Finding Articles

Use our Literature research databases to find articles about your poet or poem. Much of what you will find is full-text. No need to come to the library to find a copy!

Try:

1. Literary Reference Center
   (On Campus Link | Off Campus Link) or
   
   
2. Literature Resource Center (On & Off Campus Link)

Use Keyword searching like you see in the Finding Books example. However, to narrow your search further, try adding in concepts or terms from your topic.

For example: Othello and race

Be sure to connect your terms with AND or OR for best results! Catalogs and databases are very literal creatures. They look for things in the exact order you type them, and you will need to use AND or OR to tell them to find those words separately.

Finding Books

Use Tri-C's online catalog or OhioLINK's online catalog to find books about your topic.  For example, if your topic is societal sterotypes of african american men, try:

• a Keyword search for:  african american men and stereotypes
  
  This will retrieve books that contain the words "african american men" and "stereotypes".   Please note that the books may or may not be *about* stereotypes and african american men.  It just could be that the record contained those words for another reason.
• Use a Subject search to search for books written *about* Othello

1. Use a Subject search to search for books written *about* William Shakespeare and his works

Books may be requested from other campuses or university libraries free of charge. Use the request button or link. You will need your name, S number, and college.

Materials take 2-5 days to arrive, depending where in the state it is coming from. Pick them up at the 3rd floor circulation desk. Check your Library Account to see if they have arrived or call first (216-987-4292) before making a trip.

Cite Your Stuff!

You need to cite the information you found for several reasons.

1. You are using the intellectual property of others, and you need to give credit where credit is due for other people's words and ideas.
   
   
2. It lends credibility to your paper by demonstrating you researched your topic.
   
   
3. If people are interested in reading more about your topic, they can use your Works Cited page to find the sources you used.

Your Thomson Handbook contains a section on formatting books, articles and other material in the MLA citation style. Metro Campus also has the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, a *fascinating* 292 page read on citing just about anything.

Online examples of MLA citation style can be found by doing a Web search for: MLA citation style

For those that prefer more assistance, try using the Son of Citation Machine website to format your citations for you. Copy and paste the result into your paper.

Or, as you are searching in Literary Reference Center, use the FIND IT button to format your article citation for you. Alternatively, email the article to yourself with the MLA citation. Copy and paste into your document!

Citing Literature Criticism

Entries in Shakespearean Criticism contain excerpts from articles and books. Therefore, what your citation will look like will depend on where material you cite was originally published: in a book or in an article. Check the beginning or the end of the excerpt you cite for source information.

To cite an excerpt from an article in Shakespearean Criticism, use the following format:

Malmgren, Carl D. "On the Road Reconsidered: Kerouac and the
      Modernist Tradition." Ball State University Forum 30 (1989):
      59-67. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Linda Pavloski and Scott
      Darga. Vol. 117. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 204-9.

To cite an excerpt from a book in Shakespearean Criticism, use the following format:

Freibert, Lucy M. "Control and Creativity: The Politics of Risk
     in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale." Critical Essays
     on Margaret Atwood. Ed. Judith McCombs and G. K. Hall, 1988.
     280-91. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W.
     Hunter, et al. Vol. 135. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 13-18.

In both cases, you begin with the original source citation followed by the citation for Shakespearean Criticism.