ENGL 8000: Bibliography, Research Methods, and Literary Theory: First steps

The Library has both online access and the complete print edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Bibliographical cards: Look up every item in the Library Catalog by author or title to verify the call number and location. Can't find it? Search by keyword or search all University System of Georgia catalogs using the drop-down menu to the right of the catalog search box. Still can't find what you need?Search WorldCat, a catalog of world-wide library holdings.

Textual scholarship: Look for annotated editions of a work in the Library Catalog by using the keyword search. Ex. 'jane austen' AND 'text'. Also search databases, such as MLA International Bibliography for 'jane austen' AND 'texts' or another word, such as 'editions' or 'editing'.

Journals:  Find journals by selecting Journal Title from the drop-down menu in the Library Catalog Advanced Search, or by choosing Journals  from the drop-down menu on the Library homepage. If you need editorial information for a journal, use the MLA Directory found in MLA International Bibliography or Ulrich'sweb.

Research Strategy: Here is an example of how to approach research.

• Consult Harner's Literary Research Guide for important reference works.
• Look for sources that provide the current state of research, such as Years Work in English Studies, or sources that provide an overview such as the Oxford, Cambridge, or Blackwell guides and companions.
• Find more specific sources, such as books and journal articles.

The following is an actual research question from an English PhD. student:

What were the key Victorian periodicals?

After interviewing the student, I discovered she was interested in the poetry of Gerard Manly Hopkins and the possible influence of poetry on popular culture at the time, so she wanted to find out about periodicals published during Hopkins's productive periods.

Here are the steps I took:

Sources to Search

• Look in Harner in the 19th century British section for reference works on Victorian studies. Use British Literary Magazines  Ref. PN5124.L6 B74 1983  to find out more about Victorian periodicals.
• Search the Library Catalog for  'victorian AND periodicals'. Other possible searches are 'religion AND victorian'; 'popular culture AND religion AND 19th century;' or 'victorian poetry.'  Promising works are Victorian Periodicals and Victorian Society and A Companion to Victorian Poetry PR591 .C66 2002.
• Look up Hopkins in the print Dictionary of Literary Biography. Also consult other literature databases and religion databases for articles. See the Library's complete List of Databases for other subject areas.
• Use online databases and print sources to find primary and secondary sources: Harper's Weekly, Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals Ref. AI3 .H6 (print); MLA International Bibliography ; New York Times, 1851--2012; Project Muse; JSTOR; Literature Criticism Online; American Periodicals; and Google Scholar.