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1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402
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Where to Begin your Research

Pen Writing

If you choose a topic you don’t know well, a good strategy is to start with an overview or introduction to the topic, and then move to more in-depth treatments of the topic or to materials that address specific aspects of the topic.

 

In addition, if you're looking for suggestions on resources dealing with a particular subject area or discipline, you may also want to check out these Subject Guides, which are categorized by the major areas of study at Calvin.

Guide to Hekman Library

WebCat - Introduction

Reference Materials on Authors & their Works

1. Magill's Literary Annual (comprised of reviews from 1977 through 2006 of the 200 most outstanding books published in the U.S. for that year) Ref. PN44 .M35
2. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (178 volumes containing excerpts from critical essays on important books written in the 20th century) Ref. PN94 .T83
3. Dictionary of Literary Biography (currently 318 volumes, each volume with its own catalog record and covering a very specific topic related to a region or genre) Ref. PN451 .D5
4. Masterplots II: Women's Literature Series (6 volumes; similar to all the Masterplots series, but covering exclusively women authors) Ref. PN471 .M37 1995
5. Contemporary Literary Criticism (223 volumes; presents significant criticism on the works of writers now living or who died after Dec. 31, 1959) Ref. PN771 .C59
6. Masterplots II: American Literature Series (6 vols., includes more than 360 interpretative essays on works of 20th-century fiction published in the U.S. and Latin America) Ref. PN846 .M37 1996
7. Masterplots II: African American Literature Series (articles focused on plot summaries, critical commentary, character profiles, literary settings and biographical profiles of famous literary works by African-American authors) Ref. PS153 .N5 M2645 1994
8. American Ethnic Literatures: Native American, African American, Chicano/Latino, and Asian American Writers and Their Backgrounds: an Annotated Bibliography Ref. Z1229 .E87 P43 1992
How to cite literary criticism articles:

Cite as "a previously published article reprinted in a collection." See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed., (MLA 5.6.7) page 160. Location: Ready Ref. LB2369.G53 2003.

Give all the original information as shown at either the beginning or end of the article, then add "Rpt. in (Reprinted in), the title of the collection (i.e. Contemporary Literary Criticism), and the rest of the citation information for the collection.

To find biographical information on authors and critical essays on their works, you may want to use Gale's Literary Index. It has both a title and an author search and will refer you to the correct volumes.

 

Choosing the Right Research Database

Searching Research Databases

Scholarly vs. Popular

"Wikiality" Quicktime video

Wikipedia tips

WikipediaWikipedia is a handy tool if you use it properly. It is great for describing very current issues, popular culture and media resources. It can be useful to gain background knowledge on a topic about which you know very little.

Be aware that the great strength of Wikipedia - that anyone can add and maintain the information - is also a great weakness.

  • double-check facts with other sources.
  • use Wikipedia to gain access to other resources on your topic.
  • avoid using Wikipedia information to make important points in a research paper.
  • when in doubt, check out the "History" tab on the article you are reading.
  • Read the Wikipedia Disclaimer, and proceed with caution.

 

Citing Your Sources

There are several reasons for citing your resources.

  • Give credit to another person/source if you are using their ideas or words.
  • Prove to your reader that you've done your homework and are aware of the larger conversations connected to the topic.
  • Help your readers follow your thoughts and find more information on the topic.


There are three major ways to document your sources: MLA, APA, and Chicago style. Your professor will ask you to follow one of them when creating your paper's bibliography.


When citing an electronic resource such as a website you'll need to include the following elements:

  • Author/editor of the webpage
  • Title of the site
  • Name of the sponsor institution or organization if given
  • Most recent date you accessed the site
  • URL of the webpage.

If your citation style requires a URL for articles from a library research databases, do not use the actual URL given in the address bar; it is specific to your research session and will not lead back to the article you are citing. Use an abbreviated URL for the specific database (e.g. <http://firstsearch.oclc.org> for FirstSearch databases).  Many research databases now offer specific guidance for citing items you find in that database (even offering a completely formatted citation).


If you have questions, see St. Martin's Handbook (6th ed.) for extensive guidance on how to cite your references properly.  Or check our longer guide to Citing Sources.


Also, the Hekman Library has created its own citation generator called KnightCite to help you create your own bibliographies.

Style Manuals/Research Database Help with Citations

Style Manuals

In addition to the St.Martin's Handbook there are published style manuals in the Reference Collection and at the Research Assistance Desk:

PN147 .G444 1998 - MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (several copies in the Reference Collection; one copy at the Research Assistance Desk)

BF76.7 .A46 2001 - Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (copies on reserve at the Circulation Desk; one copy at the Research Assistance Desk; circulating and reference copies)

Z253 .U69 2003 - The Chicago Manual of Style - (several copies in the Reference Collection; one copy at the Research Assistance Desk)

The Citing Sources page in the A-Z Index on the library's home page provides links to online versions of these style manuals.

Help from the Library's Research Databases

The library staff has provided some citation examples for databases that have full-text content.

When you click on the "Research Databases" link on the library's home page you will notice a "More Info" link to the left of the database name. If the database has full-text content when you click on that link and then on the "Read the full annotation" link you will find some examples for citing full-text documents in the different citation styles. You can also go to the Database Citation Examples page to locate this information.

Some databases actually allow you to mark records and then email them to yourself using the citation style of your choice. Here are some databases that have this feature - there may be more:

ABI/Inform
Expanded Academic ASAP
General Reference Center Gold
Health and Wellness Resource Center
Health Reference Center Academic
InfoTrac Academic OneFile
InfoTrac OneFile
PAIS International
Physical Education Index
Sociological Abstracts

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