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EN 493B Beyond Borders (Sibara): Research Resources

Narratives of Crossing, Exile & Return. Spring 2020. Professor: Jay Sibara

Find Articles in Databases

 

SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

Particularly important to college-level research. Look for an option to limit your search to peer-reviewed or scholarly journals.

 

MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS

Not scholarly, but can provide additional voices and perspectives.

For more databases specializing in newspapers, check our Newspaper Guide.

To identify databases focusing on specific subject areas, check our Choosing a Database Guide.

Reference Sources

Book 8, by Brenda Clark, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/brenda-starr/5076790282

Need to use these resources off campus?

For the most reliable access, use Colby's VPN (Virtual Private Network). You can install the app on your computer or device for easy access off-campus.

More Library Guides

These guides can provide more information:

  Photo:  U.S. Mexico Border by Anthony Albright (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Follow Citation Trails

ONE GOOD SOURCE CAN LEAD TO OTHERS

Check all bibliographies, references and notes in relevant articles and books. Who is the author citing as evidence? Think of this as a scholarly conversation.

Also search the titles of good sources (both articles and books) in Google Scholar and look for  the Cited by link.  These are the authors citing that work.

Thus the scholarly conversation moves backwards and forwards in time.

Searching Tips

 

SEARCHING STRATEGIES

1.  Experiment with different synonyms and related terms
2.  Look for alternative search terms in reference sources
3.  Use an asterisk to stand in for variant endings
            migra*  = migrant, migration, migratory, etc.
4.  Use quotation marks to "glue together" a phrase
            "American Dream"
5.  Using AND between terms, limits results to only items that include both terms
            "case studies" AND assimilation
6.  Using OR between terms (with parentheses), widens results to items that include either term
            (refugee OR "asylum seeker")

FINDING LITERARY CRITICISM ABOUT A SPECIFIC AUTHOR

Change drop-down to Subject and enter author's last name, first name. Some results will have a separate subdivision: Criticism and Interpretation.

(A subject search yields material ABOUT an author. An author search yields material BY an author.)

Photo: The Look, Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

MLA Citation Help

Older editions of the MLA handbook are also available. However, there were significant changes in the 2016 edition listed above. OWL uses the 2016 edition. 

OneSearch

OneSearch searches multiple resources at once. Use for very precise searches:

  • Finding a specific article
  • Finding book chapters on a topic
  • Finding book reviews

For best results, use limiters:  field drop-downs (Title, Publication Title), content type (articles, book chapters, book reviews), etc.

For topical searches, first consult CBBcat and individual databases.

Find Books in the Library Catalog

SEARCH our library catalog for books and media.

First drop down: Search by Keyword, Title, Author (last name first) or Subject.

Second drop down: Search the entire CBB Collection or limit by item type or location.

To order items from Colby Storage, Bates or Bowdoin, click on:

Sample Subject Headings:

Not finding what you want in CBBcat?

Look on the CBBcat search result page for a link to MaineCat, which expands your search to other Maine libraries. Not in MaineCat? Try Worldcat.

Research & Instruction Librarian

Laine Thielstrom's picture
Laine Thielstrom
Contact:
esthiels@colby.edu

Have a question? Need a consultation? Happy to "meet" via email, chat or video conferencing. Contact me with your best times.

Or "drop in" to my virtual office hours:
Tuesdays 11am-12:30pm EDT
Thursdays 9pm-10:30pm EDT

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