Suggested Databases & Resources
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MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive index of critical, scholarly material in literature, criticism, drama, language, linguistics, humanities, and folklore. Worldwide coverage includes articles chosen from over 3,500 journals, monographs, dissertations, bibliographies, and proceedings. Also known as the Modern Language Association International Bibliography. Links to full-text when available.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR contains the complete digitized backfile of core scholarly journals from a broad range of academic disciplines.
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The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and CriticismIndispensable resource for scholars and students of literary theory and discourse. Compiled by 275 specialists from around the world, the Guide presents a comprehensive historical survey of the field's most important figures, schools, and movements and is updated annually
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Literary Reference Plus This link opens in a new window
Search among literary critiques, author biographies, literary journal articles, reference works, book reviews, classic and contemporary poems and short stories, plot summaries, synopses, work overviews and classic novels.
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Gale Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window
Contains reproductions of literary criticism from other publications. Includes articles from five resources: 19th Century Literature Criticism, 20th Century Literature Criticism, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Children's Literature Review, and Short Story Criticism.
Developing Your Topic
Finding the right level of research is an important first step. Consider whether your topic is too broad (you're getting too many results or they're not relevant enough to your topic) or too narrow (you're finding too few results).
Use these handouts to help you narrow or broaden your topic and identify keywords:
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Building a Search Strategy - HandoutUse this handout to help you develop a research question, identify potential keywords and synonyms, and determine which boolean operators to use in order to narrow or broaden your search.
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Tips for Narrowing a Topic - HandoutUse this handout if you are getting too many results when searching.
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Tips for Broadening a Topic - HandoutUse this handout if you are getting too few results when searching.
Keywords
When searching in the databases, simpler is usually better! Avoid using complete sentences - stick to key terms and ideas
For best results, search using the author's name or title of a work and (criticism or analysis)
Example:
"Mary Shelley" and (criticism or analysis)
Frankenstein and (criticism or analysis)
You could also include a literary theory or term:
Example:
"Mary Shelley" and feminis* and (criticism or analysis)
Frankenstein and science and (criticism or analysis)
Boolean Operators
Use Boolean Operators as a way to narrow or broaden your search:
AND: use to combine different concepts or keywords; each result will contain all search terms
Example: race AND libraries
OR: use to connect similar concepts or keywords; each result will contain at least one of the search terms
Example: medicine OR health
NOT: use to exclude words or concepts; tells the database to ignore concepts implied by your search
Example: technology NOT database
Parentheses ( ): place around related terms to search for more than one group of keywords
Example: (teaching OR education) AND race
Asterisk *: use at the end of a keyword to search words that start with the same letters
Example: education AND librar*
Database Search Strategies
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Database Search Strategies: YouTube PlaylistThis YouTube playlist includes videos on searching the University Libraries databases.
Videos:
Introduction to QuickSearch
Brief Look at QuickSearch Results
Effective Search Strategies: Database Limiters
Effective Search Strategies: Use Subject Terms
Saving Sources in QuickSearch
Citing Your Sources with QuickSearch -
Tips for Database SearchingThis guide includes tips, tricks, and techniques for conducting successful database searches.
Student Success Instruction Librarian
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Wright State University Libraries Catalog: Find Books
To find criticism of authors and their works, search the University Libraries catalog using the author's name and the word criticism.
Example: virginia woolf and criticism
Books focusing on literature, criticism, and theory can be found in many places throughout the library's main collection, located on the 3rd Floor of Dunbar Library. The list of call numbers below are some of the more concentrated areas of the collection.
P: Language and Literature
PN: Literature (general)
PN 45-57: Theory
PN 80-99: Criticism
PR: English Literature
PS: American Literature