Research Guides: Finding Literary Criticism: Short Stories

Criticism of Short Stories

We recommend searching the following databases for criticism of short stories:

Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window
1. In the search box near the top of the page, type in the story's title followed by the terms: and author's last name e.g. "Beyond the Bayou" and Chopin.
2. On the results list, and under "Source Types," click on Work Analyses.
3. Click on HTML Full Text or the title to view an article.
Vendor: EBSCOhost
Coverage: Varies
Full Text: Partial

Good to Know
Articles in HTML format can be read aloud using the Text-To-Speech feature. Text-To-Speech is not available for PDF documents.

Search Tips
- Enter the name of an author or character, title of a book, story, or play in the search box.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “great expectations”.
- To search for an author and title together, put and between the two terms: Dickens and “Great Expectations”.
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of a word root to find all variants: comput* will find computer, computers, computing, etc.
- To narrow your results, use the options located to the left of the results list.
Requesting Items
- If full text is not available, click on the Add to Folder icon next to the citation.
- After you have added all items you want, click on the Folder icon located at the top right.
- Click on Email.
- For the Standard Field Format drop-down menu, chose Brief Citation.
- Send the email to yourself.
- After you receive the email, forward the email to library@erau.edu. Please include:
  Your name
  
  Daytime phone number
  
  Course number
  
  Whether you’re an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD student
  
  Whether you’re a Daytona Beach or Worldwide student
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
1. Type in the story's title into the search bar and search.
2. Use the "peer reviewed" drop-down menu on the left side of the screen to choose only peer reviewed material.
3. Beneath the article title in the search results, a link for "Full Text" or "Full Text - PDF" will appear if the full text of the content is available.
Vendor: EBSCOhost
Coverage: 1926 – present
Full Text: None

Video Tutorials - Keyword vs. Subjects | Names as Subjects

Good to Know
To create a free EBSCOhost account and access additional features such as saving preferences, research organization and sharing, saving and retrieving search history, etc., click on the Sign in link in the upper right corner of the homepage.

Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: imag* will find image, images, imagery, imagination etc.
- When two or more words are entered, the database will search for them as an exact phrase. If you wish to avoid this, place AND between the words.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “gothic imagery”.
- For help using and searching in the database, click on Help in the upper right corner of the screen.
Requesting Items
- If full text is not available, mark the records you want by checking the folder icon to the right of the citation. A box titled “Folder has items” will appear.
- When you have finished adding items to the folder, click on Go to: Folder View within the “Folder has items” box, or on the Folder link in the top right corner of the page.
- Click on Email on the right
- Enter your own email address in the “E-mail to.” Box and click Send. (Sending the documents to yourself first ensures you have a copy of what you’re requesting.)
- After you receive the email containing your records, forward the email to library@erau.edu. Please include:
  
  Your name
  
  Daytime phone number
  
  Course number
  
  Whether you’re an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD student
  
  Whether you’re a Daytona Beach or Worldwide student
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
1. Type in the story's title in quotation marks in the search box.
2. You can browse for short stories by clicking on Literature on the right menu bar and then clicking on Short Stories for Students.
Vendor: Gale
Full Text: Complete

Good to Know
Always clear your searches after printing, emailing, or saving.

Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: pilot* will find pilot, pilots, piloting, etc.
- When two or more words are entered, the database will search for them as an exact phrase. If you wish to avoid this, place AND between the words.
- Browse books by clicking on one of the subjects in the center of the page. Click on a title to view the book then choose Table of Contents to access chapters of the book.
- For help using and searching in the database, scroll to the bottom of the page and select Help from the menu.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
1. Type in the story's title in quotation marks followed by the terms: AND critic* e.g."A Perfect Day for Bananafish" AND critic*.
  - Quotes are used to tell the computer that the words enclosed must be searched as a phrase.
  - The asterisk (*) is a truncation symbol which allows the database to search for variant word endings such as critic, criticism, etc.
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1905 - present
Full Text: Partial

Help Guide
Video Tutorials

Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: automat* will find automate, automated, automatic, and automation.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: "crew resource management."
- To locate a complete issue of a journal, click on Publications at the top of the screen.
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "flight crew" AND fatigue.
Requesting Items
- If full text is not available, mark the records you want on the results page by placing a checkmark in the box to the left.
- When you have finished marking all the items you want, click the Email link at the top right of the results page.
- Select Citation, abstract, indexing from the drop-down menu next to "Content"
- Enter your own email address and click on Continue
- After you receive the email containing your records, forward the email to library@erau.edu. Please include:
  
  Your name
  
  Daytime phone number
  
  Course number
  
  Whether you’re an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD student
  
  Whether you’re a Daytona Beach or Worldwide student
Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
1. Type in the author's name or title of the short story in the search box.
2. Underneath "More Options," use the drop-down menu that says "Select Document Type(s)" and choose Critical Essay, then search.
3. Select Full Text and Peer Reviewed Journals from the "Limit Your Results" menu.
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1980 - present
Full Text: Partial

Good to Know
- To save documents you will need to have a Google Account to save to a Google Drive.
- To create a Google Drive account, click on Sign in with Google at the top of the page.
- To hear a document read aloud, click or tap Listen to expand the player and begin playback.
Search Tips
- Click on the links along the top of the results list to limit to: Magazines, Academic Journals, Books, News, Images, Videos and Audio.
- Use the filters to the right of the results list to narrow results further.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: "mission to mars"
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "mission to mars" AND spacecraft
- To locate a complete issue of a journa or magazinel, select Publication Search.
Requesting Items
If full text is not available, copy the records you want, paste them into an email, and send them to library@erau.edu. Please include:
- Your name
- Daytime phone number
- Course number
- Whether you're an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD student
- Whether you're a Daytona Beach or Worldwide student