Folklore and Folktales
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
Contents |
Reference and Background Information
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
- Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook
Level 1 Reference GR72.56 .A73 2005
A handbook which contains essays on motifs and archetypes found in folklore and literature throughout the world. A few useful features include a listing of page numbers for all of the illustrations and a key to Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk Literature.
- Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend
Level 1 Reference GR35 .F82 1984
This dictionary has complied and defined several thousand terms from around the world, and contents include folklore, mythology, dances, songs, fairytales, art, riddles, ritual drama, ballads, spirituality, and symbols. It also provides two pages that explain the symbols and designs of the illustrations used on the front and back jackets.
- A Guide to Folktales in the English Language: Based on the Aarne-Thompson Classification System
Level 1 Reference GR74.6 .A83 1987
This system catalogs basic plots from which European and Near Eastern storytellers have built their tales. This source provides non-European stories only if they have European counterparts, such as African, American, and Asian tales.
- Index to Fairy Tales
Level 1 Reference GR74.6 .I74
This index catalogs folklore, legends, and myths. The main focus is on western European and Native American stories, although all continents are represented.
- Motif-index of Folk-literature: A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-books, and Local Legends
Level 1 Reference GR67 .T52
This sources serves as a classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jest-books, and local legends. The editor, Stith Thompson, explains his method of cataloging the content within the source by incorporating Antti Aarne classification, a categorical folklore arrangements that many of the other folklore reference texts also use.
- The Storyteller's Sourcebook: A Subject, Title, and Motif Index to Folklore Collections for Children
Level 1 Reference GR74.6 .M3
This source gives detailed plot descriptions and citations for collections for folklore. The indexes are arranged according to the Stith Thompson motif-index schema.
- The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography
Level 1 Reference GR74.6 A223
This source is both a classification and bibliography, and indexes historical folktales until the 1960s. These folktales cited within this single classification are gathered from around the world.
Ethnic and Regional Folk Literature
- American Folklore: An Encyclopedia
Level 1 Reference GR101 .A54 1996
An encyclopedia that describes American folklore as a context which includes both the older adapted themes and the newer original ones developed within the larger cultural matrix of American history.
- A Bibliography of North American Folklore and Folksong
Level 1 Reference GR101 .H32 1961
A historically revealing bibliographic source that is divided into two volumes; the first volume covers the American People North of Mexico, while the second volume covers the American Indians North of Mexico, including the Eskimos. Folklore, folksongs, ballads, dances, song games, publications, and more, are listed within this information-packed reference source.
- A Dictionary of British Folk-tales in the English Language
Level 1 Reference GR141 .B69
This dictionary focuses on terms commonly found in folk narratives, folk legends, fairytales and nursery tales.
- Encyclopedia of Black Folklore and Humor
Level 1 Reference GR103 .E5
This source provides tales, anecdotes, biographies, and historical notations surrounding Black folklore and history.
- Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife
Level 1 Reference GR35.G75 2006
This encyclopedia provides an examination of folklore topics within specific cultures and societies. Arranged by geographic location, it includes many signed articles and bibliographic references.
- The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore
Level 1 Reference GR111.A47 G74 2006
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore includes over 700 entries on folk traditions among African-Americans. It provides information on motifs, artists, and groups as well as historical and critical concepts. It also includes bibliographical information for further research.
- Greenwood Library of American Folktales
Level 1 Reference GR105.G75 2006
These four volumes cover all kinds of American folktales. It includes full versions of folktales, along with critical introductions. The source is arranged by American region and by topic.
- Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore
Level 1 Reference GR35 .J664 1995
While this source serves as a dictionary, it also contains additional folklore-related information, including a bibliography of suggested further readings divided by subjects, biographical notes on prominent folklorists, a list of ethnographic and folklore museums throughout the world, and finally, a calendar of festivals and folkloric events throughout the world.
- Type and Motif-index of the Folktales of England and North America
Level 1 Reference GR67 .B3 1966
This work compares the folktales in the English language tradition in the British Isles and North America. There are several tables analyzing types and motifs found in England and in America, and it uses the Aarne-Thompson subdivisions.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic. Search the following indexes to find articles on the topics within English Literature, including literary criticism and theory.
- Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL)
Level 1 Reference PR83 .A59 and Simmons Eresource
ABELL comprehensively covers materials such as monographs, periodical articles, literary works, book reviews, collections of essays and doctoral dissertations that are published anywhere in the world.
- Humanities Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database of article citations on topics in the Humanities, some available full-text. Includes content from more than 300 key humanities publications, including feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, movies, and television and radio programs.
- JSTOR
Simmons Eresource
JSTOR offers both multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections. Provides full-text backfiles of many core scholarly journals, some dating back to the 1800s. However, JSTOR is not the database for current issues as it focuses on older journals.
- Project MUSE
Simmons Eresource
Offers nearly 250 quality journal titles from 40 scholarly publishers. As one of the academic community's primary electronic periodicals resources, Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. Project MUSE is setting the standard for scholarly electronic journals in the humanities and social science.
- MLA Bibliography
Simmons Eresource
Provides some one million citations for items from over 4,000 journals and series published worldwide. It also indexes books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Each record contains a bibliographic citation for a journal article, book, or other item, and library holdings for the journal title, book, or other item.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you
to find Folklore and Folktales information on the free web.
Use this Folklore and Folktales Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the
same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the Folklore and Folktales Google Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
Writing Style and Citation
For more information on style and citation for this discipline, please contact the Simmons College Writing Center
You may also consider consulting these resources:
- Writing Resources
Free Online
The Writing Center provides online resources for citing your research. If you are unsure of which citation style to use, consult your professor and consider the following:- Use APA (American Psychological Association) when your topic is in the Social Sciences
- Use ASA (American Sociological Association) when your topic is in Sociology
- Use MLA (Modern Language Association) when your topic is in the Humanities
- Use Chicago/Turabian when your topic is in Literature, History or the Arts
- Use CSE (Council of Science Editors) when your topic is in the Sciences
- RefWorks
Simmons Eresource
RefWorks is a great program for organizing articles, books, and other materials you need for research. You can also use RefWorks to create bibliographies, create in text citations in your paper (Write-N-Cite), and share your research with others. Access RefWorks from the A-Z list of resources on the library's web page, and then follow the instructions to create your own username and password. We hold RefWorks Clinics throughout the semester. For more information, ask a reference librarian
