ENGL 100: Introduction to Literary Study (Knight)

What makes databases different from Google?

When you search a web tool like Google, you are searching every word of every page of every document, from beginning to end. There are no rules about what goes into Google, so you get a mix of everything.  And, Google can't always tell the difference between a page or article that is all about your topic, and a page or article that mentions your topic only once or twice. 

When you search in the library research tools, like the catalog or (most) research databases, you are actually just searching short "profiles" of the book, article, or other source that you are looking at, rather than the whole source. Because the profiles are very short, searching for entire sentences or phrases does not usually work well in library resources. But, if a source comes up because its profile mentions your topic, it's much more likely that the source will actually be on your topic.

And while the research tools have many different types of sources in them,  they're all published sources, so they've been checked for quality on at least a very basic level. 

How do I search a database?

Here are some general tips to guide you in choosing your search terms:

• Use keywords or brief (2-word) phrases instead of sentences -- one or two for each part of your topic.
• Use concepts and other nouns as your keywords.  Think of words that are likely to be used in titles (or that you have seen in titles).
• When searching for a specific author, be flexible with the way you search for their name. For example, instead of searching for only "Toni Morrison," try searching for "Morrison, Toni" or simply "Morrison." 
• Spend some time brainstorming keywords and search terms. Use the subject headings/tags in each database to help you think of search terms. For example, if you search for "Morrison" and identity, you might come across additional terms like voice, portrayal or heritage.
• If your chosen text has a common title or a title that is a common term (ex -- Passing), it's a good idea to include the author's surname as an additional keyword. This will help make sure you are not getting results around different texts, or that aren't about texts at all. 

Some advanced tricks: 

• Use AND to make your search more specific by adding more keywords.
• Use OR to include alternative keywords and synonyms in your search. 
• Use an asterisk * after the root of a word to find all forms of a word. For example, a search for rac* will find sources that use not only the word race, but also terms like racial and racism. 

When you find a good article, look at its References or Works Cited list. That will often lead you to other useful sources. You can also look at information such as the name of the journal or the author for ideas of other ways to search. 

Which databases should I use? 

This is different depending on what kind of information you need. When in doubt, ask a librarian! 

But, here are some examples of databases you might use for this class:

Academic databases for literature

Newspapers & magazines - for book reviews & more