This page will provide an overview to the research process and how to search for different types of content related to studies in Canadian Literature. If you need more help or have questions, make sure to contact us via email, phone, in-person at the desk, online via chat, or book an appointment (see links in the left side menu).
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Review Assignment Instructions How many sources will you need? What types of sources will you need? Not sure about what types of sources exist - check out our Evaluating Sources Library Guide (link below). If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help. Questions about the assignment - check with your prof. |
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Choose a Topic Based on assignment guidelines, how can you narrow or focus the topic into something you can research? It's ok if you do not have a clear picture of this yet - try some searching with your overarching theme and narrow based on what you see. If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help. e.g. Overarching theme = Canadian authors Narrower theme = BC women poets |
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Develop Keywords Take your research question or topic sentence and pull out the keywords. These are the terms you will use to search the library databases. Keywords can be titles, authors, or themes (make sure to think of synonyms as well). If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help. e.g. RQ = How is the natural world depicted in Canadian writing? Keywords & Synonyms = Canadian literature, Canadian fiction, Canadian nonfiction, Canadian poetry, Canadian drama, nature/environment/wilderness |
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Develop a Search Strategy Looking for academic articles or books - use the UFV Library Find It Search. Looking for author websites - try a Google search. Make sure to go to the best source for that type of information. Use the features of the search interface to work for you. When the search results appear, take your time reading the titles, subjects and abstracts to determine relevant sources. If you are not finding helpful results, try switching up your search terms. If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help. |
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Search, Read, Tweak, Repeat We recommend searching and saving PDFs and/or citation information for sources you are interested in when possible. Having this information for the reading and writing stages will save you time. Don't worry if you try a search and it doesn't work, try switching your search terms or even your topic. You can also try a different database/source. If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help. |
Sometimes you want to search for the title of an item (e.g. a novel, book of poetry) and it is as simple as typing in the title. Try using the search box below to find a book. Note - you can specify that you are doing a title search by selecting the 'Title' radio button. Remember - spelling matters and if in doubt, ask library staff for assistance.
If you are searching for information about authors you will type their name in as a keyword search. We recommend searching for the name in quotes so that the results that appear are about the person you are researching (e.g. "Thomas King"). Try a search using the box below - this search will bring up books, articles, news, and reviews. If you cannot find an item you are looking for or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the library for help.
Critiques and reviews are a specific type of source for literature studies. Using a specialize database, such as Gale Literature, is a good bet when searching for this type of information. If you are looking for an analysis of a single title, we recommend doing a title search then specifying to a 'Criticism' or 'Reviews' section (see screenshot examples below; there may be different terms used depending on the database you search). You may also do an author search and limit to critiques, however, this will bring up reviews about all of their works and themes (not just one work). If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help.
Example of a literature criticism search for an author. This search is for 'Margaret Atwood' in Gale Literature (database) with emphasis on the 'Literature Criticism' results. Note there is also a 'Reviews & News' category.
Example of a literature criticism search for a work. This search is for 'Johnny Appleseed' in Gale Literature (database) with emphasis on the 'Literature Criticism' results. Note there is also a 'Reviews & News' category.
Try a search for yourself using the Gale Literature database (link below). Let the library know if you would like research help.
Searching for themes in literature is a bit more abstract than searching for a specific title. You will likely need to do a keyword search to find the results you are looking for. We recommend starting off with your topic and developing keywords from there. If you have any questions make sure to contact the library for help.
Example Topic = How is the natural world depicted in Canadian writing?
Keywords = "Canadian literature" AND (nature or wilderness)
The screenshot above shows a search for scholarly articles (in English) related to Canadian Literature and nature or wilderness. Have a topic in mind? Try out a basic search in the box below.