Research Subject Guides: Advanced Writing in the Disciplines (AWD) : 3309 Humanities

Get started with Scholar OneSearch

Scholar OneSearch can be a great place to start your research. Search results include books (both electronic and print), articles, videos, data sets, and more. Here are some tips on how to use it most effectively.

Background on your topic

Reference databases and encyclopedias don't offer up-to-the-minute research, but they do provide important context and background information on a broad array of topics.

A selection of reference databases is listed below. You can also browse the complete list on the library's website.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism This link opens in a new window
An encyclopedia of scholarly, footnoted essays on topics and important thinkers in literary criticism. Terms of Use: See "Show License" on this page
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Biographies, definitions, and analysis from Grove Art Online, the Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Access is limited to 8 users at a time.
Formerly "Grove Art Online".
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
A library of scholarly encyclopedias and handbooks about music, musical biographies, and related information.
Comprises the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London, 2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (London, 1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition, edited by Barry Kernfeld (London, 2002) plus additional resources.

Key Resources

While Scholar OneSearch is a great place to start your research, subject-specific databases can give you more focused results. You can start with these:

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Strong in the humanities disciplines, this database features books/chapters and articles from university presses and scholarly societies. Easy to use with all content in PDF format.
Most journals include extended historic backfiles and not current issues. Arts and Sciences collections 1 thru XV are available, plus the Life Sciences collection, and Business III.

The Northeastern Library also purchases individual e-book titles from JSTOR. The books are available chapter-by-chapter as PDFs.

Arts and Sciences IV content is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library.

Web of Science
A large multidisciplinary database that includes academic articles, research reports, book chapters, conference papers and proceedings, and more. Allows you to see who has cited a paper or book and how many times.

Even more search engines and databases for your discipline are available on these guides:

Africana Studies
Arts, Media and Design
English: Literature, Rhetoric and Composition (see also Shakespeare Research)
History
Music
Philosophy
Religion

or view a complete list of our guides by subject.

Tutorial: Finding Peer Reviewed Articles (PDF version)

Ask Your Librarian

You can contact your subject specialist librarian by clicking on their name below or by navigating to their subject guides:

Brian Greene, Philosophy and Religion Librarian
Regina Pagani, Arts, Media and Design Librarian
Brooke Williams, English Librarian

Have a quick question or need immediate help? Ask Us!

Need help with writing?

Support from Northeastern's Writing Center includes:

Writing Resources - for topics like grammar and style, vocabulary, revision techniques, support for multilingual writers, and other campus resources
Tutoring services - book an appointment for free help with brainstorming, planning, researching, organizing, drafting, revising and using sources.