Interviews & Other Non-Scholarly Sources
Recommended Resources:
Book & Film Reviews
- CrossSearch(on the Libraries' homepage)
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
- Gale Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window
A compilation of commentary essays on literary works, including drama, poetry, and short stories, from the 15th through 20th centuries
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, books and dissertations focusing on literature and literary criticism, language, and publishing.
Printed News & Interviews
- Boston Globe Historical This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1872-1993
Articles from the Boston Globe including all pictures and advertisements. - Boston Globe Current This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1980-present
Text-only articles from the Boston Globe. - London Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Date(s):1785-2019
Articles from the London Times, including all pictures and advertisements.
- New York Times Historical This link opens in a new window
Date(s):1851-2021
Articles from the New York Times, including all pictures and advertisements. - New York Times Current This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1980-present
Text-only articles from the New York Times. **Blogs are not included.**
On the Web
Reputable web sites can be another good place to find interviews and other more informal information about your author or work -- and/or information about works too contemporary for scholarly research. There's a lot of great information on the web, if you know where to look!
Remember, both the best and worst part of the web is that anyone can contribute anything they like. So, it's very important to be aware of your source. Is it from a reputable publication? Is it obviously a website made by high school students, or someone else who may not have accurate information? Is it a source that may not be completely unbiased (e.g., a site trying to sell a specific book)?
WHO
Who is the author?
How is the author qualified?
Is the author an expert?
What is the author's bias? (Remember that a bias may not be directly stated -- but there is almost always some bias!))
WHAT
What is the source? Is it a research report? An entertainment piece? An opinion essay?
What does this tell you about the source's audience, purpose, and potential bias(es) or shortcoming(s)?
WHEN
Is the source recent (or, if digital, regularly updated)? When was it published?
Is there any information which seems out-of-date?
WHERE
Who hosts the site? OR Who publishes this resource?
Does the host/publisher have bias? (Remember that a bias may not be directly stated.)
What is the domain extension?
The publisher and/or domain can help you determine how reputable a website is. For example, .gov is the domain for United States government sites and .edu is for US Educational institutuions. Note that not all .com sites are unreliable and not all .org sites are reputable -- .org simply means that the website is for a non-profit group.
WHY
What is the purpose and audience of the source?
What is the benefit, and/or who benefits, if this source reaches and/or successfully convinces readers?
HOW
By what means was this source created?
Does the resource provide its sources?
Does it refer/link you to other credible sources?
Can you determine whether the information came from, and whether the original source/info is represented accurately?
Be wary of any source which does not reference sources, especially when it contains information that clearly or at least likely originated somewhere else. First, failing to cite sources is unethical, and reflects poorly on the author(s)! Second, without knowing the original source, you can't adequately evaluate the weaknesses and/or biases of the information, or know if it is even being represented faithfully in the "secondary" source.