From Homer to Jay-Z
Welcome!
This guide provides quick access to Harvard Library resources that will be most helpful for research in Expos 20: From Homer to Jay-Z. Look here for tips on finding articles and tools to help you credit your sources and save you time.
Would you like personalized help? Contact the class librarian by email, or schedule an in-person or virtual research consultation:
Start Your Research: HOLLIS
HOLLIS is Harvard’s main library catalog, and a great place to start your research: use it to find books, articles, streaming video, manuscripts, images, and more in one search. Read online articles, request scans of print articles and book chapters, and get books from libraries around the world.
Overwhelmed by the number or types of results your search returns? When that happens, try one of these tricks:
- Limit your results set by format, language, or date.
- Look up a source you know you want to use. What words could you take from its HOLLIS record to create a search for similar sources?
- Change your search from EVERYTHING to LIBRARY CATALOG. Note: Articles will be omitted from your search results - you'll see mostly formats like books, recordings, and journals.
The HOLLIS User Guide has more tips for getting the most out of HOLLIS.
Suggested Article Databases
Subject-specific databases help you narrow your search to research in a particular field, like literary studies, music, or performance.
When you know the discipline you want to search, a database devoted to it gives you more ways to target your search, plus results you won't see anywhere else. These are our top picks for your third essay, but Harvard licenses many hundreds of databases, so please get in touch for a personalized recommendation!
If you'd like some tips on how to quickly familiarize yourself with a new database, check out the Decoding a Database handout.
- Academic Search PremierWhy? This database includes both magazine articles and academic journal articles from many different disciplines. It's a good way to survey both the popular and scholarly conversation about a topic.
- MLA (Modern Language Association) International BiographyWhy? The main article index for literary studies (and a major source for related fields like folklore, popular culture, film and television, and drama).
- Literature Online (LION)Why? A full-text database of primary and secondary sources related to literature, poetry, and drama.
- RILM Abstracts of Music LiteratureWhy? An international bibliography of music articles; good for music-centered research on rap and other spoken word forms.
Cite Your Sources
Save yourself time and keep your research organized with a citation management program like Zotero:
- Collect the information you'll need to cite your sources (author, title, publication year, etc.) with one click
- Quickly create citations and bibliographies in almost any citation style
- Organize, tag, and annotate your sources
Harvard librarians teach classes in the basics of Zotero and Endnote. Learn more and check the class schedules: Citation and Research Management Tools.
- Harvard Guide to Using SourcesWriting and citation guidelines from the Harvard Writing Program.