Transcript Introduction to Research Methods in Literary Studies

INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY
RESOURCES AND RESEARCH METHODS
IN LITERARY STUDIES
French 2601
Winter 2014
Jeff Lilburn
TODAY’S CLASS
 Types of references needed for your recherche
bibilographique
 Library Resources
How to find the references you need for your assignment
 Research Strategies
How to make the best use of library resources & search
tips!
TYPES OF REFERENCES
A Scholarly Monograph (un livre critique générale)
- e.g.: a book about the novels of Annie Ernaux.
A First Edition (la première édition du livre choisi)
- e.g.: the first published edition of Albert Camus’ novel La Peste.
Three Scholarly Journal Articles or Book Chapters or Books
(articles ou chapitres de livres ou livres critiques) that discuss a
specific subject associated with your book
- an article about the depiction of artists in Amélie Nothomb’s
Robert des noms propres published in the journal French Studies;
- a chapter about Marcel Proust’s narrative technique in the book,
The Cambridge Companion to Proust.
LIBRARY RESOURCES
To search for books:
- MtA Library Catalogue, Other Library Catalogues, WorldCat
To search for articles (and books, book chapters):
- Library Databases and Print Indexes
 such as: MLA Database, French XX
To search for information about an author or book (such as the
date of a first edition)
- Reference books
 such as: Dictionnaire des écrivains de langues française; Dictionnaire littéraire des femmes de
langues française…
HOW TO FIND BOOKS
HOW TO FIND BOOKS
Mount Allison Library Catalogue
Also:
Certain library databases and print indexes (MLA, French XX)
Other university library catalogues, WorldCat
Other books (scan the bibliographies of books you’ve already found)
Browsing library shelves
FINDING BOOKS
FINDING BOOKS
FINDING BOOKS
FINDING BOOKS
Library of Congress
Subject Headings
FINDING BOOKS
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
You cannot search for article in the Library
Catalogue…
FINDING ARTICLES
To search for articles: Use library databases & print indexes
These databases and print sources serve as indexes to
articles published in scholarly journals (and, in some cases, to
books and book chapters)
FINDING ARTICLES
Examples of library databases for French literary
studies:
MLA International Bibliography (aka, the MLA
Database), Repère, Erudit
also: JSTOR, Project Muse, CBCA, and more
Examples of print indexes:
French XX, Bibliographie d'histoire littéraire
française
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
Search Tip:
Truncation Symbol
* in most other library databases
$ in the Library Catalogue
Example: ameri* will find:
america, american, americans,
americana, americain, americaine,
americaines, etc.
FINDING ARTICLES
Sort by relevance?
Relevance according to who?
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
MtA Libraries Journal Finder
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES
FINDING ARTICLES: QUICK RECAP
To find out if an article is available at our library once you have a
citation:
 Use the Library Catalogue and/or Journal Finder to search for the
title of the journal (not title of the article).
Sample citation for a journal article:
Oscherwitz, Danya. “Once Upon a Time that Never Was: Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain.” The French Review 84.1
(2011): 504-15.
FINDING ARTICLES: QUICK RECAP
To find out if an article is available at our library once you have a
citation:
 Use the Library Catalogue and/or Journal Finder to search for the
title of the journal (not title of the article).
Sample citation for a journal article:
Oscherwitz, Danya. “Once Upon a Time that Never Was: Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain.” The French Review 84.1
(2011): 504-15.
TO FIND OUT IF THE LIBRARY HAS A
PARTICULAR JOURNAL
TO FIND OUT IF THE LIBRARY HAS A
PARTICULAR JOURNAL
TO FIND OUT IF THE LIBRARY HAS A
PARTICULAR JOURNAL
TO FIND OUT IF THE LIBRARY HAS A
PARTICULAR JOURNAL
TO FIND OUT IF THE LIBRARY HAS A
PARTICULAR JOURNAL
SEARCH STRATEGIES
Searching for French-language books and
articles
 Use French search terms (keywords)
 Limit your search to French-language material
 Search databases with French-language content
(such as Erudit, Repère, etc.)
