Introduction to Library Resources and Research Methods in Literary Studies French 2601

Todays class Types of references needed for your recherche bibilographique Library Resources (how to find the references you need for your assignment) Research Strategies (how to make the best use of library resources)

Types of References A Scholarly Monograph (un livre critique) example: a book about the novels of Annie Ernaux. A First Edition (première édition) example: the first published edition of Albert Camus novel La Peste. Three Scholarly Journal Articles or Book Chapters (articles ou chapitres critiques) examples: an article about Amélie Nothombs Robert des noms propres published in the journal French Studies; or a chapter about Marcel Prousts writing in the book, The Cambridge Companion to Proust.

How to Find Books

Mount Allison Library Catalogue Also: Other university library catalogues, WorldCat Other books (scan the bibliographies of books youve already found) Browsing library shelves

Finding Books

Finding Articles

You cannot search for article in the Library Catalogue…

Finding Articles Use a journal index/library database Examples of journal indexes/library databases for French literary studies: Databases: MLA International Bibliography (aka, the MLA Database), Repère also: JSTOR, Project Muse, CBCA Reference, etc. Print Indexes: French XX Bibliography, Bibliographie d'histoire littéraire française

Finding Articles

To find out if an article is available at our library (once you have a citation): Use the Library Catalogue and/or Journal Finder to search for the title of the journal (not title of the article). Sample citation for a journal article: Oscherwitz, Danya. Once Upon a Time that Never Was: Jean-Pierre Jeunets Le Fabuleux Destin dAmelie Poulain. The French Review 84.1 (2011):

Finding Articles To find out if an article is available at our library (once you have a citation): Use the Library Catalogue and/or Journal Finder to search for the title of the journal (not title of the article). Sample citation for a journal article: Oscherwitz, Danya. Once Upon a Time that Never Was: Jean-Pierre Jeunets Le Fabuleux Destin dAmelie Poulain. The French Review 84.1 (2011):

To Find out if the Library has a Particular Journal

Finding Articles: Recap You cannot search for articles in the Library Catalogue! Step 1: Use a Journal Index/Library Database to search for articles on a topic (eg. MLA Database) The full text of the article may be available in the database you search, or there may be a link to the full text. If not… Step 2: Check the Library Catalogue and/or Journal Finder to find out if the library has the journal in which the article appears

Search Strategies Searching for books: You may need to use less specific search terms Searching for articles: You can generally use more specific search terms

Search Tip Truncation Symbol $ in the Library Catalogue * in most other library databases Example: Canad $ will find: Canada, Canadian, Canadians, Canadiana…

Print Indexes Serve the same purpose as online databases: an index to published literature in a particular field of study (eg. French-language literature) Usually appear annually – one volume represents one (and only one) years worth of publications (i.e. volumes are not cumulative) To search for articles published in the last five years, you would have to consult five volumes

Print Indexes Organized alphabetically by author: to find articles about Annie Ernaux, look up Ernaux Under the authors name will appear a list of articles, books or book chapters about that authors works. Check the list to see if any are about your novel and about the specific subject(s) youve been assigned.

Print Indexes Each entry (reference) will have an entry number (numéro de lentrée). These numbers identify each item within the index and are used for cross-references. Your assignment asks you to provide the entry number for references you find in print indexes.

Keyword Selection Sample essay topic: Discuss the depiction of the poor in the works of American playwrights. What are the relevant keywords?

Keyword Selection Sample essay topic: Discuss the depiction of the poor in the works of American playwrights. What are the relevant keywords?

Keyword Selection However… A search in the Library Catalogue for poor and american and playwrights yields ZERO results.

Keyword Selection However… A search in the Library Catalogue for poor and american and playwrights yields zero results. Try using: synonyms, related words, variant spellings, French words, etc. In other words: try to account for the various ways different authors may express the same or similar ideas, topics, concepts, etc.

Keyword Selection Original search: poor and american and playwrights = 0 items Search using synonyms and related words: (poor or poverty or class) and (america$ or united states) and (play$ or drama or theatre or theater) = 38 items

Keyword Selection Sample topics (similar to the ones on your assignment): Albert Camus, La Peste a)traitement de la guerre b) … Hubert Acquin, Prochain épisode a) analyse temporelle b) …

Keyword Selection Sample topic (similar to the ones on your assignment): Albert Camus, La Peste a)traitement de la guerre MLA search: camus AND peste AND guerre = 0

Keyword Selection Sample topic (similar to the ones on your assignment): Albert Camus, La Peste a)traitement de la guerre MLA search: camus AND peste AND guerre = 0 camus AND (peste or plague) and (war or guerre) = 4

Keyword Selection Sample topic (similar to the ones on your assignment): Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode a)analyse temporelle MLA search: aquin AND prochain episode AND temporelle = 1

Keyword Selection Sample topic (similar to the ones on your assignment): Hubert Aquin, Prochain épisode a)analyse temporelle MLA search: aquin AND prochain episode AND temporelle = 1 aquin AND prochain episode AND (temporelle OR temps OR time) = 4

Search Strategy Tips