Starting your research

Key to library resources

	In the Library (or anywhere with a Library card for NSW residents)
	Only in the Library
	Publicly available

Introduction to your texts and key concepts

These eresources are a good starting point for your research, as well as a place to find overviews of major writers, literary movements (eg. romanticism), genres (eg. gothic novels), periods and detailed definitions.

Cambridge Companions [eresource]
- This link opens in a new window
Find authoritative introductions to authors, genres and historical periods of literature, from over 600 titles online. Literary criticism and debates by leading experts are included in detailed chapters.
Oxford Reference [eresource]
- This link opens in a new window
Consult hundreds of specialist encyclopaedias, dictionaries and reference works from Oxford University Press. Browse by subject area (eg. Literature, Media Studies, Society and culture) or search across the database. Resources include A Dictionary of Critical Theory, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, and The Oxford Encyclopaedia of British Literature.
Informit [eresource]
- This link opens in a new window
Browse the latest Australian literary journals for writing of all genres in full text. Search by journal title under Citation Search. Journals include long-running publications such as Southerly, Meanjin and Island, and more recent and diverse publications such The Lifted Brow, Kill Your Darlings, Voiceworks, Going Down Swinging, Overland and Griffith Review.
Trove - Digitised Australian magazines and journals [external website]
Explore digitised Australian magazines from the early 20th century such as The Home and The Australian Women’s Mirror, and search within them. Select journal or magazine titles then search within them.

National Library of Australia: Research guide on Australian Literature [external website]
Gain an overview of resources on Australian Literature, including indigenous literature, drama, poetry and short stories. Find tips for searching library catalogues and databases, including useful subject headings (eg. Australian literature - - Women authors; Short stories, Australian - - 21st century).
Trove Books [external website]
Use Trove books search to find copies of texts held in libraries around Australia and in particular New South Wales public libraries.

Featured journal: mETAphor

The journal mETAphor is published by the English Teacher's Association NSW. Find full text articles through Informit database by entering the journal title in Citation Search. Whilst published for teachers, the journal has many relevant articles for HSC students, including close analyses of texts and genres, creative writing skills, essay writing tips, and a wide range of useful book reviews from many different genres.

Search tips for using eresources

Use “quotation marks” for exact phrase searching eg "social media"
Use ADVANCED search options to combine words using AND, OR, NOT
Use asterisks * for wildcards - alternative endings of words eg. poet* = poet, poets and poetry
Select Full Text search options to find only full text articles
Vary your search terms: try synonyms for your topic words eg. youth = teenagers, adolescents, young adults
Refine your results by limiting to scholarly or peer-reviewed (for academic level journals evaluated by experts)

Watch your spelling – both for accuracy and American spelling variations.

Reference books

Not all reference books can be found on online, so browse the reference shelves on Lower Ground 2 from Dewey numbers 808 to 890 to find guides, dictionaries and encyclopaedias such as the following:

The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism by M. Groden; M. Kreiswirth; I. Szeman
ISBN: 0801880106
Publication Date: 2004
The second edition of this international, encyclopaedic guide to the most important figures, schools, and movements in literary theory and criticism.
Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature by Nicholas Jose
ISBN: 9781741754391
Publication Date: 2009
A landmark anthology of Australian literary writing across all genres from over two centuries.
Gothic Literature by Jessica Bomarito
ISBN: 0787694703
Publication Date: 2006
Spans all facets of the gothic, including visual and performing arts, society and culture, and themes and settings, this guide includes primary source documents, critical material, and full-text commentaries.
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters by Salem Press Editors
ISBN: 9781619254978
Publication Date: 2015
Examines more than 29,000 major characters from 3,500 important works of literature. New to this edition are 600 characters published in popular works of fiction from 2000 to 2013.