ENG 3334E: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature

Methods & Materials LIBRARY RESEARCH WORKSHOP

Melanie Mills, Research & Instructional Services Librarian The D.B. Weldon Library

11 January 2011

Research Workshop Series

Winter 2011 Methods & Materials Workshop

(Bibliography Assignment, Part A) January 11th, 2011 – 2 hours

Annotated Bibliography Workshop (Bibliography Assignment, Part B)

February 17th, 2011 – 1 hour

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Research Workshop Series

Course Objectives to develop an appreciation of Restoration and

eighteenth-century literature that unites historical observation and literary analysis;

to hone analytical and critical skills in both oral and written work; and

to develop confidence in research practices

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Research Workshop Series

Workshop Objectives to practice translating essay topics into

(re)searchable questions to begin using advanced research methods to apply selection criteria in order to identify

the most appropriate historical and literary criticism to introduce you to the variety of rich research

materials available to you here at Western

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Methods & Materials Workshop

Today’s Agenda Research Process, A Review Research Methods & Materials for ENG 3334E Sources and strategies to help you uncover the

best academic material available for this, and future assignments and coursework.

Hands-on practice throughout!

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

The Research Process

Define Research

Topic

ConductPreliminary

Research

Revise Research

Topic

Refine Research

(Re)Define

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Bibliographic Assignment

Part A define your topic historical context / topics of relevance critical conversations important critics preliminary bibliography (at least ten sources;

books and articles, both older and more recent; MLA formatted citations).

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Working Essay Topic

What role does satire play in Evelina? How do the novel’s satiric energies complicateits aesthetics of sensibility?

Write this down at the top of your worksheet, under Step 1: Define Research Topic.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

On your own…

1) circle, highlight or underline the key concepts included in this essay topic; and

2) brainstorm as many words that you can think of that may be associated with the key concepts you’ve identified.

Write these down on the worksheet, under Step 1: Define Research Topic.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Define Research Topic

Key Concepts

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

aesthetics of sensibility

Evelina satire

ridicule

comedy

vice

virtue

irony

folly

sarcasm

1778

Frances Burney

Fanny Burney

novel of manners

Bildungsroman

epistolary

18th Century

letters

young lady women

society class

social conventions

ideal behavioursocial world

beauty

refined taste

perception

emotions

public

private

Define Research Topic

1) consider what you already know about the topic or its associated key concepts;

2) if elements of the topic are new to you, learn more before you start your research!

HINT: References sources (such as biographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias) are a wise place to begin!

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Reference Tab

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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Program Guides

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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Program Guides (English)

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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English Program Guide

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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English Program Guide

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library OO

Conduct Preliminary Research Begin with broad concepts, and as you learn more

about your topic, revise and refine your searches.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Evelina satire

Evelina and satire

Conduct Preliminary Research Broaden your search by incorporating more than

one search term to capture any given key concept.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Evelina Burney

(Evelina or Burney)

Search SyntaxHelpful tips for constructing effective search strings:

AND Evelina and satireOR (Evelina or Burney) and satire

* (asterisk) (Evelina or Burney) and satir* “quotation (Evelina or Burney) and satir* and

marks” “novel of manners”

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

On your own…Using only the words (or, search terms) that you

wrote down under Step 1: Define Research Topic, write down three different search strings that you could use to conduct preliminary research.

Note your search strings under Step 2:Conducting Preliminary Research.

e.g. (Evelina or Burney) and satir*

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Sources for Preliminary Research Selected sources for background research:

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Literary Criticism (online or in print) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

All are listed on the ENG 3334E Course Page (under ‘Program Guides’), and may be retrieved by title in the Library Catalogue.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Sources for Preliminary Research Searching the Shared Library Catalogue (

http://alpha.lib.uwo.ca) is a another usefulplace to conduct preliminary research.

chapter titles, table of contents, and the notes field in item records for books can provide valuable information on your subject to help you further refine your research

Let’s try a few searches…

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Books Tab (alpha.lib.uwo.ca)

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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In small groups…1) Run a few searches in the

Shared Library Catalogue, focusing on one key concept from our working essay topic.

2) Try different combinations of search terms and search syntax. Help each other construct and modify your search strings.

3) Keep revising your search until you have a list of no more than twenty books.

4) Once you’ve successfully narrowed your search, write your search string on the board.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Refine Your Research best characterized as a process of trial and error requires continuous revision and refinement

(i.e. different combinations of search terms, search syntax, research resources)

incorporate new knowledge into your searches try various strategies in a diversity of research

resources (e.g. catalogue, databases, etc).

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Refine Your Research

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Critical evaluation of information sources is a requisite component of refining research.

Evaluation criteria can help you determine whether to include, or more importantly, exclude a source from your bibliography.

Evaluation Criteria

Currency – the timeliness of the information.Relevance – its importance to your needs. Authority – the source of the information. Accuracy – the reliability of the information.Purpose – the reason the information exists.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

On your own (or, in pairs)… 1) Review the information resource you have in

hand, with a view to answer some (all) of the questions related to your assigned criteria.

2) Would you cite this source in Part A of your bibliography assignment for this class? Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class.

Write any comments, observations, or questions you have down on your worksheet, under Step 3: Refine Research.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Revise Research Topic

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

• begin conducting in-depth research (locating peer-reviewed academic publications such as journal articles, book chapters, or collected works of criticism)

• just as before, be careful not to limit your research too soon (e.g. searching only one or two databases; using only a few search terms)

Articles Tab

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

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Sources for In-Depth Research

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Discipline-specific research databases: MLA International Bibliography JSTOR

Multi-disciplinary research databases: ScholarsPortal Search Google Scholar

All are listed on the ENG 3334E Course Page (under ‘Program Guides’).

Let’s try a few sample searches…

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Return to your small groups…1) Run a few searches in ScholarsPortal Search (Arts

& Humanities), focusing on one key concept from our working essay topic. N.B. Your research topic will need to be much more specific / focused in online databases.

2) Try different combinations of search terms and search syntax. Help each other construct and modify your search strings.

3) Keep revising your search until you have a list of no more than thirty articles or book chapters.

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

The Research Process

Define Research

Topic

ConductPreliminary

Research

Revise Research

Topic

Refine Research

(Re)Define

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

The D.B. Weldon Library

Research Help E-mail, Chat, In-Person (www.lib.uwo.ca/weldon/)

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Melanie’s Office Hours

Drop-In Research Help in-person,

no appointment necessary Wednesdays, 2 – 4 PM* University College,

Room 171 melanie.mills@uwo.ca

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library

Thank you!

Next time…

Annotated Bibliography Workshop February 17th, 2011 – 1 hour

ENG 3334: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (2010-11) Melanie Mills, The D.B. Weldon Library