to the inaugural issue of each -- some from as far back as the early decades of the 20th century. The database also includes cover-to-cover indices of NCA’s six journals from their first editions to the present, and abstracts from their earliest appearance in NCA journals. Mass Media Articles Index provides citation coverage of over 40,000 articles related to mass media and published in over 60 research journals, as well as major journalism reviews, recent encyclopedias, and handbooks in the area of communications studies. 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.

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.

Philosopher's Index
Coverage from 1940 for U.S. references, from 1967 for foreign references
Provides indexing and abstracts from books and over 270 journals on philosophy and related interdisciplinary fields published in the U.S. and the Western World.

Sociological Abstracts
Coverage from 1974
Covers sociology and related disciplines including anthropology, criminology, demography, education, gerontology, mental health, minority studies, political science, public health, social psychology, social work, urban studies, welfare programs, and women's studies. Comprehensive and international in scope. Covers about 2,600 journals in 30 different languages from 55 different countries. Also includes books, conference papers,and doctoral dissertations.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Coverage from 1975
This database supplies citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law and public administration/policy.

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.

Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide

Comics Bibliographies

Comics Get Serious: Graphic Novel Reviews

Comics Research Bibliography

Tony's Tips

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.

Writing Handbooks

St. Martin's Handbook
POR Reference PE1112 .L86 1989
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.

Citation Styles

APA Documentation (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)

APA Style.org

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

Online: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition) (Purdue University Online Writing Lab)

Plagiarism

Plagiarism-The Do's and Don'ts: Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism (University of California-Davis)

Plagiarism Examples (Indiana University School of Education)

USM Academic Integrity Policy

Created by: Maureen Perry
Created on: 05.11.2006
Last Updated: 06.22.2006