Always bear in mind:
Electronic catalogs and databases consist of records with defined fields.
1. When choosing a specific field to search in any library catalog or database, search for material by an author under "Author". Search material about the author under "Subject". Also, a short excerpt or chapter of a work about the author might be found in the "Note" or "Table of Contents" field but not under "Subject". This is also true for a chapter or a small work, such as an essay, that is by the author.
2. There are still many reference resources and books that are not available on the Web!
3. Do not trust just any reference resource on the Web found via Google or another search engine. Learn to distinguish between and evaluate web resources.
4. Learn how to use the "Advanced Search" in a database and in Google.
5. Learn about Google Scholar and Wikipedia before using them!
Why use the "Advanced Search"?
It provides many options to limit your search for more relevant results and give you exactly what you need.
It helps guide the search in combining terms (Boolean searching).
For example:
An advanced search in Library One Search to find resources not entirely about Mark Twain, but which have a chapter or a section about him.
Mark Twain NOT SU Twain, Mark NOT TI Mark Twain
A large portion of this guide is taken from Melissa Hofmann's guide for Literary Criticism and Theory. Although all the Moore Library librarians, including myself, can help you with your research, feel free to contact Melissa if you like. Her contact information is as follows:
Moore Library
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
609.895.5637
Her profile will appear on some of the pages in this guide for your information.