Side Photo SPAN 4150: Masterpieces of Spanish Literature to 1700
- Getting Started
- Literature
- Religion, Politics, Society
- Citing
- Help!
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Once you have determined a topic, issue or subject of interest, you will need to focus the topic into a researchable question.
The following steps should help you break the process down:
- Plan your approach to the topic. Identify related issues, people, events etc. Determine your perspective. List what you know and what you need to know.
- Develop keywords that represent your topic. You'll use these to search for books and articles for your paper. Encyclopedia and reference books can help identify keywords.
- Read around your topic to develop a comprehensive understanding of your topic. Utilize reference sources to provide you with an overview and background information on a topic, the established knowledge on a topic, the most important facts about a topic, the key figures, places, or events related to your topic and a list of recommended readings on a topic
See the following sections to give further advice on developing keywords and background information.
Before you start to research a topic, you need to develop keywords that represent your research interest, question, or inquiry.
Keywords are significant words (usually nouns or noun phrases) which can be used as search terms in online catalogs or databases. Keywords will determine the quantity and relevance of results you retrieve when searching.
First you will identify and articulate your topic in your own words:
Example: I am interested in investigating the representation of women in Spanish Golden Age literature
Next you will designate the main concepts or ideas that describe the topic:
Concept 1:
representation
Concept 2:
women
Concept 3:
Spanish Golden Age literature
Then develop other terms and vocabulary that represent the topic. Some terms may be broader, narrower, or synonyms. Adding terms that represent geographical distincitions, time periods, or significant figures about your topic may also be useful.
Concept 1:
portrayal
illustration
account
embodiment
Concept 2:
female
feminism
gender
family
sex
Concept 3:
theater/comedia
romance
poetry
renaissance/baroque
Combining Keywords
Operators:
AND: Spanish AND poetry (must find both terms)
OR: Spain OR Spanish (must find one of the terms)
NOT: Golden Age NOT Cervantes (must find first term NOT second term)
Punctuation:
Phrases: “literary movement” (must find that phrase in that order)
Synonyms: (sex OR gender) AND comedia
Wildcards: Latin America* will find Latin American, Latin Americans etc
You may use the UCB Search Strategy/ Keyword Worksheetto develop your own topic.
For details on combining keywords for the best results view the
A good place to find keywords is from reference sources.
Reference Universe: This is a searchable database that indexes information from specialized subject encyclopedias. It does not include the full text of reference materials but will point you to reference sources that cover your topic. It searches both the titles of reference articles as well as the encyclopedia / dictionary indexes, providing a thorough level of access to materials and potential sources. CU
Some more CU Reference Source examples:
General Online Encyclopedias:
Encyclopedia Britannica CU
Gale Virtual Reference Library CU
Oxford Digital Reference Shelf CU
Specialized Dictionaries:
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online CU
Real Academia Española: http://www.rae.es/rae.html
Literature
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory & criticism
Diccionario Espasa literatura española. 2003
REF PQ6051 .B74 2003
The feminist encyclopedia of Spanish literature 2002 (2 volumes)
REF PQ6055 .F46 2002
Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. 1993 (2 volumes)
REF PN8495 .S6D54
Diccionario de autores: quién es quién en las letras españolas. 1988
Z2693.3 .D53
For more reference source search tips, go to How do I find Reference Sources.
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Find books and articles on literary topics
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Access from home!
Original Works: e.g. La Celestina
To find books by an author do an AUTHOR search in Chinook.
To find a novel, do a TITLE search in Chinook.
To find a copy of a play, do a TITLE search in Chinook.
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
Full text literature, writing and critical text by and about Spanish and Latin American authors. Also includes biographies, sound, images, video. Database also includes a Linguistics and a History section to support literary studies.
Research and Interpretation: e.g. Articles and Books
Books
To find books about an author, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook and type in the author's name.
