Waidner--Spahr Library
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English Pathfinder: General Resources
The following lists of resources are multi-disciplinary
materials that cover many subjects. For more information
on researching related areas of the study of literature,
such as history, music, art, religion, and politics, contact
your librarian, Chris
Bombaro.
During the course of your research, you are likely to encounter problems. Some of the tools available for your use in the library may be difficult to use. Some may be difficult to find. Some databases or indexes may have titles that seem as though they may not be useful to you, when in fact they are. Please check with your librarian at various stages of your research. Librarians can help you decide if you you are using the right tools for your project, if you are search effectively, and they can help you locate useful materials you may not have known about. Please make use of your librarians - your most valuable resource in the library!
These lists are not exhaustive. You should utilize the library catalog and database list for more information.
An index is the tool to use when you are looking for scholarly articles. Indexes may take the form of printed books, which are usually arranged alphabetically by subject; or electronic databases, which can be searched in a variety of ways (by keyword or author, for example).
Regardless of format, all indexes provide you with the complete bibliographic citation of each article, including the title of the article, the author of the article, and the name, volume number, and pages of the journal in which the article can be found. Many indexes will also include an abstract, or short summary of the articles; and some of the computer indexes will provide the complete text of the article on-line.
Some indexes are for general purpose research and others are highly specialized. ProQuest and Humanities Abstracts are examples of indexes that cover history and many other subjects in which Dickinson College offers a major. These databases are good to use when you are beginning your research and need to familiarize yourself with your subject and the experts in your topic area. The MLA International Bibliography is a specialized index that focuses exclusively on the study of literature.
Although on-line databases may seem easier and faster to use than printed resources, you cannot rely exclusively on digital media and expect to have conprehensively researched your topic. On-line databases generally cover articles published since the 1980s. For research that extends further back, for primary resources, and for journals and other materials that may not be accessible on-line, you need to use printed resources.
The Dickinson College Library does not own every journal article covered in every index. You may have to use Interlibrary Loan to obtain an article.
For tips on how to effectively search databases, and how to find journals that are not available on-line, contact your librarian, or consult How to Find Materials on English in the Waidner-Spahr Library.
Some important general-use databases are listed below. They will help you become familiar with the major areas of your research project and will help you begin to build a bibliography. You will learn when to use other databases as you continue to explore this website.
MLA
International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
The premier scholarly index for literature, language,
linguistics, and folklore.
Biography
and Genealogy Master Index
Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) is the best place
to begin a search for information about people. It is an index
of reference sources containing biographical information on
individuals, both living and deceased, from every field of
activity and from all areas of the world. This index is not
full-text, but Dickinson College owns many of the materials
referenced in the database. A librarian can help you locate
any materials you are having trouble locating.
Essay
and General Literature Index
Indexes chapters and essays contained in books of collected
works.
Humanities Full Text
Covers journal articles in the humanities, archaeology, art, classics, film, folklore, history, journalism and communications, linguistics, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, and religion.This database is a good starting point for research in literature, and may also help you place your topic in social, political, and cultural contexts.
Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective
A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language
periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary
fields covered in a broad array of humanities and social sciences
journals.
JSTOR
An interdisciplinary archive of over 600 journals in the arts,
humanities, and social sciences.
Literary
Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature
products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors,
Contemporary Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.
Literature Criticism Online
This index includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400-1800, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, as well as Drama Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, and Short Story Criticism. These series represent a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres.
Lexis-Nexis
Lexis Nexis will provide you with full-text from newspapers
around the world, for up to the past ten years.
Project Muse
Project Muse covers numerous subject fields in the humanities,
the social sciences, and the arts, including history. Journals
covered by Project Muse are scholarly and peer-reviewed, published
by a not-for-profit press or scholarly society, and be a sensible
fit with titles in the humanities, the social sciences and
the arts.
Reader's
Guide Full Text
This index will help you find articles in popular newsstand
publications, such as Time and Newsweek.
WorldCat
A catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.
You can use this database to find out what libraries own material
you might need.
An encyclopedia is a general information source, usually a book or a series of books, that provides basic overview articles on various branches of knowledge. Encyclopedias may be general or subject-specific and are usually arranged in alphabetical order by subject.
The information in encyclopedias may be supplied in short paragraphs or in lengthy articles that include citations to other works on the same topic. Therefore, an encyclopedia is an excellent place to begin research on your topic. An encyclopedia article will help you gain general knowledge about your topic, supply you with important keywords relating to the topic, and will often provide you with citations to important primary and secondary works on the topic.
General:
The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical
Literature
REF PA31 .H69 1993
Encyclopedia of American Literature
REF PS21 .E53 2003
Encyclopedia of the Novel
REF PN41 .E487 1998
The Penguin Companion to Literature
REF PN41 .P44 1969
Dictionary of World Literature
REF PN41 .S5 1953 1960
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable
REF PN43 .B65 1995
Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs
REF PN43 .D48 1988
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions
REF PN43 .W384 1999
Encyclopedia of Traditional Epics
REF PN56 .E65 E64 1994
Dictionary of Real People and Places in
Fiction
REF PN56.4 .R56 1993
Twentieth-Century Literary Movements Dictionary
REF PN597 .T94 2000
The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film
REF PN1997.85 .T54 1998
Dictionary of English Literature
REF PR19 .A38 1966
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English
REF PR85 .C29 1993
Cambridge Guide to Fiction in English
REF PR821 .O97 1998
The Oxford Companion to American Literature
REF PS21 .H3 1995
Characters in Literature:
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters
REF PN44 .M3 1998
Larousse Dictionary of Literary Characters
REF PR19 .L37 1994
Dictionary of Fictional Characters
REF PN56.4 .S49 1992
Literary Terminology:
The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary
Theory
REF PN41 .C83 1999
A Glossary of Literary Terms
REF PN41 .A184 1988
Print:
World Authors, 1900 - 1950
REF PN451. W674 1996
World Authors, 1950 - 1970
REF PN451. W3
World Authors, 1975 - 1980
REF PN451. W672 1985
World Authors, 1980 - 1985
REF PN451. W672 1990
World Authors, 1985 - 1990
REF PN451. W673 1995
Who Was Who in Literature, 1906-1934
REF PR106 .W5 1979
Electronic:
A database that includes biographic details on approximately 100,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters. Featured are current writers, the most-studied literary figures of the early 20th Century and authors from around the world whose works have been translated into English or published in the United States. Included are the author's writings, media adaptations, works in progress sidelights and interviews.
Dictionary
of National Biography
Biographies of people who shaped the British Isles.
Biography
and Genealogy Master Index
Biography and Genealogy Master Index is the first place you
should look when seeking biographical information on any living
or deceased person worldwide. It is an electronic index to
over 13 million biographical entries in 3,400+ biographical
reference works.
Print:
Masterplots: Plot Stories and Critical Evaluations
of the World's Finest Literature
REF PN44. M33 1996
World Literature Since 1945
REF PN771. I9
Electronic:
Literary
Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature
products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors,
Contemporary Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.
Literature Criticism Online
This index includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400-1800, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, as well as Drama Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, and Short Story Criticism. These series represent a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres.