Research Process / Search Tips - Prof. Ostman - ENG 101 - Monsters Assignment - Harold L. Drimmer Library Research Guides at Westchester Community College Library

Millie Bobbie Brown as Eleven. Screenrant.com, 6 Nov. 2017, screenrant.com/stranger-things-eleven-death/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2020.

Sample Topics

How are the pre-teen characters in Stranger Things monstrous in their subversion of authority?
Why did the Duffer brothers choose the Demogorgon as its frightening creature?
Is “Eleven” a monster?
What connection does Stephen King make between human adults and Pennywise the monster in IT?
What cultural, social, religious or political events have influenced the popularity of monster culture?
How do zombie films reflect social or religious views?
What can superheroes teach us about humanity? About society?
What is the relationship between vampires and mortal destiny? Fear of dying?
Who is the monster in Frankenstein?
How does the novel Dracula respond to changing gender roles?
How are race and ethnicity portrayed in the Twilight series?
How does vampire literature reflect changing societal attitudes about sexuality?

Consider using the tools within the library databases to help with your search. Is there a Terminology Glossary or search tool?

Look at the search terms associated with results you find useful. What other sources are associated with those search words/ideas?

The Basics

Exact phrasing/spelling counts! (Databases do not include a "Did you mean?" function).
Use limited, hard terms, leave out vague phrases like "impact on"

Eg: Stephen King's exploration of child abuse and trauma in IT. (This is a topic, not a search phrase!)

Search: coming of age and Stephen King; Stephen King and adolescence, Horror and adolescence; King's IT and trauma

Keyword Searching

Try different forms of your words:

Try more specific/advanced terms or concepts that you have learned

You may return unexpected results, but keep trying revising the words and/or reducing the number of words.

You can Broaden: Instead of “soucouyant or soucriant” try “Caribbean mythology”

Or Narrow: Instead of Vampires try “Dracula” or other character

Power Searching

Boolean operators: AND narrows your search results

Boolean operators: OR expands your search using variations of terms

Boolean operators: NOT removes terms you’re not interested in

Truncation – another way to search variations of terms at once by using the asterisk as a wildcard symbol

Instead of: apocalyptic OR apocalypse

Try: apocalyp*

Try: 1960*

Try: *ploitation films

Try: were()wolves

Phrases – look for a particular set of words in a specific order by enclosing them in quotation marks

“Walking Dead”

"Night of the Living Dead"

Limits – narrow down that huge set of results you have

Range of years: 2008-2018

Subject terms: terms used by the database to organize the resources

Type of material: books, scholarly, etc.