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ENGL 201 (Wood)

Intro Test

Welcome ENGL 201!

I'm here to support you with your research.

Questions? Email me at mfeinberg@miracosta.edu

Ask a Librarian 24/7 Writing Center
MLA Citations Literature Guide

Learn About the Authors

Literary Theory Overviews

Book cover for The Literary Theory Handbook
Book cover for Key Terms in Literary Theory
Book cover for Literary Theory: the Basics
Book cover for Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory
Book cover for Critical Theory Today

Keyword Tips

Keywords are the most important ideas in your topic.

Advanced Search Strategies: 

  • “Quotation marks” keep words together ("community college")
  • AND searches all terms ("community college AND textbooks")
  • OR finds either term; useful for synonyms ("books OR literature")
  • Truncation (shift 8 to get the asterisk) searches multiple variations of a word (comput* - computer, computers, and computation at once)

Grow Your Keyword List With: 

  • Words you read in abstracts, article titles, and subject headings

Background and Reference Databases

More Databases

Literature Databases

More Literature Databases

Scholarly Databases

Database Search Tips

EBSCOhost: Select Peer-Reviewed/Scholarly under Limit your Results.

JSTOR: Select Language and Literature under Journal Filter.

Gale Literature: Search by Browse Topics or Person Search if author is known.

What is a Scholarly Journal?

Scholarly (or Peer-Reviewed) Articles are:

  • Written by experts in a subject who share original research
  • Published in a scholarly journal

Characteristics: 

  • Use technical language 
  • Use many in-text citations
  • Include lengthy references
  • Often include tables, charts, and graphs
  • Include few to no advertisements

Learn how to spot a scholarly article: Is it a Magazine or Scholarly Journal?

Evaluate Your Sources

Ask questions to determine if a source is credible: 

Currency: Is the information timely? 

Relevancy: Does the information answer your research question.

Authority: Who is the source of information?

Accuracy: Does the information seem reliable, truthful, and correct?

Purpose: Why does this information exist? 

Use this checklist to evaluate for reliable sources: CSU Chico CRAAP Test