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  • By Topic - Type in the keywords that broadly describe your topic. For example: supernatural japan
     
  • By Title - search for a specific book by title. Type in the first few words of the book title in quotations.  For example: "japanese demon lore". 
     
  • By Author - search for books written by a specific author. Type in the last name followed by the first name of the author in quotations. For example: "urbanski charity". 

 

On the results screen use the "Resource Type" options on the left toolbar to limit your results to books. This will eliminate any book reviews and articles that were found.  Note down the library name and call number -- you need this information to locate the book.

Search Terms For Books

There are a number of terms used by UW Libraries Search that you may want to use when searching for books. Search for a specific monster/type of monster such as "grendel" or "vampires" as well as use these more broader keywords combined with your region or other key word. If you get too many irrelevent items,  change the search box label to "Subject" and try the term in that box and your second term in the next box.  This is just a sampling of possible keywords to use.

Term Example Sample title
animals mythical animals mythical greece Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: the Science of Monsters
demonology demonology japan  An Introduction to Yōkai Culture: Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History
dragons dragons medieval Monsters and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts
folklore folklore african american From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore
ghosts ghosts chinese The Phantom Heroine: Ghosts and Gender in Seventeenth-Century Chinese Literature
giants giants literature Of Giants: Sex, Monsters, and the Middle Ages
monsters monsters celtic Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols
mythology mythology animals Fantastic Creatures in Mythology and Folklore
supernatural supernatural history Fantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture
witches witches germany Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany

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Scholarly Books & Journals as Research Resources

 

The raison d'être of scholars is to attempt to describe, explain, interpret and analyze issues & events. Scholars use evidence to support their interpretations which are most often published in the form of books and journal articles (secondary sources). So why should you use secondary sources?

Strengths

  • Written by expert scholars. Before publication academic books and articles are vetted by other scholars in a process known as peer review.
  • Peer review ensures that scholarly books and articles are more reliable and credible than other types of publications.
  • Provide historical/broader/in depth context and analysis of a topic.
  • Scholarly articles and books are based on evidence (primary sources) that are cited in the footnotes and bibliography. They are often a quick way to identify important evidence that you too may wish to use in your research paper. You can use this evidence and present your own interpretation.

 

Keep in mind

  • Expert scholars are likely to use specialized terminology and theory in their analyses making scholarly articles and books sometimes difficult to understand.

How to Read Scholarly Books & Articles

Scholarly articles and books have a purpose -- an argument (also called a thesis) that they are attempting to make about an issue and present evidence to support this argument. As you read a scholarly article first check to see if there is an abstract, a brief overview of the article. This will give you an idea if the article will be relevant for your research. Then look for the author's argument. Ask yourself, does the author adequately support their argument with evidence.

For more information on reading a scholarly article see: How to Read an Academic Article & How to Read a Secondary Source.

  
Tags: fall 2019