Literature in Translation 395

The Legend of the Samurai in Literature and Film / Prof. Ikeda

Research Guide by Yolanda Merrill, humanities librarian

Spring 2006

How to Research a Topic: Identifies the steps of the research process.

Background information: in encyclopedias, dictionairies, handbooks, websites, statistics, etc.

       --> Reference Shelf for online sources

       --> Annie for print sources such as the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan

Brainstorming: write down a list of KEYWORDS that apply to your topic.

samurai; japan*; warrior*; film*; motion picture*; movie*; literature; drama*; warlord*; animation, etc.

Search examples:  KW = samurai and (film* or motion picture*)

                            KW = japan and warrior* and (litera* or drama*)

                            AU  = Mishima Yukio

                            KW = Yukio Mishima

                            SH  = samurai

Databases to search:

.Annie

Washington and Lee University's online catalog. Search for books, videos, DVDs, sound recordings and other materials the library owns. More Details

WorldCat A database consisting of the records of hundreds of library catalogs. WorldCat includes records and location information for about one billion books, theses and dissertations, video and sound recordings, and other materials. (Multiple records may exist for any one item.) More Details

MLA (Modern Language Association) International Bibliography

An international index to scholarly materials on modern language, literature, linguistics, and folklore. Materials covered include journal articles, series, monographs, and conference papers. Coverage extends back to 1963. This database identifies refereed journal articles, and is updated ten times a year. It contains links to full text articles wherever possible. More Details

Arts and Humanities Search A large, multi-faceted index to articles in over 1,300 journals, and magazines, covering all aspects of the arts and the humanities (fine arts, philosophy, religion, history, etc. The database contains over 2 1/2 million citations. Coverage of some titles extends back to the early 1980's. The database is updated weekly. More Details

Project Muse

Full-text access to recent issues of over 220 journal titles from 37 scholarly publishers. Covers literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and other disciplines. More Details

JSTOR

A digital archive of the most important scholarly journals. All issues of each journal are included in full-text EXCEPT for the most recent 2-to-5 years, based on JSTOR's agreement with the journal's publisher. Covers all subjects. More Details

Literature Resource Center (LRC)

Contains extensive biographical and critical information on writers, movements, and works from virtually all time periods. More Details

Expanded Academic ASAP Comprised of more than 3,200 indexed and full-text titles. 2,100 are peer-reviewed. Covers a wide-range of topics including social sciences, humanities, education, science and technology. More Details ProQuest Research Library Provides citations and/or full-text access to articles from over 3,000 scholarly journals and magazines. Coverage is designed to support undergraduate research in the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural and physical sciences, and other areas. Earliest coverage begins with the mid-1980's, but coverage of many periodicals dates back only to the the 1990's. More Details

Does Leyburn Library have the journals you need?

Use the Periodical Finder to find out what we have available to you in print or in full text.

If we do have access to the journal, make sure that we hold the year you need. If we don't have access to the article you need, you may fill out an Interlibrary Loan request.

Note: To be 100% sure we don't have the journal, you also need to check Annie , because titles we no longer subscribe to (but still have) are not in the Periodical Finder.

 

Research Appointments

If you'd like to have some individual time with me to discuss ways on how to research your topic, please send me a Research Appointment request.

Writing your paper

You can get help at W&L's Writing Center .

Writing your bibliography and endnotes

Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

This citation style is used by students and scholars working in the study of literature and languages.