LibGuides: AP Literature: Invisible Man: Databases

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

The Ralph Ellison Foundation
Founded in Oklahoma City upon the conclusion of the Ralph Ellison Centennial Celebration in 2014, the Ralph Ellison Foundation is committed to highlighting the accomplishments of the acclaimed author and empowering the lives of others through his legacy in the areas of literacy, music, and the arts.

Database Search Strategy - Phrase Searching

Quotation marks are used around search terms that are phrases. By using quotation marks, you are telling the database to only bring back results with the words you typed in exactly the order you typed them.

Examples:

"Désirée’s Baby"

"Désirée’s Baby" and "Kate Chopin"

"Désirée’s Baby" and race

Database Search Strategy - Truncation

TRUNCATION

Technique that broadens a search to include word variations such as spellings and endings.

To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end. Database results should include various endings of the root word.

For example:

rac* = race, racism, racial, etc.

Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

Databases with Critical Literary Content

Academic Search Premier
Search for articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers from virtually every area of academic study. Articles come from more than 8,500 journals, including more than 4,600 peer-reviewed titles.
JSTOR
JSTOR is an archive of academic journal articles, current to within 2 to 5 years. It covers a variety of disciplines, from the arts to the sciences.
Literature Resource Center
Do research on literary topics, authors, and their works. The database includes all genres and disciplines, all time periods. Excellent source for literary criticism and work overviews.

All Databases at Bullis Library

ALL BULLIS LIBRARY DATABASES
Access the full list of databases to which Bullis Library subscribes.

Database Search Strategy - Boolean Operators

To be a successful searcher, you just need to know three little words: AND, OR, NOT. These are the three Boolean Operators used to connect your keywords when searching library databases.