WORKING WITH AJC1

ACADEMIC MATERIAL
DISCUSSION
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES
 PRIMARY SOURCES
• sources concerned with the subject of primary research ( = LITERARY
WORK)
• research – studying the literary text prior to writing a literary analysis
• direct research of the subject in the text

TYPES OF PRIMARY SOURCES:

• novels
• short stories (published in a collection x anthology x separately)
• plays
• poetry
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
AND ANTHOLOGIES
• short stories are often published as a part of an extensive work
• short story collection = a collection of short stories written by the same
author
anthology = a collection of short stories
(or poems) written by several different
authors
they are compiled by an editor according
to the themes they share, the genre, the
period of the publishing, or the national
literature that they all belong to
• only the original English version is
suitable for your analysis

• in case you needed to enhance your

understanding of the text (for example
if a dialect is used frequently
throughout the literary work), you can
read both the English version AND the
translation
SECONDARY SOURCES
• concerned with the subject of secondary research; essential and
obligatory for essays, academic papers, theses
• studies on the primary subject of the research published by other
researchers/scholars
• the results of the research performed by the scholars (= literary
criticism)
• academic papers
• monographs
• reviews, prefaces
• biographies – if they contain information about the writing process
• dictionaries focused on literature (not general dictionaries)
 specialized
dictionary focu
on literature

academic paper
WHERE TO SEARCH FOR
RESOURCES: A. LIBRARIES
Central Library/ Zbrojnice (The Armoury)
https://www.knihovna.upol.cz/pobocky/zbrojnice/
• lending services, interlibrary loans
• free access – students with an ISIC card

British Centre: https://www.knihovna.upol.cz/pobocky/britske-centrum/

• resources for learning/ teaching English classes
• books and magazines in English
• access with the ISIC card – free registration for UPOL students
WHERE TO SEARCH FOR
RESOURCES: LIBRARIES
The KAA Library – library of the English department
• room 3.31
• useful when searching for both primary and secondary sources
Monday – Thursday: 9 – 15
contact: knihovnacccs@gmail.com
WHERE TO SEARCH FOR
RESOURCES: LIBRARIES
Faculty of Arts Study Room: P1.17
https://www.ff.upol.cz/studenti/pruvodce-studiem/provozni-sluzby/
• borrowing books in person with your ISIC card

Olomouc Research Library (Vědecká knihovna)

https://www.vkol.cz/olomouc-research-library
• access with a library card, registration fee
• materials can be ordered online
• online catalogue: http://aleph.vkol.cz/F/?
func=find-b-0&local_base=svk01&CON_LNG=ENG

Municipal Library in Olomouc (Městská knihovna) – http://www.kmol.cz/

• access with a library card
• registration fee
• online catalogue: https://tritius.kmol.cz/
 B. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
• accessible if you are connected to the university Wi-Fi: eduroam, UPOL
• computers at the library
Shibboleth – provides acces to the electronic resources outside of the
university network

Electronic Information Resources at UPOL: https://ezdroje.upol.cz/

database of full-text journals and books
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): https://doaj.org/
full-text journals
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES –
PRIMARY SOURCES
• Gale Literary Sources – see UPOL Electronic Resources
• Literature Online – see UPOL Electronic Resources
• Google Books – https://books.google.com/
• Project Gutenberg – http://gutenberg.org/
more than 100, 000 free e-books, most of them published before 1900
• Poetry Foundation – https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
full poems, information on poetry
bibliographies, biographies, literary criticism
• The Internet Archive - https://archive.org/
PRIMARY/SECONDARY SOURCE? WHY?
HOW CAN YOU USE THE SOURCE?

EXAMPLE:
• a play
• primary source
• it is possible to analyze the text in
terms of themes, motifs, characters,
symbols etc.
 Katherine Anne Porter: The Life of an
Artist

by Darlene Harbour Unrue

A.
B. C.
D.
E.
F.
RESEARCH RULES
• assessing the existing research in order to articulate your own opinion
• analyze the results of the existing research
• secondary sources support your arguments
• they can serve as a ground for your counterarguments
• include your own commentary on the result of the research
• the sources should be related to your arguments
• each idea drawn from the secondary source must be
documented in footnotes and bibliography in order to avoid
plagiarism!!!
EVALUATING SECONDARY
SOURCES
• not everything that is printed or on the internet is trustworthy
• avoid incorrect data / biased views of the author
• the source should not be outdated
1) Is the autor connected with a research institution or a university?
2) Who is the publisher? Is the work peer-reviewed?
3) Does the author include a comprehensive list of references?
4) Does the author present relevant background information?
5) Does the author provide the methodology of his/her research?
6) Is the information applicable today?
FOR NEXT WEEK…
• find 2 secondary sources for your final essay
• send them to me via e-mail (for example a link)
 THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION!