Sample Searches

MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac Sample Searches

MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac provides access to more than 1.5 million bibliographic citations to journal articles, books and dissertations from 1963 to the present in academic disciplines such as language, literature, folklore, linguistics, literary theory and criticism and the dramatic arts. This database incorporates the Modern Language Association thesaurus as well as the MLA's Directory of Periodicals.

Search 1:

An English professor wanted to know how to find article citations on the literary work Pride and Prejudice in all journals indexed by this database except "Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal On-Line".

Solution:

1. Opened MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac and went to the "Advanced search" page.
2. Selected "LiteraryWork (nw)" and entered "Pride and Prejudice" in the first entry box.
3. Selected "NOT" from the following dropdown box.
4. Selected "Journal Name (jn)" and entered "Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal On-Line" in the second entry box.
5. Clicked on the "Search" button and retrieved more than 200 citations.

Search 2:

How can one find citations of articles on Irish culture in Gaelic?

Solution:

1. Open MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac and go to the "Subject guide search" page.
2. Enter "Ireland and culture" in the entry box.
3. Select "Gaelic" for language.
4. Click on the "Search" button to retrieve more than 20 relevant citation.

Search 3:

Is there an article analyzing Martin Luther's work The Bondage of the Will?

Solution:

1. Open MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac and go to the "Title search" page.
2. Enter "Bondage of the Will" in the entry box and select "title of literary work".
3. Click on the "Search" button to retrieve one relevant citation:

   An Analysis of Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Will. Sproul, Robert C. The Gordon Review: A Christian Quarterly of the Arts and Sciences, 10 (1967), pp. 215-229. (Journal article)
   [Subject Terms: German literature; 1500-1699; Luther, Martin.]

Search 4:

What is a good definition of the literary style Imagism?

Solution:

1. Open MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac and click on the "Encyclopedia of Literature" link.
2. Enter "imagism" in the gray entry box that pops up and click on the "OK" button.
3. Click on the "Imagism" link to retrieve the definition and poets who made use of this style of writing.

Search 5:

How can a person find a list of peer-reviewed journals in German about science fiction?

Solution:

1. Open MLA International Bibliography on InfoTrac and go to the "Advanced search" page.
2. Click on the "MLA Directory of Periodicals" link under "Search another component:".
3. Select "Subject (su)" and enter "science fiction" in the first entry box.
4. Check the "to peer reviewed publications" box.
5. Limit language to "German".
6. Click on the "Search" button to retrieve five German science fiction journals.