CLAS 201: Public Entertainment in Greece & Rome (Ebbott/Perry): Secondary (Modern) Sources

CHOOSE YOUR TOOL(S)

As researchers in Classics, we might use... 

The Library Catalog [or CrossSearch]

• May contain many types of sources (scholarly, non-scholarly, multimedia,etc., both secondary and primary) 
• Covers a variety of subject areas; 
• Best place to find books for background on your topic. 

Subject (Article) Databases

• May contain a variety of source types (images, ancient texts, etc.) or be limited to one
• Typically focused on the basis of one or more of the following: date; place; type of source; and/or topic. 

In order to choose an appropriate research tool, you should consider your research needs.

What do you need at this point in time? Are you still becoming familiar with your topic, or are you trying to fill specific gaps? 

What lens are you using -- that of an archeologist? A historian? A scholar of ancient literature?
Where do practitioners in that area share their knowledge and research? 

Need help selecting a research tool? Consult your professor, or a librarian! 

CRAFT YOUR KEYWORDS: 

Any research process begins by figuring out how to search. But, where to begin? 

BRAINSTORM. 
Spend a few minutes thinking about what words could be used to describe the topic. Be as  specific as you can. 
 

EXPAND
For each of the words you listed, think of other words or phrases you could use that mean the same thing.
 

USE EXPERT SEARCH TRICKS!
Use AND and OR to make your search more or less specific! This will give you more sources to choose from.

• When you use AND, a database will look for resources that use all of the words you entered.
• Use OR between words that mean the same or similar things, or that you are equally interested in.
   

PIVOT AS NEEDED
If you aren't finding much, try...

• Rephrasing. See if you can find even 1 or 2 relevant articles, note what subjects are listed for them, and use these to try again.
• Broadening your search. Nothing about a specific artifact? What about similar artifacts in this time/place, generally? 
• Switching tools. Sometimes you just need a different database! 

READ & FOLLOW CITATIONS

Good researchers don't read books or articles in a vacuum! They use the sources or information they have already found, as clues to where they should look next. References (that is, citations -- in the text, in footnotes, and/or in a bibliography) are a source for research leads. 

As you read an article or a chapter, you will usually see that the author has worked citations into their writing. This may be in the form of an in-text citation (the same kind you will use for this course!)...

(Frahm 2017, 194)
A tablet from Assurbanipal’s library, SBTU 2, no. 46, was found in a library in Uruk whose owner was active during the time of Alexander the Great, and there are hints that scholars in Uruk used text editions strongly influenced by Assyrian traditions (Beaulieu 2010).

...a footnote, where numbers in the text correspond to citations below...

(Frahm 2004, 47) 
Other commentaries seem to have been imported from Babylonia, as can be inferred from the so-called "Library records", which mention satu and mukallimtu commentaries from cities in the south.¹⁹ Commentaries written in Babylonian script were actually found on Kuyunjik,²⁰ and some of them may be identical with those mentioned in the "Library records". 
¹⁹ S. Parpola, "Assyrian Library Records," JNES 42 (1983), 1-29; a new edition is provided in SAA 7, Nos. 49-56.

...or an endnote, where numbers in the text correspond to citations at the very end of the article, chapter or book.

Regardless of the format, these citations are your roadmap to finding out which sources the experts have read on this topic -- and therefore, which sources you may also want to read!

First, find the full citation. 

• In-text citations usually consist of the author's last name, a publication date, and page numbers. To identify the source, go to the bibliography or references list at the end of the article or chapter, and find the citation that matches the author and date. For example, this is what Beaulieu 2010 looks like in the bibliography: 
  
  Beaulieu, P.A. 2010. “The Afterlife of Assyrian Scholarship in Hellenistic Babylonia,” in: J. Stackert et al. (eds.), Gazing on the Deep: Near Eastern and Other Studies in Honor of Tzvi Abusch  Bethesda, MD: CDL Press, 1– 18.
   
• Footnotes and endnote citations may consist of only a name, a year, and a page number, or might contain a full citation. If only the author's name, date and page are listed, look above and at the previous pages -- there is usually an earlier note with the full citation information. 

Second, identify -- what kind of source is it? 

1. Which part is in italics? 
   • If the citation has one main title which is in italics,  it is most likely a book (it could also be a website or report, but you won't see these often in your sources!) 
     Seider, Aaron M. 2013. Memory in Vergil's Aeneid: Creating the Past. Cambridge University Press.
      
   • If the citation has a title "in quotation marks" towards the beginning, and another title in italics towards the end, the source is likely either a journal article or a book chapter. 
     Knott, Elizabeth. 2021. "Mari's Investiture Scene and the Visualization of Kingship in the Old Babylonian Period." In As Above, So Below: Religion and Geography, edited by Gina Konstantopoulos and Shana Zaia. Penn State University Press.  
      
2. Is there a publisher (like "University of Chicago Press") or publication city anywhere in the citation? 
   • If yes, then the citation is most likely either to a book, or a part of a book (a chapter). 
     Knott, Elizabeth. 2021. "Mari's Investiture Scene and the Visualization of Kingship in the Old Babylonian Period." In As Above, So Below: Religion and Geography, edited by Gina Konstantopoulos and Shana Zaia. Penn State University Press.  
      
   • If there is no publisher, but instead you see a volume and/or issue listed (this could be vol. 1, no. 2; 1, no. 2; or 1 (2), among other formats) it is most likely a journal article. 
     Candelora, Daniella. 2018. "Entangled in Orientalism: How the Hyksos Became a Race." Journal of Egyptian History 11(1-2): 45-72.  Historical Abstracts. 

​​Finally, locate the source. 

• If the source is a book, follow the instructions in the Books, Ebooks & Chapters box, but instead of keywords, search for the title of the book. Putting the title "in quotation marks" will help make your search more accurate! If the book title has multiple parts, you can just use the first part. 
  For example, to find Prof. Seider's book cited above, we would search for, "Memory in Vergil's Aeneid" 
   
• If the source is a book chapter, follow the instructions on the Books, Ebooks & Chapter box, but instead of keywords, search for the title of the book (not the chapter!). Putting the title "in quotation marks" will help make your search more accurate! If the book title has multiple parts, you can just use the first part. 
  Once you find the book, use the table of contents to find the specific chapter. 
  For example, to find Prof. Knott's book chapter cited above, we would search for, "As Above, So Below" 
   
• If the source is a journal article, you have a few different options: 
  • Search CrossSearch or Google Scholar for the title of the article "in quotation marks."
    For example, "Entangled in Orientalism: How the Hyksos Became a Race"
     
  • Use the Find a Journal tab on CrossSearch and search for the title of the journal. 
    For example, "Journal of Egyptian History"
    Then, find the year, volume, issue and page number that match the citation. 
    
     Instructions for using Browzine to find articles

TRACE OTHER RESEARCH LEADS: 

No piece of research stands alone; each is part of a broader scholarly conversation in that topic/ field. These resources have clues that you can TRACE, if you know how to look! 

Terms– Check the abstract, subject terms and article for concepts and terms that you can use for your future searches.

Reported in– Is the journal where the article was printed relevant? Try searching for other articles from this journal.

Author– What else has the author(s) published on this topic? Search the databases for their other publications

Consulted by - Check Google Scholar to see which articles or books have cited your sources, and to find
more-recent research which builds on your original information.

Evidence -Check the references list (or bibliography) to see what previous research this resource is drawing on. From here, you may wish to consider: 

- Previous articles or books published on your topic
- Other authors who have published on your topic
- Journals where your topic is frequently discussed

Tools for TRACE-ing: