University Library > Guides > Literary Research: General Sources

Syllabus for Literary Research: 1a. General Sources: Literary Research Guides, Bibliographies and Indexes

 Literary Research Guides
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This guide lists selected titles of books and databases about novels held by the UW-Whitewater Andersen Library. It is not a comprehensive list of available titles. Follow the examples under Finding Literary Criticism and Bibliographies below to find additional books held by the UW-Whitewater or other UW-System libraries.

Locations: Call numbers preceded by Main are in the Main Collection (3rd floor), those preceded by Ref are in the Reference Collection (2nd floor), and those preceded by Remote Storage must be retrieved by staff at the Circulation Desk. Items without call numbers are online indexes and databases accessible from the Indexes & Databases Arranged by Subject: Humanities webpage, or by clicking on the linked title.

Literary Research Guides

Methods

  • The Art of Literary Research   4th ed.
    Main   PR56 .A68 1993

Guides to Sources

  • Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies   4th ed.
    Ref   PR83 .H34 2008

  • Reference Sources in English and American Literature: An Annotated Bibliography
    Ref   PR83 .S3

  • Reference Works in British and American Literature
    Ref   Z2011 .B74 1990   vols. 1-2

American Literature

  • American Ethnic Literatures: Native American, African American, Chicano/Latino, and Asian American Writers and Their Backgrounds: An Annotated Bibliography
    Ref   Z1229 .E87 P43 1992

  • American Indian Literatures: An Introduction, Bibliographic Review, and Selected Bibliography
    Ref   PM155 .R86 1990

  • American Literature: A Study and Research Guide
    Main   Z1225 .L47

  • American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present
    Ref   PS147 .A4  vols. 1-5

  • A Bibliographical Guide to the Study of Southern Literature
    Ref   Z1225 .R8

  • Bibliographical Guide to the Study of the Literature of the U.S.A.   5th ed.
    Ref   Z1225 .G6 1984

  • Chicano Literature: A Reference Guide
    Main   PS153 .M4 C46 1985

  • Guide to American Literature
    Main   PS88 .F46x

  • New Immigrant Literatures In The United States: A Sourcebook to Our Multicultural Literary Heritage
    Ref   PS153. M56 N475 1996

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Finding Literary Criticism and Bibliographies in the Library

To find books containing literary criticism or bibliographies citing literary resources, search the HALcat, the Andersen Library Catalog. Select the Basic Search tab (default option). Then select Subject Keywords from the menu by clicking on it. Click in the textbox and type a subject heading or words from one. Click on . For example:

twain mark bibliography

joyce james criticism and interpretation

or select Keyword (use and, or, not) from the menu and search for combinations of terms used in subjects for genres such as "American fiction" or "English fiction," "historical fiction" or "science fiction," or categories like "African American authors" or "women authors," with a chronological period like "early modern," "18th century," "19th century" or "20th century," and either "history and criticism" or "bibliography." Enclose a phrase of two or more words between quotation marks. Combine multiple terms with Boolean operators (and, or, not). Click on . For example:

"american literature" and "women authors" and criticism

"english literature" and "20th century" and bibliography

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Excerpts from Literary Criticism

For excerpts from articles, essays or books containing literary criticism, search Gale's Literature Criticism Online. Perform a search by Named Author or Work (title), display the resulting references to the Gale series and click to get the fulltext of the excerpts. For entries that are not fulltext online, search by Exact Title for the series title in HALcat, the Andersen Library Catalog, to find the location and call number, except for volumes in the series Dictionary of Literary Biography, in which case search by Keyword (use and, or, not) for "dictionary of literary biography" and [insert volume number here].

Some other sources of criticism:

  • African American Literary Criticism, 1773 to 2000
    Ref   PS153.N5 A33 1999   vols. 1-2

  • Black Literature Criticism
    Ref   PS153 .N5 B556 1992   vols. 1-3 and suppl.

  • Hispanic Literature Criticism
    Ref   PQ7081 .A1 H573 1994   vols. 1-2

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Abstracts and Indexes

SEE ALSO: Indexes & Databases Arranged by Subject: Humanities.

General Humanities Indexes

Literary Indexes

  • American Literary Scholarship
    American Literary Scholarship Online (2000 - present

  • Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature
    Remote Storage   Z2011 .M69   38 (1963)-67 (1992)

  • Articles on American Literature, ...
    Ref   Z1225 .L49   1900-1950
    Ref   Z1225 .L492   1950-1967
    Ref   Z1225 .L492 1979   1968-1975

  • Literary Criticism Index   2nd ed.
    Ref   PN523 .W44 1994

  • MagillOnLiterature Plus (EBSCOhost) UW-W users only EBSCOhost Guide
    This online database contains Magill Book Reviews as well as several other books.

  • Magill's Bibliography of Literary Criticism
    Remote Storage   Z6511 .M25   vols. 1-4

  • MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost) UW-W users only WebSPIRS Guide

  • The Year's Work in English Studies
    Remote Storage   PE58 .E6   28 (1947)-31 (1950), 38 (1957), 40 (1959), 42 (1961)-75 (1994)

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For assistance, contact a reference librarian at (262) 472-1032, by email or chat or in person at the Library's Reference Desk.

Last Revised: MS - 11/12/2009