Linguistics and English Language
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
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
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.
- Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
Level 1 Reference PE1072 .C68 2003
- Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
Simmons Eresource
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
Simmons Eresource
- Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics
Level 1 Reference P152 .T7 1993
- Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
Level 1 Reference P29 .C65 2003
- International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
Level 1 Reference P29 .I58
- Linguistics Encyclopedia
Level 1 Reference P29 .L52 2002
Word and Phrase Origins
- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Level 1 Reference PN43 .B75 1999 and Free Online
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
Simmons Eresource
- Oxford English Dictionary
Level 1 Reference PE1625 .O87 1989 and Simmons Eresource
- Word Histories and Mysteries
Simmons Eresource
English Language Idioms and Slang
- Template:Dictionary of Contemporary Slang
- Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
Level 1 Reference PE3721 .P3 2002
- Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang
Level 1 Reference PE3721 .O94 1992
- Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
Simmons Eresource
- New Dictionary of American Slang
Level 1 Reference PE3729.U5 W4 1986
- Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang
Level 1 Reference PE2846 .H57 1994
Regional English
- Dictionary of American Regional English
Level 1 Reference PE2843 .D52 1985
A sociolinguistic important reference book that incorporates cross-disciplinary applications. This dictionary on American Regional English contains information on folklore, natural history, and children's games, giving this text both a scholarly and popular appeal. A useful source for research, and for anyone who is fascinated by folk language and colloquial speech.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Education Abstracts and Fulltext Journals
Simmons Eresource
Indexes over 500 scholarly and trade publications from the Education literature.
- 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.
- 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
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
