The definitive database for finding scholarly articles on Arabic literature and related topics is the Modern Language Association International Bibliography (MLAIB) online. Topics indexed include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theatre), folklore, and the history of printing and publishing. Book reviews are not included.
The MLAIB has certain database-specific features:
- You can search indexes such as genre, literary technique, literature topic, primary subject author, and primary subject work.
- You can build your search using the database's thesaurus. This will allow you to focus your search using MLA's descriptors (controlled vocabulary).
- It is generally better to do your searches in English, even if you want results in Arabic. For example, a search for Subject Arabic literature AND Keyword women produced 306 results, of which 32 were in Arabic.
- Create a free account with EBSCO to save your research into folders, remember your searches, and be notified when new articles matching your search terms are added.
The Modern Language Association has created several tutorial videos to help you to research efficiently and effectively.
