Dr. Debora B. Schwartz
English Department, California Polytechnic State University

 Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Literary Research, Step 6: 
Finding and Evaluating Web-Based Resources

NOTE:  THIS IS NOT A REQUIRED ASSIGNMENT; guidelines are included for your information only.

PRELIMINARIES: Contrary to popular belief, few reputable scholarly resources are available for free over the Web to anyone.  It is generally prudent to limit your web-based research to the subscription-only databases available through the Cal Poly Library.   In addition to the databases covered in previous exercises, you may be interested in the following Cal Poly subscription databases:

  • Books In Print
  • Britannica Online
  • Chicano Database
  • Communication and Mass Media Complete (for e.g. film, video, broadcast and new media studies)
  • Contemporary Authors (IMPORTANT RESOURCE)
  • Ethnic News Watch
  • Gender Watch
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library, providing full-text access to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and standard university reference works.  Arranged by topic.  SEE e.g. 

    • Under "literature":  
    --American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present 2nd ed., 4v, 2000 
    -- Contemporary Novelists 7th ed., 2001 
    -- Contemporary Poets 7th ed., 2001 
    -- Modern American Literature 5th ed., 3v, 1999 
    -- Reference Guide to Holocaust Literature 2002 
    -- Reference Guide to Short Fiction 2nd ed., 1999 
    -- Reference Guide to World Literature 3rd ed., 2v, 2003)
    Under "Multicultural Studies": 
    -- African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience 2003 
    -- Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America 3v, 2004 
    -- Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America 2nd ed., 3v, 2000 
    Under "Arts":
    -- International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers 4th ed., 4v, 2001 
    Under "History":
    -- Ancient Europe, 8000 B.C. to A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World 2v, 2004 
    -- Dictionary of American History 3rd ed., 10v, 2003 
    -- Encyclopedia of Food and Culture 3v, 2003 
    -- Encyclopedia of the Great Depression 2v, 2004 
    -- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World 6v, 2004 
    -- Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students 4v, 2004 
    -- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture 5v, 2000 
    Under "Religion":
     -- Contemporary American Religion 2v, 1999 
     -- Encyclopedia of American Religions 7th ed., 2003 
     -- Encyclopedia of Buddhism 2v, 2004 
     -- Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World 2v, 2004 
     -- Encyclopedia of Science and Religion 2v, 2003 
     -- New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd ed., 15v, 2003 
     -- New Catholic Encyclopedia Jubilee Volume 2nd ed., 2000 
    Under "Biography":
      -- Encyclopedia of World Biography 2nd ed., 23v, 2004 
    (and much more. . . !)
     etc.! (NB -- this database offers another way to access many of the resources available through the "ReferenceCenter" function of NetLibrary.)- 
  • Google Scholar (IMPORTANT RESOURCE!)
  • Grove Art Online
  • Grove Music Online
  • L.A. Times Historical Newspaper (articles and images from the Los Angeles Times, 1881-1985)
  • Literature Resource Center (IMPORTANT RESOURCE!! Includes timelines, biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of over 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors; searchable by author, title, genre, literary movement, or literary theme, as well as combinations thereof)
  • Melvyl (U.C. system-wide library catalogue)
  • New York Times Historical Newspaper (articles and images from the New York Times, 1851-2003)
  • Oxford English Dictionary (OED) (IMPORTANT RESOURCE!!)
  • Oxford Journals Online (see subject list of journals in the Humanities, including e.g. Adaptation, American Literary History, Contemporary Women's Writing, Essays in Criticism, French Studies, French Studies Bulletin, The Library, The Literary Imagination, Literature and Theology, Notes and Queries, The Review of English Studies, Screen, The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory, The Year's Work in English Studies)
  • ProQuest Historical Newspapers (searches New York Times Historical and L.A. Times Historical databases simultaneously)
  • WorldCat (database indexing 30+ million items held in libraries world-wide)
Given this wealth of reliable online material, there is really no reason to turn to less reliable resources (e.g. Wikipedia -- which should NEVER be cited in a research paper . . .)

But should you wish to extend your search into Cyperspace, PROCEED WITH CAUTION!  Because you should cite only reputable SCHOLARLY SOURCES in a research assignment, much of what you will find using a web search engine (such as Google or Lycos) will not be appropriate.  Remember that there is no "Quality Control" for most websites, so you should evaluate them with a critical eye.


PRACTICUM: Using Online Encyclopedias and Search Engines

Finding Web-Based Resources
 

  • Because most hits generated using a commercial web search engine will not be appropriate for scholarly research, it is safer to limit web-based research to reputable online encylopedias, e.g. 
    • and/or targetted search engines, e.g.  You can also use your favorite standard search engine, but be prepared to winnow a great deal of material out.

    As you use a given online enyclopedia, database or search engine, keep careful notes of the resource you are using, the specific types of searches you try using what specific search terms you try,  the number of results generated for each search, and your assessment of the usefulness of these results.


    Evaluating Web-Based Resources:

    Because anyone can "publish" virtually anything on-line, it is essential to evaluate resources found on the web with a critical eye. Catchy visuals and slick presentation are no guarantee of quality.  And even if you find a webpage on your topic using a targetted search engine, there is no guarantee that the page is a valid scholarly source.  Author information, links to other sites, and even the site's URL can provide clues to the scholarly credibility of a given site. 

    • Author: Who created the site? (an established scholar, a scholarly organization, a student, a commercial vendor, an enthusiastic amateur?)  What is that person or organization's take on the material provided?  Be aware that many fun but highly inaccurate pages on medieval themes have been put together by people interested in e.g. fantasy literature, gaming, New Age spirituality or the Society for the Creative Anachronism. While these pages may be technically very well done, they tend to be full of misinformation! 
    • Links: follow links provided to see what other sites the author finds useful.  Links can give you a sense of a site author's perspective even when no author information is provided. 
    • URL: Remember that the URL of most university websites ends ".edu"; also check for a link back to a course (or professor's) homepage to identify student assignments or original Web research placed on line by an active scholar. But remember that because anyone can "publish" virtually anything on-line, there is no "quality control" even on a university web-site, so you should take what you find with more than a grain of salt!



    You may submit an optional Extra Credit report of web-based search results to the class research archive.   The report should include a description of the search engine or web-based encylcopedia used as well as a detailed description of what specific searches you conducted (types of search and specific search terms used, number of results for each search).  You should also assess the usefulness and scholarly validity of your search results.

    Provide a full bibliographic citation in correct MLA citation format for a website for any resource you find particularly useful  (follow link for an overview; consult your MLA Handbook for fuller details).  Describe its contents and summarize any information provided about the author(s).  Categorize the site (and its author) to the best of your ability and explain why you consider it to be a reputable scholarly resource (use the evaluation criteria above).  Be sure your report includes the title of the site, its author if indicated, the URL of the site and the date you accessed it.Subject line of  optional E.C. Report should read "E.C. Report: Google Scholar results," "E.C. Report: Useful Web Resources" or something of that nature.


    FINALLY:  Please remember that as a rule, you should NOT use material found on websites in your research, with the exception of reputable online journals or encylopedias and/or sites created by a reputable scholar, team of scholarly collaborators or a scholarly organization.  Other web-based  resources are HIGHLY UNLIKELY to be suitable for citation in a research paper.  If you DO  find something which you consider valuable elsewhere on the web, evaluate it thoughtfully and be prepared to explain your reasons for considering it to be a reputable scholarly source.
     

    Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2007

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