Library Guides: Literary Research Strategy: Overview

Background

There are a multitude of resources and strategies for conducting literary research in the twenty-first century. In addition to outlining new and classic research tactics, this guide will provide links to literary resources with a broad scope. For links to resources designed for smaller fields of study, consult the following guides:

Medieval English Studies PENDING
Early-Modern Studies PENDING
Eighteenth-Century Studies
Nineteenth-Century Studies
Twentieth-Century Studies PENDING
Poetry Studies PENDING

Basic Reference

These reference resources are grouped here based on their encyclopedic quality -- they give decent factual summaries and are useful for familiarizing oneself with literary subjects, like a more reliable Wikipedia. For the most part, they are not suitable for use as quotable scholarly sources.

Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory & criticism This link opens in a new window
A full-text searchable database of articles on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.
Literature online the home of English and American literature on the World Wide Web LION This link opens in a new window
Literature Online actually extends beyond reference (and even includes a search interface for both ABELL and MLA), but it provides a good selection of reference material. Click "Browse reference works" on the right to scan the options.
MagillOnLiterature This link opens in a new window
Includes the complete contents of 31 sets of reference books, including nearly 20 Masterplots and Masterplots II titles, the Cyclopedia of world authors, the Cyclopedia of literary characters, as well as 10 years of Magill's literary annual and Magill book reviews.

Reference Plus

These reference sources tend to provide more advanced information, and may in some cases (for example, in the Oxford entries) offer quotable material.

English short title catalogue ESTC This link opens in a new window
"... lists over 460,000 items published between 1473 and 1800, mainly in Britain and North America, mainly, but not exclusively, in English, from the collections of the British Library and over 2,000 other libraries."--Publisher's website.
MLA Directory of Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Searchable reference guide to journals in the field of English literature. NOTE: Once in the MLA site, user must click the "Choose Databases" link near the top, and select "MLA Directory of Periodicals."
Oxford bibliographies online. British and Irish Literature This link opens in a new window
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on British and Irish literature, including perspectives from such fields as history, cultural studies, political science, and philosophy. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
Oxford dictionary of national biography This link opens in a new window
The classic, authoritative biographical source for British history. Usage info: Licensed for 3 simultaneous users.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
A complete text of the second edition of the Oxford English dictionary with quarterly updates, including revisions not available in any other form. Contains the complete text of the 20-volume second edition together with its 3-volume additions series.

Primary Source Databases

Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
A collection of twenty primary-source databases, from the 16th through 21st centuries.
Oxford scholarly editions online This link opens in a new window
Currently includes writers active between 1485 and 1837, plus Classical Latin poets. Provides full-text access to hundreds of editions straight to your desktop, showcasing their authoritative editorial notes directly alongside the text and enabling advanced search within and between editions.
Past masters This link opens in a new window
Scholarly editions of classic works, primarily from the 16th through 19th centuries, complete with referenceable page numbers.