WRIT 125-19: HAMLET: POEM UNLIMITED
Once you have an author or topic to research, there are several steps you should take to gather the information you will need for your paper.
Always start by using the Wellesley College Online Catalog. You can get to get to the Catalog via the college's Home Page, scroll down to Computing/Library, then to Library, & Library Catalog. Click on Library Catalog.
Under the Research Resources column, click on Databases A-Z, Research Guides by Subject/by Course. There are two helpful sections under the Tips & Tools subheading on the right side of the page. Both Starting Your Research & Citing Sources will provide invaluable assistance once you have begun work on a major paper. For print version citation information, go to the main desk in the Reference Room. Copies of Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.), MLA Handbook, (6th ed.), and Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 5th ed.) are some of the print versions kept there for the convenience of students working on papers in the library who would prefer to use print citation guides.
Other sites of interest would be our new Reference Books Online section and the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) page. [Just a cautionary note about using the WWW --- Literary comments from articles with no designated author, or an author with no stated credentials, should be suspect. Because it is on the Web does not mean the information is accurate!]
FindIt! @ Wellesley (click on the title for more information) is one of our newest features and helps retrieve more full-text articles than ever before. It will also link the user to NExpress, Virtual Catalog, or ILL if our libraries do not have access to the title. NExpress, comprised of a small local consortium of schools, usually provides the fastest service.
To locate books in our collection: Use the Wellesley College Online Catalog. Some searching tips: To find books written by your author, do an author search. For critical evaluations, do a keyword search & enter just the the author's name or the author's name and criticism (e.g. shakespeare tragedies criticism). Once these titles come up, further book records can be examined by clicking on the subject headings for any of the books listed. A keyword search is a good starting point for any central themes or periods, also. (e.g. shakespeare hamlet). Further topics can, again, be examined by looking at the subject line on each individual record.
As you work on your paper and look for resources, you will find there are basically four options available to you ---
Our libraries own a print copy.
Our libraries have the journal title on microfilm.
The article you need is in full text in one of our databases (See the Databases A to Z list).
Our libraries do not have access to the book or journal title. Request via ILL, Virtual Catalog, or Nexpress.
All Things Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's World - Clapp Ref PR2892 .O56 2002 (2 vols.)
Companion to Shakespeare's Works [Vol. 1 - The Tragedies; Vol. 2 - The Histories] - Clapp Lib PR2976 .C572 2003
Critical Companion to William Shakespeare: A Literary Reference to His Life & Works - Clapp Ref PR2892 .B69 2005 (2 vols.)
Double Vision: Moral Philosophy of Shakespearean Drama - Clapp Lib PR3001 .Z36 2007
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
Major Authors Edition of the New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism, Vols. 2 & 11 - Clapp Ref qPR85 .M33 1985
Oxford Companion to Shakespeare - Clapp Ref PR2892 .O94 2001
Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life & Times, & More - Clapp Ref PR2892 .B69 1990
Shakespeare As Literary Dramatist - Clapp Lib PR3072 .E76 2003
Shakespeare, the Man & His Works; Being all the Subject Matter About Shakespeare Contained in Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism - Clapp Lib PR2890 .S47
Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, & Romance - Clapp Lib PR2976 .C27 1991
Shakespeare: The Tragedies; A Collection of Critical Essays - Clapp Lib PR2983 .L38
Sudden Shakespeare: The Shaping of Shakespeare's Creative Thought - Clapp Lib PR2986 .D38 1996
Find Books, Videos, etc. Use WorldCat 1000 BC +(via FirstSearch) to find books and other materials not here at Wellesley but in library catalogs worldwide. Use the Interlibrary Loan (ILL ) template to order titles not available in our catalog.
Academic Search Premier The world's largest scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database. Dates of coverage vary by title.
British Periodicals Searchable full text facsimiles of more than 160 British periodicals from the late 17th to the early 20th century, covering literature, philosophy, history, science, the fine arts and social sciences.
EEBO (Early English Books Online) has searchable, browsable images of virtually every work printed in English from 1473-1700.
Historical Abstracts 1954+
For finding scholarly articles, books, and chapters in books about world history (excluding the U.S. and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Articles date back to 1954. This is a good resource for students examining the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, life in England between 1590-1630, the Globe Theatre, etc.
JSTOR. From 1st edition vols. to the latest 5 years.
Use this to find articles in selected scholarly literature journals written prior to about the last five years. JSTOR is an archive of back issues of selected journals.
Literature Online (LION) 17th-20th century. Has literary texts from 1600 to the present with full-text literary criticism from 1998 +.
Literature Resource Center has biographies, bibliographies and full-text critical analysis of authors from all genres and eras, including the contents of Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.
MLA Bibliography 1963+.
For finding scholarly articles, books, and chapters in books about language, literature, film, and drama in all languages.
Periodicals IndexOnline 1665-1995. This index provides article information in over 40 languages and over 4,000 humanities & social science periodicals.
Project Muse has articles from the latest 5 years in the humanities and social sciences.
Shakespeare Collection Online Scholarly and historical editions of Shakespeare's works; articles and reference materials on Shakespeare and related topics, 1600 to the present. This database features the classic Arden edition of Shakespeare's complete works.
Professor Cain has had important readings for this course placed on Carel #15 on the 4th floor. Remember --- these are for the benefit of the whole class and should only be used in that location at Clapp.