LibGuides: FYS 100 (44): Ever After: Transformations in Fairy Tales: Finding Books and Journal Articles

Preparing to Search

Good research begins with clear thinking about the assigned task. The best way to start a research paper is to make sure you know what you are supposed to do, so reread the assignment and underline or highlight the critical phrases. These are the ones that tell you the subject, the kinds of resources you should use, the expected length, and the due date.

Before you begin searching for specific books or articles it's probably a good idea to get some information from a more neutral source. This kind of background information will provide a context within which you can place the other sources you find. In this case, a subject encyclopedia, such as The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales and a general collection of sources, such as Oxford Reference Online can both be helpful in defining the history, scope and divisions of a topic or concept (such as Romanticism) and by providing names or titles you can use in keyword or subject searches in an article database or the library catalog.

Encyclopedias

Articles in encyclopedias, especially scholarly subject encyclopedias, can be very helpful in establishing basic information about a person, place, event, or theory and they often have bibliographies that list additional resources worth consulting.

eBook Collection (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Collection of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
Full-text; 1990s - present
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Core collection of titles from the Oxford series of reference books
Includes over 120 reference books covering art, the sciences, literature, history, law, the performing arts, religion, computing, economics and business, general reference, and much more.; Full-text; Varies by title, 2002 - present
Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
Accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics and periods. Specially commissioned essays enhance the content of over 500 Companions titles, covering literature, philosophy, classics, religion, cultural studies and music.
Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new window
Intelligent and serious introductions written by authors who are experts in their field.
Full-text; 2000 - Present; access limited to 5 simultaneous users

Top Resources for Journal Articles on Fairy Tales

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary resource containing a large number of peer-reviewed journals.
This is good place to start for most topics, including all sciences, religion, law, history, psychology, political science, criminal justice, literature, current events, sociology and communications.
Abstracts and full-text for most journal articles; Varies by title many from 1980s-present
MLA International Bibliography with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Literature, language, and folklore from all regions of the world from the late Middle Ages to the present.
Covers books, articles, and dissertations. Best place to start for language and literature research.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, overviews, and critical analysis of literary topics, authors, and their works
Biographical sketches of over 130,000 authors and critical articles on over 2,000 authors from all times and places, and on their works. Includes essays from reference works, journals, and books. Content covers numerous centuries, mainly 20th and some 19th.; Full-text
Short Story Criticism (Literature Criticism Online) This link opens in a new window
Scholarly and popular short story criticism
Criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals.; Full-text; 1987 - present; Easy to reformat content for viewing and printing.
Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new window
Indexes journals, books and other published sources within the general humanities.
Citations, abstracts, and full-text; 1990s - present; some coverage back to 1960s
FIAF: International Index to Film Periodicals This link opens in a new window
This essential tool for film studies, created by the International Federation of Film Archives, indexes the content of the world's foremost academic and popular film journals.
The database also incorporates the International Index to TV Periodicals (1979 - 1998); Treasures from the Film Archives, which identifies silent film holdings in archives around the world, and the International Directory of Film/TV Documentation Collections.; Citations, abstracts, and some full-text; Years: 1972 - present
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archive of scholarly journal literature
Interdisciplinary journal archive of titles in the arts, botany, business, ecology, general science, history, mathematics, and the social sciences. Many journal runs go back to the 19th century and before with subject coverage going back to the medieval period and up to within 3-5 years of current (depending on journal title).; Full-text and full image; Varies by title; current within 3-5 years; Coverage is constantly expanding with the addition of more scholarly journals to the collection. Moving wall publishes to within 3-5 years of most titles that are still in publication.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Resource of journals in humanities, social sciences, & mathematics
Coverage of journal articles in the fields of literature and criticism, history, visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and economics.; Full-text; 1993 - present
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Thorough resource for research in the media studies and communication studies fields.
Full-text; Varies by title
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive database covering information concerning topics in emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational & experimental methods
Full-text, citations, and abstracts; Dates: 1930 - present; Additional Information: The majority of full-text titles in this database are available in native (searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color. Full text information in this database dates as far back as 1965.
Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
Index of core disciplines in women's studies
Feminist research in the areas of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy, international relations, arts & humanities, business and education; Indexing and abstracting with some full-text; 1972 - present
Cambridge Companions Online: Literature and Classics This link opens in a new window
Offers thousands of comprehensive and accessible essays on major authors, periods and genres, written by experts and designed for student readers.

Humanities Librarian

Marcia Whitehead

Email Me

Contact:

Boatwright Library

28 Westhampton Way

804-289-8823

Subjects: American Studies, Biography, Book Reviews, Classical Studies, E-Books, English & Literature, First Year Seminar, French, German, Humanities, International Education, Language and Linguistics, Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies, Master of Liberal Arts, Rhetoric & Communication Studies, Russian, Spanish, Special Topics

Finding Books

The first place to check for books on your topic is OneSearch, using the Books filter.. Here are some quick tips for effective catalog searches:

If you are looking for books by a writer, use the Author search (last name first).

If you want books about an author, use the Subject Heading Browse search (last name first).

Most books by and about an author are shelved together, so once you have a few call numbers, you can browse downstairs, but you can also browse online..

If you're looking for a particular short story or an essay, a Keyword search works best.

If you discover a book, chapter, or essay by using the MLA Bibliography, search the catalog for the title of the book to see if we own it.

Boatwright Memorial Library

FYS 100 (44): Ever After: Transformations in Fairy Tales: Finding Books and Journal Articles

Research Tips and Exercises

Preparing to Search

Encyclopedias

Top Resources for Journal Articles on Fairy Tales

Humanities Librarian

Finding Books