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ENGL 150: Memory: The Use(s) of the Past (HC): Finding Articles

English / Writing Program 150: Introduction to Literary Analysis (Sherman) Spring 2013

Creating a Search Strategy

Before conducting your search:

  • Consider how your argument might be broken down into keywords or phrases.

  • Compile a list of synonyms for those keywords.  What other terms might scholars use to talk about your topic, and how do these terms reflect the type of argument scholars are making?  (E.g., memory vs. nostalgia)  See Marvin Spevack's A Shakespeare Thesaurus for help with relevant synonyms. 

  • Consider which intersections among your keywords will be useful for searching

  • Indentify disciplines that are relevant to your research question.  Also consider the ways in which your question might reside outside traditional discplines or cut across them.

(See the Search Tips tab for additional information about creating search stategies.)
 
What to look for in your results:
 
  • Articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals or essay collections.  These articles will have been vetted by scholars with knowledge of the topic.
  • While an article's date of publication is no direct measure of its value, you should make sure that an older article's argument has not been superseded by new research or methodologies before relying on it alone.  Recent articles are also useful for their bibliographies, which have up-to-date resources on the same topic. 

Searching for Articles

Begin your search with the relevant subject-specific or multidisciplinary databases listed below and to the right. 

I would recommend starting with one of the following:

To search many journal databases at once, use Tripod Articles.  To identify subject-specific databases not listed below, use Research Guides.

Once you have found relevant resources, use the button to get full-text copies the articles.

A separate window will open with links either to a digital copy of the article, a locally available print copy, or an Article Delivery request form for ordering material not held by the tri-college libraries. To request items not held locally, simply enter your name and barcode and submit the request.

Search JSTOR

Subject-specific Databases

Search World Shakespeare Bibliography

Multidisciplinary Databases