So you've got an idea, or an assignment. But maybe a vague idea is all you've got. You need more information about your topic before you can begin to define a problem your research will address. Or maybe you've got some more specific target in mind, but you need more background. Where to start?

Helpful Resources available at Loyola

• Loyola Libraries offer a guide on-line that can help get you started at Doing Academic Research. Advance through the topics the cover-page at the link identifies by clicking the tabs ("Your Topic," "Types of Academic Sources," etc.) in the line across the bottom of the heading. Note however that when they say cheerily that "nothing" is wrong with Google and Wikipedia as sources for background information, they're eliding the vital points in the discussion immediately below: these resources don't have scholarly expertise vetting the information they locate for you, so you're just as apt to turn up junk as you are valid information. Even general encyclopedias like the Britannica don't always tell you enough about how their information is validated for you to judge if it's really current and sound. Targeted resources edited by scholars in the field offer far better guidance into Classical topics:
  • The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, eds., 3^rd edn. rev. (2003): Cudahy Reference, DE 5 .O9 2003
    • good overviews of most of the larger topics a Classical scholar could probably imagine as of the late 20th century, and very many smaller topics also; with bibliography for the most important places to turn next
  • Brill's New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Classical Tradition volumes edited by Manfred Landfester (Brill, 2010)
    • good, well-grounded scholarly overviews of Classical topics and areas of study, large and small, with supporting bibliography. The Antiquity volumes cover Classical culture in its breadth from Aegean prehistory through the formation of early medieval Europe in west and east, the Classical Tradition volumes cover the reception of Classical culture
  • Oxford Bibliographies Online: Classics, Dee Clayman, editor in chief (2011-)
    • annotated bibliographies on many topics, compiled by leading scholars in the relevant fields
  • The Cambridge Ancient History, John Boardman et al., eds., 2^nd edn. (1982-): Cudahy Reference, D 57 .C252 1982
    • articles on all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman history, in many volumes and an ongoing project of revision and updating; references to other important discussions in footnotes
  • L'Annee philologique: bibliographie critique et analytique de l'antiquite greco-latine (1924-): on line at a Loyola Flagship site, and hard copy in Cudahy Reference, Z 7016 .M35 A2
    • Don't think that if you don't read French, this won't be useful to you!! It is an annual index of items published in all languages, anywhere on the globe, on all conceivable topics of research in Classical Studies, broken down by authors and by other categories, with cross-listing.
• A cautionary note: No "dictionary" or "encyclopedia" is going to be a sufficient resource for serious academic research all by itself - not even the good ones listed here, and especially not Wikipedia, where not all articles can be trusted to have gotten reliable verification before being published. The best ones, however, identify their sources and thereby point you to the evidence and the arguments you want to be considering further, for yourself. Don't hide your use of such resources - but verify their information.
• Jane Currie, Loyola's Bibliographer in Classical Studies, has prepared a Library Guide as a useful gateway to on-line and some print resources for Classical Studies. Note that many classical journals and reference works are not covered by on-line indexes: you will need print by the time you get into the research itself.
• Pegasus, Loyola's on-line catalogue, can help you find whether Loyola Libraries own books you want to use, or journals in which scholarly articles are printed. If not, Interlibrary Loan or other requests (see the links under "services" in the column on the left of the page) can help you to get hold of resources you need.

Taking it further, or unsnagging difficulties:

Exploiting Secondary Sources You Have Already Identified

• Of course, there's the content the secondary work offers. But also:
• Does it list a bibliography? See whether other works listed there also relate to your topic, and look for them.
• Footnotes or endnotes in a scholarly work will refer you to resources especially relevant to topics immediately under discussion, both primary sources containing the evidence on which discussion needs to be based and other secondary studies with which the author agrees or disagrees.
• Follow up related topics with a quick investigation: sometimes their different angle on the source-material or on a different but connected problem will suggest new insights.
• In the library stacks, take a quick look at books near the books you identify as definitely of interest to you: they're likely to address related questions.

Help in Need

• Your instructor has a vested interest in seeing you get the most out of your project possible. Your instructor will be able to be most helpful if you come with groundwork of research laid, and questions outlined for what you want to know next.
• Librarians can help with many questions; ask at the Help desk.

Academic Integrity

• As the College of Arts and Sciences' Standards and Regulations state, "The basic commitment of a university is to search for and to communicate the truth as it is honestly perceived. The university could not accomplish its purpose in the absence of this demanding standard. To the extent that this standard is respected, a genuine learning community can exist. Students of this university are called upon to know, to respect, and to practice this standard of personal honesty."
• The College of Arts and Sciences' Statement on Academic Integrity is incorporated by the Department of Classical Studies' Policy on Academic Integrity. These documents define and discuss various forms of academic cheating and plagiarism that violate the academic integrity that is vital to the university's most important operation. They also include links to additional, fuller discussions; the section on The Use and Abuse of Sources posted by Loyola's Writing Programs is especially clear and useful.
• Please consult your instructor if you have any questions.

Writing the Paper

• Pulling your research together, making an argument, and advancing your argument persuasively:
  • Dr. Long's Strategic Guide to Writing Papers
  • Loyola Libraries' Doing Academic Research. Note especially the tab "Evaluate Sources"! And although you don't necessarily have to use RefWorks, you do have to provide citations via footnotes and bibliography for secondary sources to which you refer in preparing your work, as well as specific passage-references for the primary sources you are talking about.
• Seeking help:
  • Your instructor
  • Loyola's Office of Academic Advising and Support Services, on the Web and in the Sullivan Center for Student Services on the Lakeshore Campus, offers packages of advice called Academic Success Tools about things like strategies for active learning, time management, tests, reading, and note-taking. The also schedule workshops in these areas and other concerns like financial planning and picking a major. The Sullivan Center also helps provide Services for Students with Disabilities.
  • The Center for Tutoring and Academic Excellence (physically in the Sullivan Center; peer-counselors) and the Writing Centers (sponsored by the Department of English: graduate students with expertise in writing pedagogy; main location at Klarchek Information Commons 221, annexes in the Sullivan Center, Suite 206A, and on the Water Tower Campus, 25 East Pearson 605) both offer consultation services.

Revised 13 August 2012 by jlong1@luc.edu
http://www.luc.edu/classicalstudies/