Literature Research Articles
Below are some key databases for locating research articles in the field of literature.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals; does not include the most recent few years. (NVCC) - MLA International Bibliography with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
The MLA International Bibliography covers scholarship in a broad range of Humanities disciplines related to global literatures and languages. (VIVA) - Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Offers 250 journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. Covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, and others. (VIVA) - Literature Criticism Online (Gale) This link opens in a new windowCollection of literary criticism, excerpted from books and journals, on poetry, short stories, drama and Shakespeare. If the article is not in a good format for reading, click on the "Download" icon to view it as a .pdf.(NVCC)
The databases below, which contain a lot of background articles (encyclopedia and biographical articles), also contain full research articles.
- Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new windowContains essays and criticism from encyclopedias and books examining the lives of great authors and their works throughout history. Also includes full-length videos of classic plays, information on literary characters, and more. (NVCC)
- Literature Resource Center (Gale) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full-text biographies and critical analyses of writers and their work from a variety of periods and disciplines. (VIVA)
Search Tips
Since research articles are written on very specific topics, try to be specific with your search terms to focus your search results. Think of talking to a database as talking to a three-year-old. Just like a three-year-old, the database needs explicit instructions.
To best accomplish this, there are some key conventions to use when searching in databases:
(1) Nest related terms in parenthesis, using "OR" between them. This tells the database to look for any of those terms
ex. (norms OR ethics OR values)
(2) Put phrases (search terms of more than one word) in quotation marks. This tells the database to look for that exact phrase.
ex. "social class"
(3) Link nested sets of related terms with AND. This tells the database to look for sources that have at least one term from each set.
ex. (norms OR ethics OR values) AND ("social class" or "socioeconomic status")