Guides: ENG 5304 Bibliography & Research Methods: Finding Scholarly Books &amp; Articles

Use OneSearch to find books

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
OneSearch is a discovery tool that provides a single place to search most of the content available from the Baylor University Libraries, including:
- traditional library materials (books, journal titles, media, etc.);
- the Baylor Digital Collections;
- BEARdocs, (electronic theses and dissertations, honors theses, technical reports, faculty publications, etc.);
- research guides;
- and -- most importantly, much of the full text content to which the Baylor Libraries subscribe from a wide variety of sources.

Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

You want to start focusing your research to find the best relevant resources. To do that start with the major source for identifying scholarly publications (journals or monographs/books) in the field. For literature the two major sources are listed below.

One of these two sources should be where you start ALL your research for sources as a grad student. Each are produced by the major scholarly association in the fields: MLA International Bibliography by the Modern Language Association (in the US), the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) by the British Modern Humanities Research Association.

Both index (comb through publisher's catalogues and the journals each thinks are essential to the field to provide an organized listing of the contents) and to some degree provide abstracts (summaries) of the items indexed

MLA international bibliography This link opens in a new window
Indexes over 3,000 journals and series. Also covers relevant monographs, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies, and other formats. Areas covered include literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Has some very useful special search features for searching authors and literary works which you'll want to ask about, Covers British and American scholarship, but better represents American scholarship. See the entry for ABELL below for fuller coverage of British scholarship, or the specialized discipline-focused databases listed below.
ABELL This link opens in a new window
Covers English language and literature published anywhere in the world from 1920 onwards. Contains monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews and collections of essays. Unpublished doctoral dissertations are covered for the period 1920–1999. Compiled under the auspices of the Modern Humanities Research Association. Proquest.

MLA International Bibliography Tutorials

Keyword vs. Subject Searching
This short video discusses the difference between these two search modes (and the principles hold true for almost all online searching).
NOTE: Baylor's link to the MLA IB will take you to the advanced search screen.

Search Tips
This tutorial covers useful features in composing a search including how to use the information in the MLA IB record to select a subject term, using the Thesaurus to "explode" or narrow a search term, and using the * for truncation or letter substitution.

Understanding Results/Finding Full Text
A very useful overview of the parts of an MLA IB record and it's various fields, how to use these to best advantage, and general info on finding the full-text.
NOTE: to find full-text for articles not directly listed in the MLA IB, use the BU INFOLINKS link or button.

Finding Book Reviews

Book reviews, especially scholarly or lengthy ones, can be good sources of information about the author of the book, his/her scholarly background and biases, as well as how this book compares to others in the field (or if it's unique).

Use the sources mentioned in the boxes on this page for Electronic and Print Resource tab to find book reviews in the scholarly journals for your discipline. In the electronic sources type in the title of the book and limit the (article) type to review to find out if there are reviews. For the Print resources there will usually be a section labeled "Book Reviews" or "Reviews." Don't hesitate to check with me if you have questions.

The reviews in scholarly journals may appear as much as 3 - 5 years later than the publication year of the book, so don't limit your search too narrowly.

The sources listed below are additional places to look for book reviews - some brief, some longer - if you don't find any in the databases.

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
Searching for the title of the work and limiting your results to "reviews" will help you find book reviews.

H-Net Reviews
A source of scholarly reviews for books and media in all areas of the humanities and social sciences fields. Reviews and reviewed items may be in any language. Simple and advanced search as well as browse lists are the main options for identifying reviews. Advanced search allows limits (including to which list the review was published), but no limits for language.
New York Review of Books
Use the "Opinion Archives" to access these in-depth reviews written by scholars and well-known authors.

ProQuest historical newspapers. The New York times This link opens in a new window
Provides searching and digital access to the New York Times newspaper from its beginnings in 1851 to three years short of the current year. Basic and advanced searching features, limiters include date and document type (articles, birth notices, obituaries, display ads, real estate, etc.). Primary Source. ProQuest.;This database offers full-page-images and article images from the New York Times dating back to 1851 (called New York daily times, 1851-1857). Digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. It provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
Times digital archive 1785-1985 This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing and full-text access to the Times (London) newspaper from its inception to 1985. Search by keyword with limits available by newspaper section (stock tables, editorials, articles, illustrations/pictures, etc.). Primary Source. Gale Cengage.
Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Essays and reviews from the Times literary supplement. Containing every page of every copy of the TLS published from 1902 to 2005. Also includes identification of the anonymous contributors, reviewers, essayists, and writers of letters and poems, allowing students, researchers, critics and authors to explore in greater depth the literary activity and critical opinion makers of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Searching for Scholarly Journals Beyond Literature

Below is listed the main database to search besides MLA International Bibliography and ABELL for the intersection of religion and literature.

