Scribbling Women



	Research > Library Research Guides > AMS120: Scribbling Women

Spring 2006 - S. Marker
reference contact: Pamela Skinner x2961

Background |Books| Articles | Evaluating Websites and Citing Sources | Reference Desk Hours

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

You may wish to read a bit about your authors, about the time periods in which they wrote, or about the issues they covered. You may also want to look at the allusions dictionaries listed below if you run across unfamiliar references. Ask at the Neilson Library reference desk for other suggestions.

Reference Source	Reference Call Number
American National Biography.	click here
Biography Resouce Center [includes Contemporary Authors]	click here
Dictionary of Literary Biography [watch for cumulative index to this huge set in the back of the most recent volume]	ref PN 451 .D53
Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 v.	ref HN 57 .E58 1993
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 5 v.	ref E 740.7 .E53 1996
Common Knowledge: A Reader's Guide to Literary Allusions.	ref PN 43 .G68 1987
Oxford Dictionary of Allusions.	ref PE 1580 .D45 2001

FIND BOOKS

5 College Library Catalog

To find other books by your writer, click on "author"
To find books about your writer, click on "subject"
Remember that the catalog is split into two databases: 4-College and UMass.

FIND ARTICLES

Use the databases below to identify articles and essays on your topic.

Use the SC Links buttons within the databases below to see if Smith has the article you need either in electronic or print format
If you identify an article from another source, use the Journal Locator to locate the article online or in print
If you need to use interlibrary loan to requests articles, allow a week or so (though often the articles arrive within days)

Academic Search Premier - 1965+
Great database for getting started--big, interdisciplinary, and lots of full-text

Humanities Abstracts - 1984+
Covers the core literature journals as well as other humanities disciplines

MLA Bibliography - 1963+
The major database for literary criticism

Contemporary Women's Issues - 1992+

Women's Studies International - 1972+

J-STOR
Full-text articles and book reviews from major history journals, among other disciplines; coverage lags ca. 3 years behind printed version of the journal

ProjectMuse
Full-text articles and book reviews from major history journals, among other disciplines; coverage limited to issues from the past 4-5 years

WEBSITE EVALUATION

The internet is both a wonderful and perilous resource. Use it, but always with a critical eye. Keep the issues of authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and completeness at the forefront as you look at webpages. Two examples of more--or less--authoritative websites. You decide which is which!

Slave Narratives (Southern Messenger)

Slave Narratives (American Memory)

Websites on some of your writers--some good, some not so good. Again, you decide which is which.

Sylvia Plath Forum

Sylvia Plath: The Feminist Poetess

Gloria Steinem: How the CIA Used Feminism to Destabilize Society

Kate Moses

Margaret Edson's Wit: An Audience Guide

For more detailed evaluation criteria, consult Evaluating Internet Resources (Univ. of Maryland)

CITING SOURCES

Remember to cite your souce, when either quoting directly or paraphasing.
Cite your source whenever you present an idea that isn't your own.
Websites must be cited in your notes/bibliography, too; if you cut and paste--or
paraphrase--from a website, cite the webpage.
When in doubt, cite your source.
Use this link to connect to online versions of Turabian, MLA Style Guide, etc.:
Style Manuals & Citation Guides

For help with your writing, remember the writing services available at the Jacobsen Center.

REFERENCE DESK HOURS

Click here for Neilson Library reference desk hours.

CONTACT THE REFERENCE LIBRARIANS

Contact Pamela Skinner, the instructor for your library session: pskinner@email.smith.edu

Return to Top

Last Updated: November 20, 2006