PRINT INDEXES
Serve the same purpose as online databases: an
index to published literature in a particular field of
study (eg. French-language literature)
Usually appear annually – one volume represents
one (and only one) year’s worth of publications (i.e.
volumes are not cumulative)
To search for articles published in the last five years,
you would have to consult five volumes
PRINT INDEXES
Organized alphabetically by author: to find articles
about Michel Tremblay, look up Tremblay
Under the author’s name will appear a list of articles,
books or book chapters about that author’s works.
Check the list to see if any are about your novel and
about the specific subject(s) you’ve been assigned.
PRINT INDEXES
Each entry (reference) will have an entry number
(numéro de l’entrée).
These numbers identify each item within the index and
are used for cross-references.
Your assignment asks you to provide the entry
number for references you find in print indexes.
KEYWORD SELECTION
A search for “canadian plays” will retrieve different results than a
search for “theatre and canada.”
 “Canadian plays” = 77 items
 “theatre and Canada” = 239 items
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample essay topic:
Discuss the depiction of the poor in the works of American
playwrights.
What are the relevant keywords?
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample essay topic:
Discuss the depiction of the poor in the works of American
playwrights.
What are the relevant keywords?
KEYWORD SELECTION
However…
A search in the Library Catalogue for “poor and american and
playwrights” yields ZERO results.
KEYWORD SELECTION
However…
A search in the Library Catalogue for “poor and american and
playwrights” yields ZERO results.
Try using: synonyms, related words,
variant spellings, French words, etc.
In other words: try to account for the various ways different authors
may express the same or similar ideas, topics, concepts, etc.
KEYWORD SELECTION
Original search:
poor and american and playwrights = 0 items
Search using synonyms and related words:
(poor or poverty or class) and (america$ or united states) and (play$
or drama or theatre or theater) = 45 items
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample topic (similar to the ones on your recherche bibliographique):
Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode (analyse temporelle)
What are the relevant keywords?
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample topic (similar to the ones on your recherche bibliographique):
Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode (analyse temporelle)
What are the relevant keywords?
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample topic (similar to the ones on your recherche bibliographique):
Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode (analyse temporelle)
MLA search:
aquin AND prochain episode AND temporelle = 1
KEYWORD SELECTION
Sample topic (similar to the ones on your recherche bibliographique):
Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode (analyse temporelle)
MLA search:
aquin AND prochain episode AND temporelle = 1
aquin AND prochain episode AND (temporelle OR temps OR time) = 4
QUESTIONS?
Research Help Desk Hours:
Monday - Thursday:
9:00 am - 5:00 pm & 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday:
10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Sunday:
1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
My Office: R.P. Bell Library M-11 (Reference Office, main floor)
My email address: [email protected]
WHAT IS A SCHOLARLY SOURCE?
Usually written by experts in the field (look for: credentials, author
affiliations)
Usually peer-reviewed (critically assessed by other scholars and
experts in the field prior to publication)
Engages and builds on previous research on the same subject (see
next bullet)
Always cites all sources quoted or referenced in the book or paper
(articles and books aimed at a non-academic audience don’t normally
do this)
WHAT IS A SCHOLARLY SOURCE?
Generally published in a peer-reviewed journal (articles) or by a
university press or publisher specializing in scholarly works (e.g.:
Oxford University Press)
Makes a contribution to the field (presents an original argument or
interpretation)
WHAT IS PEER REVIEW?
“Scrutinizing Science: Peer Review.” Understanding Science. University
of California Museum of Paleontology. 4 October 2011
<http://www.understandingscience.org/article/alvarez_01>.
MOST COMMON SCHOLARLY
SECONDARY SOURCES IN LITERARY
STUDIES?
Books, such as a single-author book about the works of Amélie
Nothomb.
Book chapters, such as essays published as chapters in edited
collections (e.g. The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of Paris)
Journal articles, such as articles published in scholarly, peer-reviewed
journals.