ENGL 841:STUDIES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE
7 JULY 2011
Holly Hendrigan, MATE liaison librarian at Fraser Library (Surrey)
Today’s workshop
Research metaphorsAssignmentHighlights from the ENGL 841
Course Assignment Guide MLA Bibliography “Elsewhere”
Help when you need it
Who is vaguely familiar with
English Literature research guide
With the advent of remote access from homecomputers, research has become a lot more private. Students don't see their professors doing research anymore. I used to see my own professors spread out on tables in the library, jotting notes on index cards and looking thoroughly miserable. This helped me in my own work. (168)
Professor X. In the basement of the ivory tower: confessions of an accidental academic. New York: Viking, 2011.
Research generally
Librarians purchase silos of resources
MOST silos are subject-specific (eg, English Literature, Biology, Psychology…)
MLA Bibliography
ERIC Psych Info
BIOSIS
Historical Abstracts
Silo field: Literature
Enter different silos depending on what you need
MLA Bibliography
Academic Search
Literature Online
Gale Literary Criticism Databases Combined
EEBO
Research in Canadian Literature
The English Literature silo field might not provide you with adequate secondary sources
This presentation and research guide will point out some other places to look
Fast Search
Fast Search: combines the Library catalogue with ~65% of our e-journal content
Purchased a really big silo Good for reconnaissance missions (eg
“Kootenay school”) 861 hits. But how many of them are
good? Need to check other silos
Deeper expeditions
Find appropriate databases through the ENGL 841 Course Guide
“Where can I get this?” link searches the catalogue to check whether SFU has access to the journal through a different vendor
MLA International Bibliography
Easiest, most comprehensive source of “gold standard” articles
Excellent indexing Warning:
“International” means that some content is non-English
“Comprehensive” includes dissertations, and sources not held by SFU Library
Essay research tip #1 Combine a theorist with “Canadian
Literature”
Combine a literary theory or theorist with keywords “Canadian Literature”
Tip #2: Mine bibliographies
Coats, Karen. Looking Glasses and Neverlands: Lacan, Desire and Subjectivity in Children's Literature. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2004.
Evans, Dylan. An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. New York: Routledge, 1996.
MacCannell, Juliet Flower. Figuring Lacan: Criticism and the Cultural Unconscious. New York: Routledge, 1986.
Weber, Brenda R. "Confessions of a Kindred Spirit with an Academic Bent." Making Avonlea: L.M. Montgomery and Popular Culture. Ed. Irene Gammel. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 43-57.
Cool stuff in MLA
Thesaurus/Persons as Subjects search fields
Advanced search: Eliminate dissertations and non-English articles
Folders Citation tools:
Strike out on the MLA Bibliography
Try other sources on the 841 Guide
Here come the book reviews….
Recap
English Literature research guide
ENG 841 Course Assignment guide
MLA Bibliography: Excellent, except when it’s not
Bibliography mining: don’t forget books!
Book reviews: sometimes they’re all you’ve got
Questions later!
Me: [email protected] Rebecca Dowson (English Literature
librarian) [email protected] [email protected]
Librarians are standing by… F2F @ the reference desk Txt us: 604.724.5898 Ask a Librarian