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Mastering Literary Research: Essential Database Tools and Search Techniques

Discover how to enhance your literary research skills with essential databases and effective searching techniques. This refresher covers valuable resources like Oxford Reference, EBSCO databases, and more, providing insights into obtaining background information on works. Learn advanced search strategies, including Boolean operators, truncation, and field-specific searches, to refine your research results. Whether you're studying classic texts like Oedipus or exploring the literary aspects of the Bible, these tips will elevate your understanding and appreciation of literature.

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Mastering Literary Research: Essential Database Tools and Search Techniques

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Research: A refresher

  2. Databases of interest • Oxford Reference & • Literary Reference Center (EBSCO database) • Good general sources to learn background information about a work. • Humanities International Complete & • MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO databases) • Specific literary source for articles. • NetLibrary

  3. Boolean Searching When using NOT in a search term might be useful: Oedipus NOT (complex or psych*)

  4. Other searching tricks • Quotes “ “ : search as whole phrase e.g. “United States” • Parentheses ( ): • searching several synonyms? • (mythology or fable or “fairy tale”) and children • Feeling algebraic? • Using parentheses will tell database to search those terms first • (sophocles or euripides) and theater

  5. Truncation • Getting to the root of the problem • unknown characters, multiple spellings or various endings. • Truncation * • Theat* returns results for theater, theatre, theatrical, etc. • Playing our cards right • Wildcard: ? • replace each unknown character with a ? • isl? Will find isle and isla

  6. Other ways to limit your search Full-text results only Scholarly or peer-reviewed journals only Limit by date or range of dates Limit by language

  7. Field Searching • You can search in a specific field • Su = subject • Au = author • Ti = title • Ab = abstract • So = journal name • Tx = all text • The DEFAULT search will search all text.

  8. suchaucer and tx church

  9. Can’t remember all the search techniques? Look for Help or Tips links on any database.

  10. Writing about the Bible in a literature class The Bible is an anthology of literary and expository writing Reading parts of the Bible as literature helps us to understand and appreciate the aesthetics The Bible is religious literature

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