If something is checked out, request material through Prospector
Or do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to browse the subjects in the catalog:
Articles
To find articles about an author and/or his/her work, try:
CU Oxford reference online : premium collection
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
The Cambridge history of Spanish literature
PQ6033 .C36 2004
Diccionario Espasa literatura española. 2003
PQ6051 .B74 2003
Diccionario de literatura española e hispanoamericana. 1993 (2 volumes)
PQ6006 .D6
Diccionario Oxford De Literatura Española E Hispanoamericana
PQ6006 .O9518 1984
Books
To find books about an author's work, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook under the author's name and under the title of the work (use both). E.g.Cervantes and the Quixote
Once you find a record that looks useful you can search by the subject heading to find similar works, or physically browse the stacks around the call number.
Request material that is checked out through Prospector
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Articles
To find critical journal articles about Dante's work, try the following databases. Look under the title of the work, as well as under the author's name.
Start Here: MLA international bibliography
Also:
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism Online [CU]
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms [CU]
The Bedford glossary of critical and literary terms
A dictionary of critical theory
Introducing literary theories : a guide and glossary
A multicultural dictionary of literary terms
Studying literature : the essential companion
Texts and contexts : writing about literature with critical theory
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
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Find books and articles on Spanish religion, politics and society
CU = Available to campus IP addresses. Remote access information
To find books about religion, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook.
Request material that is checked out through Prospector
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Use and adapt these subject keywords |
| Monasticism and religious orders for women |
| Christian art and symbolism -- Spain |
| Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, 1547-1616 -- Religion |
Articles
To find articles about religious themes, use the following databases:
CU Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
CU International medieval bibliography onlineCU JSTOR
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Books
To find books about medieval society, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook.
Request material that is checked out through Prospector
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Spain -- Social life and customs -- 16th century Spain -- Politics and government Women -- Spain -- History
Articles
To find articles about medieval society, use the following databases:
CU International medieval bibliography online
CU JSTOR
CU = Available to CU affiliates only.
How to connect from home: Remote access information.
Books
To find books about visual arts, do a KEYWORD search in Chinook.
Request material that is checked out through Prospector
To find more specific material do a SUBJECT search in Chinook to find relevant subject headings:
Use and adapt these subject keywords |
| Panel painting, Spanish |
| Christian art and symbolism -- Spain |
| Painting, Renaissance |
Articles
To find articles about the visual arts and Dante, use the following databases:
CU International medieval bibliography online
CU JSTOR
Citation Managers: Refworks [How do I use Refworks]
Modern Language Association
The MLA Style is most often used in the Humanities. Below you will find some citation examples and links to online resources. For complete guidelines, consult the MLA Handbook:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
7th edition, New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Call number: LB2369 .G53 2009
Also see: How do I cite
EXAMPLES
Book with One Author
Author's last name, First name and Initial. Title in italics. Publication location: Publisher, year. Print.
Example:
Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. New York: Harmony Books, 1980. Print.
Entire Website
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/ organization affiliated with the site, date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.
Example:
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue University, 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
Article in an Online Scholarly Journal (also available in print)
Author last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume number.Issue Number (Year): Page numbers. Medium of Publication used. Day Month Year.
Example:
Smith, Mark. “Disease Outbreak in Confined Monkeys.” Zoology Monthly 6.2 (2001): 500-546. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
Article from an Online Database
Author Last name, First name. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume Number.Issue Number (year) : Page Numbers. Title of Database. Medium of Publication. Day Month Year.
Example:
Sonder, Clara. “Love in Medieval English Literature."
Historical Literature Journal 50.4 (2008): 145-187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.
For help with your research papers and presentations, contact:
Office Hours: Tues, 11-1, ALTEC 152
Spanish and Portuguese Librarian
alison.hicks@colorado.edu
303 735-1709
For help with other questions, see:
Spanish & Portuguese Language and Literature
Use this subject guide to locate librarian-selected resources for researching Spanish and Portuguese language and literature.
