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English Resources: English - topics copy

This guide will help you locate resources for english, reading and writing, such as websites, articles and books.

    Research Databases Access from ON-Campus

To find scholarly journal articles or popular magazine articles use these databases.

Use these links to connect to the research databases if you are using a computer located on the Stark State Main Campus.

Research Databases Access from OFF-Campus

To find scholarly journal articles or popular magazine articles use these databases.

Use these links to connect to the research databases if you are using a home computer or any other computer located OFF the Stark State Main Campus.

  Scholarly or Not?

For some assignments, your instructor may require you to locate information in scholarly research journals, but how can you easily know the differences between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine? This sort of basic evaluation is a necessary part of the research process, and a means for you to sharpen your critical thinking skills.

Some of the ways that a research journal typically differs from a popular magazine are:

AUTHORITY
Scholarly journal articles will indicate authors and their academic credentials; popular magazines may not always list the author.

CITATION
Scholarly journal articles will include footnotes, end notes, bibliographies, or reference lists; popular magazine articles very rarely do this.

CONTENT
Scholarly journal articles focus on research; whereas, popular magazines focus on current events and topics of general interest, and include lots of ads for consumer products.

PEER REVIEW
Scholarly journal articles are reviewed and fully critiqued by subject experts for research accuracy and importance before being published; popular magazines are not as rigorous.

POINT OF SALE
Where you find publications for sale is a clue. It may be difficult to locate scholarly journals outside of research libraries; popular magazines are usually much easier to find.

PUBLICATION FREQUENCY
Scholarly journals are usually published two or four times a year; popular magazines may be published daily, weekly, or monthly.

      Getting Started

LiteratureUse this resource guide as a starting point for locating quality information for english.  You will find a list of librarian reviewed websites, links to research databases and additional information relating to this subject.

 

If you have any questions please contact a librarian!  Your Stark State Librarians are available via IM, phone or email. 

 

 

Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

    How to Evaluate Websites

Click on the link below.  Use the checklist to make sure the website you are looking at is quality information.

What is literary criticism?

What is literary criticism?

Literary criticism is the evaluation, analysis, description, or interpretation of literary works. It is usually in the form of a critical essay, but in-depth book reviews can sometimes be considered literary criticism. Criticism may examine a particular literary work, or may look at an author's writings as a whole.

Adapted from the Internet Public Library-Literary Criticism   http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48496

Tips and Tricks for Database Searches

Now it’s Time to Begin Your Search:

  • Look at your topic and pull out the keywords.
  • Don’t type phrases!  Keep it simple.  Type each keyword in a separate box.
  •  If you aren’t finding anything keep trying.  Think of other words or terms to use.  Look at the additional subject terms the database shows you on the left sidebar called Subject Thesaurus Terms.  For example: Vegetarian Diet OR Vegetarianism OR Plant Based Diet
  • Don’t forget to click on the Find It icon to see if the article is available in Full Text in another database.
  • Citations!  (For EBSCO Databases) Click on the title of the article.  To view the formatted citation, click on the Cite icon on the right side.