English 3653 English Literature II: Books

Many systems, like databases, library catalogs online, and Google, default to the "Keyword" search, which uses "natural language" or words. This term or set of terms can appear anywhere or any field in a record, such as title, author, subject, note, etc. The meaning of the words are not considered. For example, the terms "heavy metal" could pull results related to music or related to soil content. Here are some basic tips on how to use the Keyword search.

Tip: Used the Keyword search to combine an author and keywords in a title of his or her work. For example, for information about the poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, or the fiction novel, The Waves, by Virginia Woolf, combine the author's last name and a keyword of the title of the work. Note: The names are not case sensitive. Additionally, the search may pull other non-related titles if the terms entered appear in the item record.

• Example author:  woolf and waves
• Example poet:  coleridge and rime
• Example playwright:  wilde and dorian

Tip: Combine or group terms by enclosing them within quotation marks. 
"english literature history and criticism"

Grouping: Keyword search results are usually grouped by relevance to bring the most likely titles to the top of the list. Each group represents a similar level of relevance and results are sorted within the group by date or title. To get an ungrouped result set, use boolean operators to form a complex query. 

The "Subject" search uses a "controlled vocabulary" and focuses on subject terms or subject headings to define or to describe the information within the system. This type of search is targeted using specific terms or phrases that are highly relevant to the topic. It will locate all records on this subject and does not consider other fields, like the title or note fields as part of the search. This ensures the results are related and focused on the subject searched or the desired topic, which saves the user time.
Examples:
English Poetry
English Literature
English Literature 20th Century History and Criticism
Modernism (Literature) Great Britain 
English Literature Encyclopedias
English Literature Bio-bibliography
Short Stories English
Fiction short stories
English fiction short stories
dramatists, English
English drama - 20th century
Shaw, Bernard dramatists
For additional information and to locate the Library of Congress subject authority headings and more, see the Library of Congress Authorities link below. 

For a study about an author try searching for theses or dissertations that can provide in depth studies about the author, his or her life, particular bodies of work (poetry, drama, short stories, etc.).These studies provide excellent reference materials and bibliographies, which are beneficial in deepening ones search. Consider using the database WorldCat Dissertations and Theses (link below). Additionally, one can search for theses/dissertations through the worldwide web search (see the Google Scholar link below). Most of these items will not be owned by NSU Libraries and will need to be requested through Interlibrary Loan. For further information about Interlibrary Loan, see the Library Services tab in this guide.

For additional book titles not owned by NSU Libraries search the WorldCat databases. The WorldCat databases will locate items (books, dvds, and articles) from other libraries as well as items owned by the NSU Libraries.