Derive keywords from relevant critical theories:
Combine your critical theory keywords with relevant keywords from the author, work, or time period:
Look for a database field that narrows down results to your particular author, or your particular work. Then, include keywords around your topic.
Use database limits on the main pages of advanced searches. Try limiting by language (e.g. English), peer-reviewed materials, journal articles, and recent date ranges.
It can be hard to tell which journal articles are the most "reputable" - which ones have had the most impact, are published in authoritative journals, and have prominent scholar authors. Here are some tips:
Reviewing Journals
Check to see if the journal has been referenced in any of your previously assigned texts, or suggested readings. Some journals from those readings include:
Reviewing Authors
Look up the article's author. Is it a graduate student? A 1st or 2nd-year faculty member? A tenured faculty member at an institution strong in literature? What has this author published previously? Have their previous articles been cited many times by others? This can help you determine if their work has influence in the field.
Other Tools
Google Scholar's "Cited By" feature can be useful, but not always for recently published articles. Remember, books and articles published in the last 15 years may not have had as much time to influence other works.
Go to this search on Mary Wroth within the MLA database. Pick two entries from the set of results. Investigate their authors and make up your mind whether they are "authoritative" authors on the subject of Wroth and early modern literature. Use these questions to help you make your decision:
Be prepared to tell the class whether or not you think your authors are credible scholars on this topic or not.