ATLA religion database with ATLASerials This link opens in a new window
Indexes comprehensively scholarly and non-scholarly journals in religion and theology. This resource is a definite "must consult" for those undertaking bibliographic research in Christian religious studies. One of the oldest continuing indexes of religious journal literature, its retrospective journal coverage goes back as far as 1949 and in some cases to the 19th century. The breadth and depth of its coverage renders this index extremely versatile. Its content and search features make it relevant for research in a number of religion specific areas including Biblical Studies, Church history, Systematic Theology, Philosophical Theology, and Ministry studies, as well as denomination specific research. Full-text access is frequently available. Abstracting is spare, but does appear in the occasional record. EBSCOhost.

In the area of art and architecture there are several database and they are of two kinds: journal article and image. The journal databases are listed first, then the image databases.

Art & architecture source This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text coverage to over 600 full-text journals, over 200 full-text books, and over 60 000 images in art and architecture from 1929-present. Combines content from Art Index/Art Index Retrospective and Art & Architecture Complete. Includes indexing and abstracts for several hundred journals and books. Includes collection of thousands of images. EBSCOhost.
Art index retrospective This link opens in a new window
Provides access to mid 20th-century art history literature and contemporary criticism of art through periodicals, yearbooks, and select museum bulletins. Cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 (published between 1929 and 1984). Covers advertising art, antiques, archaeology, architecture and architectural history, art history, crafts, decorative arts, folk art, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, motion pictures, museology, non-western art, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, television, and textiles.
Performing arts periodicals database This link opens in a new window
Indexes articles from around 400 scholarly and popular periodicals, as well as some books. Includes reviews, biographical profiles, obituaries, interviews, and more. Theatre and film are the largest categories, but all performing arts disciplines are covered. Some full text is available. Most records are from 1998 to the present and include an abstract. Produced by ProQuest and updated monthly.
Covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry - including dance, film, television, drama, theatre, musical theatre, stagecraft, opera, circus performance, pantomime, puppetry, magic, performance art, and more.
Index of Medieval art This link opens in a new window
Emphasizes primarily western Europe. The "Index" is a record of Christian art in over 17 media types from the early apostolic times to 1550 (some collections include up to the mid 16th century). Recently Christian art from the Coptic and Near Eastern Christian traditions has been included. Each image is assigned a primary subject (the person(s), event, or scene in the image) and other subject fields to identify the other items in the image. Information on the image includes (as applicable): artist, name and location of work, medium, object type, style, school, date, dimensions, and description. Browse pre-defined fields by keywords, simple and advanced search features are also available. The online version contains only about 30% of the images and information available in the card index available at Princeton University. In 1957 the 100 000th image was added to the record and approximately 1 000 images have been added to the collection annually since then. The online database began in 1991 and contains nearly 80 000 works of art. Not all images are available for viewing due to copyright restrictions. Image quality varies greatly and may be black & white or color. Image records include a bibliography of scholarship on the image where it exists. N.B.: FROM SEARCH RESULTS LIST click on the number in the left column to access the images and bibliographic information in which you are interested. Princeton University.
The largest database of medieval art in existence with full-text records for over 23,000 works of art dating from early apostolic times to A.D. 1400. Seventeen different media are represented in the archive, including manuscripts, metalwork, sculpture, painting, glass, etc.

Image databases provide you with easy access to a variety of collections, most of which may be used in lectures, presentations, and web sites which are not publicly accessible.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences. Includes suite of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes. Includes offline image viewer and mobile versions.

Linguistics and language behavior abstracts : LLBA This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts articles on the study of language, Including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Also covers descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical, and geographical linguistics as well as language pathology, anthropological linguistics, language development, and nonverbal communication. Provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews, also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, and dissertations. Covers 1973 to present. Searchable by author, title, keyword, descriptors, source, and 26 other fields. ProQuest/CSA.

America : history and life This link opens in a new window
Indexes articles from scholarly journals on the history of the United States and Canada only. Provides abstracts for most articles. Also includes book reviews in scholarly history journals but does not index book publications. Features: simple, advanced, and visual search features, and search alerts. The first place to look for scholarly literature on America and Canada. (N.B.: For the rest of the world, use Historical Abstracts). EBOSCOhost.
Bibliography of British and Irish history This link opens in a new window
Indexes scholarly writing by historians on the British Isles, the British Empire, and the British Commonwealth. Covers the historical period from 55 B.C.E. to the present, including books, journal articles, and essays. Search by subject, geographical region, personal name, and limit to historical period or year of publication.
Historical abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes and provides abstracts to scholarly journal articles, conference papers, dissertations, books and book reviews in history for all countries except the United States and Canada (for the U.S. and Canada use America: History & Life). Since every subject has a history all subjects are covered, from accounting and biology to warfare and zoology, not just traditional "history.", Includes research on eras from prehistory to the present. Basic, advanced, and visual search features, limits by time period, country, year of publication of article, language of publication, in addition to subject, author, keyword, etc. EBSCO.

ENG 5304 Bibliography & Research Methods

Finding Books

Search Basics

Use OneSearch to find books

Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

MLA International Bibliography Tutorials

Finding Book Reviews

Searching for Scholarly Journals Beyond Literature

University Libraries