LRC Research Orientation: English 101A Textual Analysis
Schedule a One-on-One or Small Group Research Assistance Appointment:
Phone: (510)742-3128 or Email: [email protected] or drop by the NC-LRC
For online Reference Assistance: Ask a Librarian
Secondary Sources
1. Reference Books: a good place to start!
Start with an encyclopedia or other reference source! It’s hard to conduct research on a
subject you know little about. The researcher’s first job is to get an overview of the
subject, collect vocabulary and develop research questions. Ask yourself:
What terms do scholars use within the field of study?
Who are the important figures within it?
Timeline—historical context? Is currency of sources important in your field? Or not?
What are the essential questions being asked by scholars?
Finally, how can you contribute to the scholarly conversation?
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed. (published 1911): For textual analysis, it might be
ineresting to compare & contrast how a subject was written about in 1911 to how it
is treated today.
How can reference sources help in later searches? For general background & to collect
potential search terms! Sample Search:
Go to Gale Virtual Reference Library Ohlone database page under the General
subject category. The topic is Black movie roles in the 1930s. First, make a list of
various synonyms to express this topic. Start broad, move steadily toward precision!
Explore available sources. Enter, e.g., African American film in Basic Search. Read
through several of the entries. You discover, among others, the phrase race films and
the figure of Oscar Micheaux. Use these terms to conduct searches in other
databases such as JSTOR and Academic Search Premier.
General Search Tips for using Ohlone College Subscription Databases:
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If searching from home, enter your Ohlone College student ID and last name at the
log-in to be granted access to subscription databases.
Each database supports a different set of rules for searching. Always refer to the
Help section for specifics. Become efficient at two or three databases and you should
see good results.
Save citation information as you collect your sources!
2. Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) at Library/LRC homepage or Academic
Search Complete through SJPL (you will need your SJPL card number & PIN to access off-site)
 Select the Search for Articles link under Research Tools
Under any subject category: Find Academic Search Premier (ASP)
 Create a personalized My EbscoHost account! This allows you to save good search
results.
 Find Sign In link on top tool bar. Find Create a New Account at far left-side of page.
Follow prompts to create a personal account.
ASP Searching Tips:
 Begin with a Basic Search. Enter a term such as counterculture music. Note # of
results… too many? Not enough?
 In the Refine your results box on left sidebar, click on the Show More link. Limit for
Full-Text articles only, Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals. Consider limiting for a
specific Date range, and Number of Pages (greater than 2 pages will return more
substantive articles). Click search & check for # of results.
 Find an article close to your interest. Click on the title link to check for an abstract.
Titles can be misleading! An abstract will tell you whether or not this article satisfies
your information need. Look for the subject headings under which it is indexed.
 Refine the search further: Find Subject: Thesaurus Term & Subject on the left side
and to explore more subject headings.
 Start a list of the subject headings that appear to be relevant to your topic.
 Now find the Advanced Searches link at the top: use the subject terms on your list.
Experiment by entering different terms in the separate search fields to get different
results (hint: since you know the term is used as a subject heading, find SU Subject
Term in the drop-down menu at right for more precise results). Continue to collect
relevant vocabulary & save good results to your Folder. Look for email & print
options. Remember to sign in to your personal account when revisiting the
database.
3. JSTOR
Find JSTOR under most subject categories. Watch a tutorial!
 Create a personal account to save your searches. Click on Login, then Register for
MyJSTOR. Follow prompts.
JSTOR searching tips:
 Click on Advanced Search.
 Under Narrow by, check Article, Editorial, Pamphlet. This will eliminate book
reviews that will not be helpful for your assignment, but include editorials and
pamphlets that might be. For other assignments you might narrow to Articles only.
 Limit to a date range if you are looking for possible primary sources. Limit language
to English.
 Under Narrow by discipline, check boxes of subject areas that might be useful to
your topic. By clicking on the + sign next to a subject area, you will see the list of
journals and the dates of publication available.
 Click for detailed searching tips to find useful codes and strategies—these are
particularly helpful to know in JSTOR.
 Once you find an article, click on List of pages with search results above title to view
where your search term appears in the article (helpful since few articles in JSTOR
have abstracts!)
Primary Sources & Other Internet Resources
4. Need a reminder of what distinguishes a primary source? Watch this.
You will most likely need to visit other libraries (such as SJPL/SJSU King Library) to
search their databases, print, and microfilm collections for primary sources (refer
your King Library handout & ask for help at the Reference Desk!) but don’t forget to
search our catalog HANS first to see what Ohlone owns. Try searching Disney.
5. Internet resources:
ipl2: Information You Can Trust: A directory of pre-evaluated websites. See
Resources by Subject link; search individual terms (try searching primary sources. )
American Studies: Free access to all but the most recent 3-years of this scholarly
journal, beginning 1960, is available through the University of Kansas.
Library of Congress Digital Collections: Access to print, pictorial & audio-visual
collections on American history & culture, veterans history, historic newspapers &
more.
Time Magazine Archives: Access to articles & covers from 1923.
Scribner’s Archives: Selected issues available from 1870 to 1922.
The Making of America (Cornell University): A digital library of primary sources in
American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
Modernist Journals Project (Brown University & University of Tulsa) Digital editions
of culturally significant magazines from the early 20th century.
Google News Archive: some for a purchase price, though many for free
In the First Person: Index of nearly 4,000 collections of personal narratives in English
from around the world. Approximately 75% of the materials are freely accessible.
NY Public Library Digital Gallery provides free access to over 700,000 images:
historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more.
American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank: Full text, audio, and video database of
significant American political speeches of the 20th century.
American Treasures: Library of Congress digital exhibit of the rare items relating to
America's past.
Smithsonian Institute: Online Collections Search Center
Smithsonian Jazz: Oral Histories
Making of America: A digital library of primary sources in American social history
from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
OldMagazineArticles.com: Privately owned and operated, selected sources.
HistoryBuff.com: Transcripts of original newspaper articles about major events in
American history & articles written by "everyday people" about events or eras in
American history.
AmDocs: Documents for the Study of American History: Directory of primary
sources, browsable by time period.
Avalon Project: documents in law, history and diplomacy from Yale Law School
Life Magazine Photo Archive: Stretching from the 1860s to the present.
Civil Rights Digital Library: A partnership among digital library, archivists, humanities
scholars, educators, academic publishers, and public broadcasters.
Lyrics.com: includes lyrics plus, in some cases, vintage video.
Cultural Politics: Resources for Critical Analysis: A collection of internet resources
some of which offer primary source materials.
Any Questions? Ask a Librarian!!