LibGuides: Science Fiction: Home

What is Science Fiction?

Science Fiction is a genre full of speculation and imagination. Concepts such as time travel, space travel, futuristic worlds, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life are explored within the genre, with emphasis on the potential consequences that these ideas could present. Works in this genre oftentimes avoid the supernatural, as they were originally meant to be grounded on science-based fact or theory, but now those books and/or movies that have a strict grounding in science are limited to hard science fiction, a subgenre.

Research & this guide

This guide is meant to be a starting place for beginner readers of sci-fi and those who would like to have some basic research tools to work with. Below will be links to different starting points that can be used to search for sci-fi academic sources.

If you would like to get sci-fi books, check out the books tab above!

Database Suggestions

Below you will find a list of databases from which you can search for articles.

ABELL (Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature)
The Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature contains 880,000 records, covering monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews and collections of essays published anywhere in the world from 1920 onwards.
FIAF International Film Archive Database
Contains: International index to film periodicals, 1972- ; International index to television periodicals, 1979- ; List of periodicals indexed; Treasures from the film archives; International directory of film and TV documentation collections; and Bibliography of FIAF members' publications.
Film & Television Literature Index
Film & Television Literature Index is a comprehensive bibliographic database covering the entire spectrum of television and film writing. It has been designed for use by a diverse audience that includes film scholars, college students, and general viewers. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews--Database description screen.
IIPA (Int’l Index to Performing Arts)
The IIPA offers in depth information on popular and scholarly performing arts journals. There are more than 395 journal titles indexed, and over 160 of these titles are available in full text. The periodicals include American Theatre, Dance Chronicle, Dance Teacher, Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Opera News and many more.
Literature Criticism Online
LCO covers a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres, offering tens of thousands of hard-to-find critical essays. Database subscriptions may include any or all of the following titles, based on subscriber preferences: Contemporary literary criticism; Twentieth-Century literary criticism; Nineteenth-Century literature criticism; Literature criticism from 1400-1800; Shakespearean criticism; Classical and medieval literature criticism; Poetry criticism; Short story criticism; Drama criticism; and Children's literature review.
Literature Resource Center
Searchable database of full-text articles, essays, book reviews, plot summaries, poems, short stories, plays, and interviews with contemporary writers.
MLA International Bibliography
Indexes critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Proved access to citations from worldwide publications, including periodicals, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations and bibliographies.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
Contains full-text of recent US dissertations and theses, which are a great place to find bibliographies.

What if my article is not available online in full-text?

Option One: Finding print articles

Not everything is available in electronic format. Keep your citation (name of journal, volume, and issue) handy. Now search the Library's online catalog for the location of the print journal.There are two ways to search the online catalog.

Through the new VU Find Catalog.
Through the Classic Search.

Look to see which library holds the issue or volume that you need and jot down the location and call number. Now you need to visit a departmental library to make a photocopy. There are a number of scanners in the Library. Many are located in Room 200 and the Main Stacks.

What if the library doesn't have an article?

Option Two: Interlibrary Loan

If your article is not available in full-text online and it is not available in print, you can request the article throughInterlibrary Loan and Document Delivery. Make sure to choose "Request a photocopy" and fill out the entire form, including the source of the citation. This process typically takes 7-10 days, so plan ahead! Interlibrary Loan will most likely deliver your article as a .pdf file to your email address.

Citing Sources and Citation Management

Properly citing sources is part of research. The Library has an excellent guide for Citing Sources

The Library also has guides to popular citation management systems.

You can also Google to find help from the software vendors themselves, such as:

EndNote Support
Links to online guides and manuals, FAQs, and contact information for Customer Service and Technical Support groups.
Mendeley Support
An FAQs list; also has links to materials for getting started, and information for posting or emailing a question.
Zotero Documentation
A list of links on topics to get started, and a "Contact Us" link at the bottom.

CITES VPN

To access Library electronic resources from off-campus, connect through the campus VPN. Follow the instructions on this page: http://techservices.illinois.edu/services/virtual-private-networking-vpn.

Make sure to select TUNNEL ALL and not Split Tunnel.

Creator

Libguide Created by: Melina Zavala