Encyclopedias and Dictionaries 词典
Gleeson provides access to several dictionaries, which can be used to look up the meaning of words. Dictionaries can be helpful when reading complex journal articles or when close reading and writing about a passage in a primary text.
Encyclopedias provide background information and overviews. They are a good place to begin your research. They might be good for researching biographical information about authors, definitions of literary analysis terms, or background information about historical events.
- Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
A six-volume survey of modern Asia, defined as extending from Japan in the east to Turkey in the west, and from Kazakhstan in the north to Indonesia in the south. Presents more than 2,600 alphabetically arranged entries covering such subjects as countries, cities, regions, natural features, religions, social issues, languages, people, events, customs, politics, and economics. For students, researchers, and general readers. - Gale eBooks
A great place to begin your research, Gale eBooks offers thousands of authoritative articles published in academic encyclopedias, and written by subject experts. Gale eBooks provides information you can not only trust, but cite in a paper as well. Formerly called GVRL: Gale Virtual Reference Library. - Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary is a historical dictionary of English, covering the language from the earliest times to the present day. It aims to show not only the current meanings of words, but also to trace their development through time.
Literature Specific Subject Databases
- Literary Reference Center Plus
Literary Reference Center features an expansive collection of author biographies, plot summaries and full-text essays from leading publishers. It also includes literary reference books and monographs, cover-to-cover full text for literary magazines and book reviews from the most prestigious publications. It offers poems from hundreds of sources, short stories, classic texts, author interviews and much more. Literary Reference Center Plus replaces MagillOnLiterature Plus. - Gale Literature
Gale Literature combines the content of several Gale databases: Literature Resource Center, Literary Criticism Online, and more, forming the world’s most current, comprehensive and reliable online literature database. Its rich critical, biographical and contextual content supports interdisciplinary approaches, information literacy and the development of critical-thinking skills. - MLA International Bibliography with Full Text
Indexes materials from 1921 to the present in academic disciplines such as literature, literary theory and criticism, language, folklore, linguistics, and the dramatic arts.
For example, MLA International Bibliography covers these journals: Chinese Literature, Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews, Chinese Culture: A Quarterly Review, among others that are applicable to your class and your research project.
Database Search Strategies
Too many results?
- Make use of the limiters in databases. For example, remember to limit your search to journal articles and use date limiters to limit your results to recent scholarship, published within the last few years, if necessary.
- Link keywords with AND -- the database should return ONLY those results that contain ALL of the keywords linked with AND, therefore limiting your results.
- Try doing a subject search instead of keyword search. Subject searches are more targeted searches, and may increase the relevancy or usefulness of your results.
Too few results?
- Experiment with different keywords that you haven't used yet.
- Use an asterisk as a wild card. Example: sustainab* searches for sustainable, sustainability, etc.
- Link synonyms with OR. For example: architecture OR design OR building. The database should return results that contain ANY of the keywords linked by OR, therefore expanding your search.
Additional reminders
- Put short phrases in quotations to search for the phrase exactly. Example: "museum studies" searches for that exact phrase, rather than the words museum and studies separately.
- In most databases, there is an option to limit to peer reviewed journal articles.
How Do I Find the Full-Text of Articles?
- Click on the USF Find Full-Text link or button to see if we have access to the full-text (usually a pdf) of the article at USF. This will help you determine whether the article is available at USF through another database, other online subscriptions, or the the library’s print holdings. For more information, watch the tutorial Using USF: Find Full-text.
- Use the Document Delivery portal to request articles USF owns or to request articles that USF does not own.