Research Guides: Literary Criticism & Research (Professor Hofer): Research

Or,

Submit a Question! - we'll reply by email
Send us a text! - Our SMS number is 505-431-4711. We'll respond by text ASAP (while we're open!). All your usual data rates and policies apply.
Chat with Us! - when we're online, you'll find the chat icon on every page.

Getting Articles & Books

Use the "Find @ UNM" button to see if we have the full text.

Use the "View Full Text" link to access the article. If there isn't one, you can click the "Request It" button to request the full text via interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loan is free for you as a student. Requested articles arrive electronically in about 2 days. Books get send via mail, so you'll need to plan ahead -- usually within 10 business days.

Finding Books

Finding

To find books, choose the "books only" link and enter your search term. This link searches what UNM has and what other libraries have. This is useful because you can order these from interlibrary loan via the "request it" link. Books are almost always sent through the mail (*not* as an e-book), so plan on at least 10 business days.

Assessing

For this class, you'll want to make sure your research from books has been edited. Here are some general guidelines to help you determine if it is an edited edition. If you're unsure, ask your professor.

Does it have multiple authors? or different authors for each chapter?
Was it published by a university press?
Is an editor listed?

To find out this information, click the "View description" link in the book record. Examples are below.

Finding Articles

Finding

These databases are the best bets for finding secondary sources (also sometimes called scholarship, criticism, research) on literature. You'll want to find articles that are peer-reviewed (also sometimes called "academic," "scholarly," or "refereed") or that are books or chapters from books that are edited.

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Note: Articles in this database are often just records -- not the full article. To find the full text, click the "Find@UNM" button or request the article via interlibrary loan.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Note: This database often does not have the most current research (usually there is a coverage lag of 3-5 years). It also covers a lot of subjects, so you may wish to limit your search to "language & literature".
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Provides digital humanities and social sciences books and scholarly journals from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies. Coverage 1900s-present.

Assessing

While most articles in these databases will be peer-reviewed, not all of them are. In most of these databases, you can limit your results to "peer-reviewed articles" or just "articles". You'll want to avoid "reviews" and "dissertations" because they are not peer-reviewed. If you are unsure, ask your instructor or a librarian.