F364: Children's Folklore
F364: Children's Folklore
- Getting Started: Reference Works
- Finding Articles
- Finding Books
- The Problem with Google
- Avoid Plagiarism like the Plague
1. Getting Started: Reference Works
Green, Thomas A., ed. Folklore: an Encyclopedia
Brunvand, Jan Harold, ed.Brunvand, Jan Harold, ed. American Folklore: An Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedias can be good places to start your research: they give you an overview of the topic, plus a list of further reading.
2. Finding Articles
MLA International Bibliography
Virtually everything referenced here is an academic, peer-reviewed source.
Click Advanced Search tab
Enter search terms, and select "FK folklore topic" the drop-down menu
Possible search terms:
Children
Games
Riddles
Folk tale (use instead of "fairy tale")
Folk song
If you get too many, add another term in the next box. Good choices for these second terms are:
Children
Here's how to get the actual article either online or in print:
IULink button: click here to locate the article you want. If we have it online, the link will appear in a new window. If we don't have it online, click the IUCAT option to find out where the print copy is in the library.
Request article delivery: if you don't want to take the time to search the shelves yourself, the library will scan articles for you for free (up to 25 per month). This is a FREE service, but it will take a few days. Go to this site, login, and fill out the form as completely as possible:
https://www.dds.iub.edu/logon.html
There's no IUlink button. Help!
Some of your results will not have IULink buttons. This is because they refer to articles in books rather than journals. To get these items, search for the title of the BOOK in IUCAT. (See below under IUCAT for more details.) In the record, the BOOK title is found in the "Source" field. I have put the book title in italics in the following example:
Title: The Complexity of Children's Folklore
Author(s): Zumwalt, Rosemary LÉvy
Source: pp. 23-47 IN: Sutton-Smith, Brian (ed. and preface, introd., conclusion); Mechling, Jay (ed.); Johnson, Thomas W. (ed.); McMahon, Felicia R. (ed. and conclusion); Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook.
Some journals you should know about:
Children's Folklore Review
1988 to present
Print only
GR43 .C4 C44
Current issues in
Journal of American Folklore
Available in JSTOR and Project Muse
Western Folklore
3. Finding Books, Videos, etc.
Browse the shelves on the 7th floor under these call numbers:
GR 43
GR475-487
Searching IUCAT:
IUCAT
Try: "folklore children" and click on SUBJECT. (183 hits found)
Request delivery
If you find a book listed at any IU library, even libraries at IUPUI,
- Log in to IUCAT with your network ID and password
- Search until you find the book you want
- Click Request Delivery button
- From the drop down list, choose which library you want it delivered to.
- Send request
4. Why Not Just Google Everything?
People might have told you that you can find everything you relay need by just searching in Google. Google is easy to use, and it will find all kinds of useful stuff, but it will not find everything that is on the web--especially not scholarly or peer-reviewed stuff.
For instance, I found this article in the MLA Bibliography. AT IU, you can get this article online using the IULink button. Can you find it in Google?
Title: Plain and Fancy: A Content Analysis of Children's Jokes Dealing with Adult Sexuality
Author(s): Zumwalt, Rosemary
Source: Western Folklore (
5. Avoid Plagiarism Like the Plague
Check out thee online tutorials:
http://inflite.ulib.iupui.edu/6/00goals.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~libinstr/Tutorial/Citing/citing1.html
