ENG 399: One-Woman Revolution: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Research in English literature requires imagination, patience, and a sharp eye for clues. There are three possible routes you can take in your investigation - systematic searching using library tools, tracing cited works, and inspired serendipity. Use all of them, because there is no single, easy, or "right" way to do it. Above all, find questions in her texts and follow your curiosity.
library catalogs / databases and bibliographies / reference works / tracing cited works / serendipity
Systematic searching
Library books can be found in one of two ways: through catalogs or by browsing.
Catalogs describe a book as a whole describing each book using standard elements from the title page (e.g. author, title, date of publication) and adding subject headings chosen from an agreed-upon list. Catalogs will not lead you to the three pages that have exactly what you need. The trick is to think about what books might contain insights you could use.
Libraries shelve books by subject (we use the Library of Congress system) - and often the best way to find those three elusive pages is to stand at the shelves and check indexes and contents of the books there. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's section is PR 4180 - PR 4231; some questions are likely to take you to other areas of the library (e.g. British history or women's studies). The flaw in the concept of browsing is that all categories reflect the thinking of those who originally created the categories, and interdisciplinary connections mean getting lots of exercise.
Databases lead you to books, articles, dissertations, and other materials that may or may not be in this library. The most significant database for literature is
It is, frankly, maddening - the descriptors are haphazard and inadequate, and because it aims to cover everything rather the best publications, it's hard to tell which books and articles are worth tracking down. But you can at least browse a long list of books, book chapters, and articles about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and see what approaches other critics have taken.
Bibliographies are very like databases, only on paper. They are sometimes, oddly enough, easier to search and tend to be more evaluative and critical. Here are a couple of examples.
Apart from trusty standbys like the Oxford Companion to English Literature (Ref PR 19 .O94) and the Oxford English Dictionary, you might find good background for an interdisciplinary inquiry in reference works like these:
Apart from information, these works include wonderful bibliographies. Ask at the reference desk where you might find background information on the topics that interest you.
Tracing cited works - First, you need to figure out if the citation is to a book, an essay in a book, or a journal article. To find out if we have a book (or essay in a book) look up the title of the book (not the essay) in MnPALS, our online catalog. To see if we subscribe to a journal, you need to do two things: first, check the journal locator to see if it's online, then check MnPALS to see if we subscribe to in in paper format. Request items we don't own through interlibrary loan.
Serendipity - Research in literature is not an orderly, step-by-step process. As you find books and articles, mine them for ideas. Think about connections. Reread the texts you're analyzing. Browse the areas of the library that seem rich. Talk to each other. Start writing even before you know what you're going to say. Generally, keep your mind open to things you aren't even looking for and let what you encounter drive your search.
Barbara Fister 10/05