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ENG 430: 30060
ENG 535: 97960 |
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The killing of a gorilla
from Winwood Reade, Savage Africa [1864]
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Research |
For most
research use ASU Library Online:
- For an online introduction to using library resources
for research, go to the Instructions
and Tutorials page.
- A note on using library sources: if you are unable to
visit the ASU library physically, you will find that you
can nonetheless find many research materials online. This
includes books as well as articles, primary as well as
secondary sources. The online
catalog will tell you whether or not the material you
are seeking is available online. First search for the book
you want through the online
catalog. When you pull it up, under the "Status" heading
it will say "Online" if the book is available online. Sometimes
you will be referred to another database such as NetLibrary from
which you will be able to access the book.
- Many articles are available online to ASU students. Follow
the "articles" link off
the main ASU library
page and pick a database to use. The database most
frequently used for literary research is the MLA Bibliography;
for historical research, the Historical Abstracts. Type
in the database name. You will be taken to a search page
in that database. Enter your search terms and find the
article(s) you want. If they are available in full text
through an online database, you will be told how to retrieve
them, usually through one or more of the most frequently-used
full-text journal databases such as JSTOR. Make
sure that you go through the "articles" link to
then search and retrieve the article from JSTOR by
entering that database's name in the search field. By entering
through the "articles" link you
will be validated as an ASU student and will be allowed
to access the article.
- Databases such as Literature Online contain
significant collections of primary texts. Databases such
as the Literature Resource Center provide access
to primary texts, biographical articles, and critical articles
on a wide range of well-known authors. The Nineteenth-Century
Masterfile is a useful bibliographic database for
nineteenth century sources. Access these through the "articles" link.
These databases and many more are available to registered
ASU students.
- See also the links at http://www.public.asu.edu/~dbivona/Links.html.
For general searches, you can start with Google:
- Google is the
best general search engine and will give you access to
resources on the Web. However, you should keep in mind
that you have to critically evaluate the material you find
on the open Web. It may be authoritative or it may be full
of erroneous information. For guidance on evaluating information
found on the Web, visit the ASU
SunTutor site.
- Google Scholar can
provide you with an easy way to pull together a bibliography
of information sources on any particular topic by eliminating
the need to go to multiple bibliographic databases such
as MLA Bibliography. If you are seeking information
for a research paper that has an interdisciplinary focus
(say, "Jane Austen and the manners of the gentry class
in the early nineteenth century"), you might want to use
a bibliographic database that is broader in focus than
the MLA Bibliography. You can search through multiple
bibliographic databases (say, MLA Bibliography AND Historical
Abstracts), or you can search through Google
Scholar. Just keep in mind that once you find the articles
you need you will need to go through the ASU Library's "articles" link to
get online access to many of the articles you find. Few
good journals allow open online access to their articles
through the Web.
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