Research Guide for English 102: Lure of the Vampire
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Prepared by Elinor Appel In these library workshops you will learn about appropriate resources for contextualizing the vampire novels you are reading in class. February 10:
February 24: you will find, analyze, and then cite a web resource using Noodlebib
February 25:
"Twilight 7" Edward & Bella Action Figure 2 Pack." Image source: Amazon.com. |
Looking critically @ Web sites: Is this an appropriate resource for your research? Why or why not? Consider who created the content, and why:
- Always check your online source for Authority, Bias, Currency & Documentation.
- Authority: who created the content? How do you know the author is a good resource?
- Bias: what is the bias, mission, or standpoint of the resource? Is its bias clear?
- Currency: when was the page last updated? Is the information still relevant?
- Documentation: does the web resource provide link to other sources to support or develop the information it provides?
- Good rule of thumb: a reliable, college-level secondary source is created by an identifiable person or institution with knowledge about the topic (authority), is clear about its purpose, is up to date, and provides documentation.
Workshop exercises:
1. Practice web example - we will analyze this web page together.
2. Now with a partner review the web sources below. Which are the most authoritative? (Rembember: you are evaluating the source, you don't have to read the content for this exercise.) Analyze one using the second column on the ABCD guide:
3. Your turn! Search online for a free web source that has something to do with vampires, analyze it, and cite your source on Noodlebib. Make sure you share the source you find to the Vampires list. Tomorrow we will look at the citations of sources you found.
Web-search tips
- Limit your search by domain, for instance by type, such as "edu" or "gov."
- If you find an article behind a "pay wall," look up the journal title in the periodical locator to see if we have it in one of our databases
- If you find an excerpt from a book, look up the book title in the library catalog to see if we have the book in our library
Lightning research tasks
- Purple group - you are looking for the full text to an article you found using Google called "Who Do you Love?" Anne Rice's Vampires and Their Moral Transition."
- Orange group - you are looking for a NYT news article published in 1927 about Bram Stoker and Dracula
- Green group - you are looking for a recent (2009 if possible) biography of Anne Rice
- Blue group - you are looking for historical/reference information about the Stonewall riots and "gay liberation"
Library databases contain full-text authoritative articles (and more) from reference books and periodicals ranging from newspapers to academic journals. To access these databases from off campus, log in with your Student ID Number and last name.
Databases searches are arranged so that you can mix and match your search terms
to get the best results. Use:
- and– for combining concepts/keywords, which will narrow the search: vampires and culture
- or – when you are using related terms, will broaden the search: vampire or dracula
Selected reference databases
- History Resource Center - chronologies, articles, videos, photos, and other information
- Literature Resource Center - books reviews, author biographies, and articles
Searching periodical databases
Most periodical databases look and act the same when you search them. Be sure you find and select the full-text box. Keep your first searches simple as you begin:
Selected periodical databases (listed under Databases - Alphabetical)
- Academic Search Complete - a general database with a range of articles
- JSTOR - older articles in the Social Sciences and Humanities, all full text
- ProQuest Direct - another general database
- New York Times Historical Archives - newspaper articles, reviews and ads from 1851 to 1999
One more database:
- American History in Video - archived movies, documentaries, and more
Refer to Finding Books for tips on searching the catalog using keywords and subjects.
Begin with a Keyword Relevance search:
- Then find a title that looks good.
- Check location, call number, and availability. (Not at North? Request it to be sent here via the "request item" link to the right.)
- Click on the title to open the record.
- Then locate the subjects in the record.
- These subject links will lead to more on the same topic. Click the subject heading and click through to a listing of related materials.
- Locate the materials by library and call number. Use your Student ID card to check them out.
At the bottom of this section is a silent demonstration. Notice how this savvy searcher moves from a keyword search (vampires) to a Subject search (Vampires in literature) to create a list of five relevant titles. She can repeat this search to find other relevant Subjects and create other lists of titles.
Use Noodlebib to format and store your sources. Once you have created an account with Noodlebib you can add your sources from any computer and then at the end create a works cited list or an annotated bibliography.
To find Noodlebib and create an account: from the library web page click on Help with research / Citation Tools / Noodlebib. Click here for help finding Noodlebib.
Wednesday: you will find a reputable web resource and cite it on the shared list on Noodlebib called Vampires. Do not use the article I use in my demonstration, below.
- Create an account (we will give you the initial password if you do this off campus).
- Create a practice list and call it "Practice." Select the MLA Advanced option.
- Cite your source.
- Share your list with the class called "Vampires."
Click here for a demonstration. In this demonstration I cite a magazine article I found online and then I share it to the class called Vampires. (You won't get the error message I get at the end of the demonstration video.)
Later you can create different lists for different assignments and classes.
Here is an example (PDF) of a Works Cited page of the links we looked at above. (I did not include Wikipedia.)
"Moon Over Bourbon Street." YouTube. AraniObsidian, 2 Sept. 2006. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.