Philosophy 350: Dante and the Good Life
Welcome to the research guide for PHIL 350: Dante and the Good Life.
This page is designed as a place for your reference, to help guide you through the various stages of research which will culminate in your completed final project.
This guide is designed to help you strategize your searching for primary and secondary sources, evaluate those sources, and compile them into an annotated bibliography.
What is an annotated bibliography?
Bibliography: a record of sources used for research
Annotation: a summary or evaluation
Annotated bibliography: a bibliography with annotations!
Review my slideshow Annotated Bibliographies: Notes to your future self
Where to search
Use the Finding Books tab to get started finding resources in Copley Library
Use the Reference Materials tab to get started finding background information or fill in any gaps in your knowledge about your topic
Use the Finding Articles tab to get started searching for journal articles on your topic
To explore the resources in subject areas other than Philosophy, you may spend some time with other research guides like this one, or you may want to use the Subject drop-down menu on the Databases A-Z list. This is a great way to see all the databases that are useful for research in each subject area.
Getting Started with your Research
Before you dive in to the Copley Library search box to explore all we have to offer in the way of journal articles, books, films, and more, invest some time in considering your topic and possible search terms.
I promise this will pay off!
Take a look at the Developing a Search Strategy tab on this guide. It includes very detailed advice on narrowing your research topic and using that work to come up with search terms, before you ever set your cursor on the library's home page.
Compiling Your Annotated Bibliography
Each entry in your annotated bibliography is comprised of the citation for the source you'll be annotating, followed by its annotation.
The following is an excerpt of a sample annotation featured on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) site:
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995.
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic.
Librarian
Keep trying!
Keep in mind that the books and articles you are searching through to find the sources which will best support your arguments are all described and organized by a multitude of people, from a multitude of disciplines. They use different terminology, and see the themes of the Divine Comedy organized in different ways. Try out several ways of searching before you rest, then try some more.