Research Guides: CORE 112: Types of Sources

Different Sources

Aside from primary sources (novels, films, etc.), other types of sources you can find in library databases each offer a different perspective on the scholarly conversation. It's helpful to search in more than one database, or across databases using the Libraries' main search, becuase each offers a different set of resources and search functions.

Theoretical / Introductory reference works can help you take a big-picture look at movements, themes, theories, and other background information related to the text you're writing about. This background information can lead to keywords, ideas, and connections you might not have discovered otherwise. For example: if you're interested in writing about Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy you could look for introductory information on Westerns, war novels, other McCarthy novels, or nihilism.
A Critical Analysis makes an argument and apply one or more critical theories to a text. Example: A literary criticism of a specific work
A Research Study focuses on relationships or effects between ideas. Example: a study of the effects of gender bias in advertising media, an ethnographic study of a city, or a psychological study of adolescent sexual behavior

Reading Strategies

Reading Strategies
This guide from University of New South Wales-Sydney describes four different types of reading: Previewing the text to get an overview, skimming, scanning, and intensive reading. When searching for sources, use the first three techniques until you've decided on sources you want to read intensively.

Locating Sources

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Key index for books and articles on languages, literature, criticism, and linguistics. It's easy to narrow your search to particular author or work using the advanced search functions.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text collection of core social science, arts, and humanities journals. JSTOR is an historical archive and may not contain the most recent 3-5 years for certain publications.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Similar to JSTOR, Project Muse focuses on 500 scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences with an emphasis on current content.
As of January 2012, Project Muse has added thousands of University Press ebooks to its collection. However, USC DOES NOT have access to them. If you are interested in one of these titles, please search Homer or Quick Search to see if we have a copy.
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text is the definitive online tool for film and television research.
It is a comprehensive bibliographic and full-text database covering the entire spectrum of television and film. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews. The database provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for 350 publications (and selected coverage of nearly 300), as well as full text for more than 100 journals and nearly 100 books
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline.
Covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers. Integrating the Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Drama Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800, and Children\'s Literature Review, this database is augmented with full-text critical material. Biographical information is also included for screenwriters, journalists, and nonfiction writers. For copyright reasons, some material from the print resources listed above may not be available in full-text.
The Literature Resource center includes the full text of Merriam-Webster
Arts & Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
This database features hundreds of titles covering Art, Architecture, Design, History, Philosophy, Music, Literature, Theatre and Cultural Studies.
It is designed to complement the following indexes: ABM, Avery, BHA, BHI, DAAI, Index Islamicus, MLA, Philosopher's Index and RILM.

When looking for criticism, use advanced search features, to search by the work or author. Databases will often link articles on a particular work together. Fewer keywords are more when looking for criticism, try and think of the types of analysis or perspectives you would like to find for example: Modernism, Marxist, Queer Theory, Feminist, Race Theory, etc.

In MLA International Bibliography, for example, you can find these links at the bottom of the page:

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text collection of core social science, arts, and humanities journals. JSTOR is an historical archive and may not contain the most recent 3-5 years for certain publications. Contains research studies and criticism.
ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
Research studies and popular publications from all disciplines. Great starting point for finding research studies.
It covers dozens of subject areas and indexes thousands of general and scholarly titles and provides full-text for a significant number of the articles included. It is an excellent starting place for research for a paper, particularly if one isn't sure where to begin their research.
Arts & Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
This database features research studies in the arts and humanities from hundreds of unique journals.
It is designed to complement the following indexes: ABM, Avery, BHA, BHI, DAAI, Index Islamicus, MLA, Philosopher's Index and RILM.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline.
Covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers. Integrating the Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Drama Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800, and Children\'s Literature Review, this database is augmented with full-text critical material. Biographical information is also included for screenwriters, journalists, and nonfiction writers. For copyright reasons, some material from the print resources listed above may not be available in full-text.
The Literature Resource center includes the full text of Merriam-Webster

Research studies and other journal articles that report on original research can be found by using keywords that describe the relationship you want more information about. For example if you are interested in the benefits and harms of gentrification you might try searching "Gentrification AND Displacement" as a specific harm of gentrification. Journal articles are narrow in focus and will not typically provide an overview on a topic.

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedias and other background works
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Core collection on reference works from Oxford University Press

John Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
Ed. Michael Groden, Martin Kreiswirth, and Imre Szeman (2012).

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Contains a selection from 645 high-quality reference books from the world's leading publishers
Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Developed cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide, Oxford Bibliographies offers exclusive, authoritative research guides.
Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource guides researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects.

Theoretical and introductory works provide broad overviews and definitions on movements, themes, theories, and other topics. To find these materials try searching broad singular terms.

Use the resources cited to get more specific, find other sources, and understand the general themes in a topic.

Activity: Searching Spreadsheet

Using the Searching Spreadsheet template:

Make a copy of the searching spreadsheet template.
Introduce basic searching skills including how to find the full text of documents.
Provide the link to students for the spreadsheet.
Students complete the activity with guidance and help on their individual topics.
Come back together as a class and discuss what students found.

Modification: Use the same questions in a Google Form and have students complete the activity as a homework assignment.

Possible discussion questions:

How do these sources talk to each other?
What further perspectives do they refer to?
How can we tell if the sources we find are central to the scholarly conversation?

Information Literacy Outcomes

Identify the contribution that particular information sources make within an ongoing conversation
Describe the way that systems privilege some perspectives and present barriers to others