Here are some resources for your Literature Reviews:
Link to Library Home Page
Forms for Requesting Materials
Frequently Asked Questions
Information Literacy Modules (for a refresher)
Humanities Databases:
MLA International Bibliography - Covers literature, language, linguistics and folklore. Provides citations to journal articles, single-author monographs, book chapters from multi-author works, dissertation abstracts, and book series. Produced by the Modern Language Association of America.
Education Databases:
ERIC - An online resource for educators. Contains citations and abstracts from almost 1000 education-related journals. Citations to the contents of ERIC Documents, including conference papers and curriculum suggestions. The LCSC Library has the ERIC Documents, full-text, on microfiche (after #247370).
ProQuest Education Journals - Leading full-text journals in education and related fields.
General Journal Databases:
ProQuest Central - Includes articles from over 11,000 magazines and journals. Many, but not all, provide the full-text of articles. Over 160 subjects areas are covered extensively in this product including business and economics, health and medical, news and world affairs, technology, and social sciences.
Research Library - A smaller collection of periodicals than ProQuest Central. Covers a broad range of subjects including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests.
ProQuest National Newspapers Premier - Includes a balance of national and regional newspapers chosen for their journalistic excellence and regional representation. All titles are available in full text. Papers include national titles such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post along with a selection of titles from across the U.S. such as the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Denver Post, The Sacramento Bee plus other important U.S. papers.
Paper research sources:
Humanities Index - a Paper Index, 1974-present. Covers archaeology and classical studies, area studies, folklore, history, language & literature, literary & political criticism, performing arts, philosophy, religion & theology. For articles prior to 1974, refer to International Index to Periodicals, a Paper Index, 1907-1965, or to Social Sciences & Humanities Index, a Paper Index, 1965-1974.
Biography Index - a Paper Index, 1946-Present. Guide to biographical material published in periodicals and books.
Book Review Digest - a Paper Index, 1910-Present. Includes excerpts from book reviews published in periodicals in the humanities, social sciences and general science in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
Book Review Index - a Paper Index, 1969-Present. Citations to reviews of books, periodicals, and books-on-tape.
Essay & General Literature Index - a Paper Index, 1900-Present. Guide to essays and articles published in books on the arts, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, religion, economics, education, law, political science, psychology, sociology, science.
New York Times Index - a Paper Index, 1969-Present. Subject index to the New York Times articles. Provides abstracts of the significant news, editorial matter and special features published in the newspaper, daily and Sunday.
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature - a Paper Index, 1802-1900. Guide to English language periodicals of general interest. Replaced by Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, a paper index, 1900-Present.
Women's Studies Abstracts - a Paper Index, 1983-Present. Covers women studies, psychology of women, sex roles, sexuality, family, society, violence against women, religion, philosophy & ethics, sports & physical capabilities, family planning, pregnancy, abortion, performing arts, interpersonal relations, prejudice & sex discrimination, women's liberation movement, biography. Provides abstracts of publications.
LCSC Library Catalog - provides information about the materials owned by the LCSC Library and other North Idaho Academic Libraries, including North Idaho College and the University of Idaho. Also has a link to WIN Libraries, so you can search Gonzaga, Whitworth, and VALNet Libraries.
Virtual Reference Library - Search a collection on online reference books from Gale, a respected publisher of subject-focused encyclopedias and dictionaries.
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakepeare
Encyclopedia of Literature and Science
The Greenwood encyclopedia of American poets and poetry
WorldCat - A catalog of items held at libraries throughout the world. Many of these materials can be borrowed through inter-library loan.
Washington State University Catalog - Useful if you want to know what's in their collection before driving to Pullman to use their resources on-site. Be aware that they charge us for Inter-Library Loan!
Google Books - Info from their Website: "Just do a search on Google Book Search or on Google.com. When we find a book whose content contains a match for your search terms, we'll link to it in your search results. Click a book title and you'll see, like a card catalog entry, some basic information about the book. You may also see a few snippets of text from the book showing your search term in context. If the publisher or author has given us permission through our Partner Program then you'll see a few full pages from the book and if the book is out of copyright, you'll be able to page through the entire book." Click on the "About This Book" link and look for a link called "Find This Book in a Library" to locate the nearest library holdings.
Contemporary Authors - A multi-volume series in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Contains biographical information on approximately 112,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters in the award-winning Contemporary Authors® series. Sketches typically include personal information, addresses, career history, writings, work in progress, biographical/critical sources and authors' comments and/or informative essays about their lives and work. Search the publisher's Literary Index to find the volume that has entries on your subject.
Contemporary Literary Criticism - A multi-volume series in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Covers authors who are currently active or who died after December 31, 1999. Each volume profiles approximately 6-8 novelists, poets, playwrights and other creative and nonfiction writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals. Search the publisher's Literary Index to find the volume that has entries on your subject.
Dictionary of Literary Biography - A multi-volume series in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Provides biographical information in theme-based volumes, such as American Poets Since World War II. Search the publisher's Literary Index to find the volume that has entries on your subject. (Note: The LCSC Library does not own ALL volumes in this series. Check the Library Catalog to find the call number of the volume you identify from the Gale site.)
Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism - A multi-volume series in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Provides commentary on the careers and works of acclaimed poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists and philosophers who died between 1800 and 1899. Each volume presents overviews of four to eight authors with chronologically arranged criticism representing the entire range of response to each author. Entries typically include an author portrait, an introduction to the author, a primary bibliography, annotated criticism and an annotated list of further reading sources. Search the publisher's Literary Index to find the volume that has entries on your subject.
