ENGL 695 - Topics in Literature
Library Research Guide
and follow the links to access the article.Welcome!
Welcome to the Libraries' ENGL 695 Class Guide! This guide is designed to help you learn how to use K-State Libraries' resources to locate peer-reviewed and other materials related to your research. If this guide does not have the information you are looking for, Ask A Librarian for help any time during the Libraries' service hours.
Because ENGL 695 is a topics course, look for the tab matching your class name.
Use the English Research Guide box below for links to and information about general English literature resources.
English Research Guide
Quickly start your research by clicking on the links below.
Tools and Key Resources
Find Books
- WorldCatSimultaneous users: 25 Paid for by K-State Libraries
Provides information about books, serials, videos, and other items cataloged by libraries around the world, including K-State. Each of the more than 57 million records contains information regarding which libraries hold the item. Items not available through K-State Libraries can be requested via Interlibrary Loan by clicking on the Get It button. - WorldCat DiscoveryPaid for by K-State Libraries
Provides information about books, serials, videos, and other items cataloged by libraries around the world, including K-State. Editions and formats will be grouped together, not listed separately as in FirstSearch/Worldcat. Discovery processes searches similarly to Search It and may find additional resources beyond a FirstSearch/Worldcat search.
Find Academic Articles
- ProQuest CentralPaid for by K-State Libraries
ProQuest Central brings together many of the most used ProQuest databases. It provides access to databases across all major subject areas (business, health and medical, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, science and technology, and religion). It includes full-text scholarly journals, trade and professional titles, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, case studies, and market reports. With our Ebook Central subscription (especially access to Academic Complete and Academic Video Online) users can now search in a comprehensive way that connects text and video. - JSTORPaid for by K-State Libraries
A full-text collection of more than 550 core journals ranging from history to business to literature to science and mathematics. Coverage begins with the first issue of a title, but the most recent three to five years of each title are usually not available. The full article text is searchable.
Find Background Information
- Literary Reference CenterPaid for by K-State Libraries
Offers full-text reference resources geared primarily toward undergraduate students. In addition to critical reviews of literature and encyclopedias, the Literary Reference Center also provides biographies, book reviews, author interviews, synopses and work overviews, literary journals, classic novels, and classic and contemporary short stories and poems. - Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & CriticismPaid for by K-State Libraries
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is a comprehensive work for literature study. It is comprised of nearly 300 entries on subjects pertaining to critics and theorists, important figures, schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific historical periods.
Find Cultural Context
- Diversity Database SuitePaid for by K-State Libraries
Provides a combined search for Ethnic NewsWatch and Ethnic NewsWatch History which feature newspapers, magazines, and journals from ethnic and minority presses; GenderWatch which features historical and current perspectives of gender roles; and Alt-PressWatch which showcases some of the nation’s most respected and cited grassroots publications. Searches can be narrowed to peer-reviewed publications. - America: History & LifePublication Dates Covered: 1964 - present Simultaneous users: 6 Paid for by K-State Libraries
Indexes and abstracts for approximately 1,800 journals in the field of United States and Canadian history. Full-text coverage for more than 280 journals and more than 80 books. Contains citations and links to book and media reviews. Can search by time period.
Citations & Bibliographies
Researching Critically
Effective research requires that you critically evaluate your sources and how you search for information.
Evaluate your sources
Read or examine multiple sources. Explore a topic from different perspectives by locating more than one source on your topic. Seek variety in terms of:
- concepts explored (fantasy, children's literature, religion)
- disciplines (literature, philosophy, cultural studies)
- author's gender, race/ethnicity, etc
Follow the references. Does your source cite references or otherwise indicate where they got their information? If not, why not? If yes, read some of those sources so that you can evaluate their information.
Note: Sources may disagree with each other. This is okay; that disagreement helps us understand a topic. Be concerned when a source is discredited, particularly when the facts presented are disproved or the research process is questioned.
Check your assumptions
Your search terms may bias your search results. Some terms assume an outcome; use of these terms may result in only locating articles that agree with that outcome. These terms include:
- support
- benefit
- harm
- improves
- prevents
If you must use a search term that indicates an outcome or relationship, try:
- impact
- influence
- affect
- effect
Change your search method to change your search results. Increase your search results by:
- searching in several databases
- following the citation trail — what works did the author cite; what works cite this article
- searching for different formats: books, journal articles, dissertations
Identify the scholarly conversation(s). The sources you locate are part of a conversation among researchers and scholars in an effort to better understand writing center practices and theories. Identifying a conversation helps determine what has already been written about a topic and if there are known gaps in our knowledge. The conversation may entail:
- best practices
- research methods
- theoretical approaches
Look at how your topic is discussed by other researchers, what language they use to describe it, what experts they reference, what topics they consider related to your topic. Try new searches using these concepts.