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism - A multi-volume series in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Presents substantial excerpts from the best criticism on the major literary figures and nonfiction writers, including novelists, poets, playwrights and literary theorists, of 1900 to 1999. Each volume presents overviews of four to eight authors with chronologically arranged criticism representing the entire range of response to each author. A typical excerpt is prefaced by an annotation that explains the critic's reputation and critical philosophy and providing a synopsis of the excerpt. Search the publisher's Literary Index to find the volume that has entries on your subject.
Critical Survey of Short Fiction - A multi-volume series commonly referred to as Magill's, in the Library's Reference Collection, for library use only. Each signed author entry in the Magill Critical Surveys includes the birth and death dates of the writer, a section on the writer's achievements, a brief biographical essay, an analysis of the writer's work, a list of the writer's principal literary works, and a selected annotated bibliography of critical works. The last volume of each set usually contains essays on the principal periods, schools, or forms of literature within the genre. Each volume is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the writer. There is a combined author-title index at the end of the last volume of each set.
Critical Survey of Long Fiction - A multi-volume series commonly referred to as Magill's, in the Library's Reference Collection. Each signed author entry in the Magill Critical Surveys includes the birth and death dates of the writer, a section on the writer's achievements, a brief biographical essay, an analysis of the writer's work, a list of the writer's principal literary works, and a selected annotated bibliography of critical works. The last volume of each set usually contains essays on the principal periods, schools, or forms of literature within the genre. Each volume is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the writer. There is a combined author-title index at the end of the last volume of each set.
Critical Survey of Poetry - A multi-volume series commonly referred to as Magill's, in the Library's Reference Collection. Each signed author entry in the Magill Critical Surveys includes the birth and death dates of the writer, a section on the writer's achievements, a brief biographical essay, an analysis of the writer's work, a list of the writer's principal literary works, and a selected annotated bibliography of critical works. The last volume of each set usually contains essays on the principal periods, schools, or forms of literature within the genre. Each volume is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the writer. There is a combined author-title index at the end of the last volume of each set.
Baldwin Library of Children's Literature : Digital Collection -- A collection of 2500 fully digitized children's books published from 1850 to 1900 in the U.S. and U.K. Provided by the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida.
The Carlyle Letters Online -- A digital archive based on the Duke-Edinburgh edition of
The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle . Provided by Duke University Press.Connie Martindale Talks Books -- A collection of video podcasts of television interviews with famous authors. Provided by the Claremont Colleges Digital Library.
Geoffrey Chaucer - A site developed for Harvard University with a wide selection of material about Geoffrey Chaucer.
The Paris Review - "Including interviews about writing conducted with almost every major American writer who has published in the last 50 years, this Web site is a vital research tool for anyone interested in literature and/or creative writing." --C.A. Mohrbacher, CHOICE. Some articles are free; others must be purchased.
Poetry Archive -- "Founded in 1999 by UK poet laureate Andrew Motion and record producer Richard Carrington, this Web site is notable for its streaming audio recordings of English-language poets reading their own work.... Highly recommended." M.P. Shapiro, CHOICE.
Poets.org -- From the Academy of American Poets.
Voice of the Shuttle - A subject directory for the Humanities. Provided by the University of California Santa Barbara.
Western Writers Series Digital Editions -- Brief, authoritative introductions to writers and classic texts of the American West. Provided by Albertsons Library Special Collections and the English Department of Boise State University.
Government:
USA.gov - A search engine for government Web pages, with an emphasis on the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Another good source of statistics.
Occupational Outlook Handbook - Information on careers from the Department of Labor.
Federal Digital System - Searchable database of Web pages, with an emphasis on the Legislative Branch of the Federal Government, including Congressional bills and hearings. Provided by the Government Printing Office.
Thomas - An easy-to-search source for legislative information, provided by the Library of Congress.
I-Docs - An online collection of paper and digital resources selectively chosen from published Idaho Government Documents.
Citations:
MLA Citation Style - Guidance provided by the University of Illinois Writers' Workshop.
Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format - Guidance provided by Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
Knight Cite -- An automatic generator of citations in either MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Registering for the service allows you to save citations to generate a bibliography. A free service provided by the Hekman Library at Calvin College.
Son of Citation Machine -- An "interactive Web tool designed to assist high school, college, and university students, their teachers, and independent researchers in their effort to respect other people's intellectual properties" (from the Website).
APA Citation Style - examples of citations in APA Format for your list of References.
Research Paper Help:
Online Writing Lab - A service of the Humanities Division at LCSC, this center provides one-on-one advice from other students on improving your papers before turning them in.
Online Resources for Writers - Links to useful information from colleges and universities, covering all phases of writing academic essays. Provided by the Amherst Writing Center.
Idea Generator - organized by general subject areas. A service of the Library at Old Dominion University. You can use these simple keywords to help you generate ideas of your own for focused research paper topics.
Assignment Calculator - Based on the start date and due date for your assignment, this calculator will map out benchmarks for completing tasks leading up to the final paper. It also provides links to other pages with tips on understanding your assignment, focusing your topic, etc. It was developed by the library at the University of Minnesota, so a few of its linked resources are not available to you. But we have many similar resources available to you on this campus.
Wikipedia : Researching with Wikipedia - A page on the Wikipedia site that describes the strengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia as a source of information. It includes this statement: "In all academic institutions, Wikipedia, along with most encyclopedias, is unacceptable as a major source for a research paper."
Standardized Tests:
Test Prep Review -- Free access to sample questions from many standardized tests, such as graduate school entrance exams and certification exams.
Page Author: Barbara Barnes
Last updated: July 28, 2009
