Use the Glossary of Search Terms

Examples of search terms The search terms in this compilation are intended to allow a fairly tight search for topics of interest to researchers and teachers of composition and rhetoric.  Ideally, the terms should locate the central subject of a piece, the main theories and theorists used, and the topics that are discussed at some length.  For three examples, click here.

Hyphenated search terms Hyphenated search terms allow for tighter searches.  For example, "teacher-research" locates studies conducted by teachers of their own students and classes.  A search for "research" will pick up these records but also pick up many others, such as "research" (unqualified) and "research-method." Here are some of the more common compound search terms: Hyphenated Search Terms

Specialized search terms Specialized search terms are needed to unconfuse confusing language.  For example "conferencing" refers to the pedagogical use of conferences with students, and "conference" refers to professional meetings such as CCCC. Although now outdated, "term-paper" is the search term for the library or research paper. Here are some of the less intuitive of the search terms: Specialized Search Terms

Coverage This bibliography does not extend before 1939. Beginning January 2007, we are extending coverage beyond 2000, though that is an ongoing task (March 2007). If you do not find publications dated 2000 or beyond, try "rhetoric and composition" as a subject in the Modern Language Assocation International Bibliography. This database now functions as the annual bibliography for the Conference on College Composition and Communication. It is proprietary, and you, your library, or your professional organization must subscribe to it through EBSCO Research Databases. CompPile will continue to extend coverage beyond 2000, so check here regularly.

Text sensitivity This search engine is not sensitive to case, italics, or spaces. E.g., class in the Title field will pick up titles with "class," "classroom," "lower-class," "neoclassical," "classification," etc. in them. The engine is sensitive to punctuation marks. E.g., pre-service will not locate "preservice," preservice will not locate "pre-service."

Complex searches This search engine supports concurrent multiple-field searches. Submitted together, Agar in the Author field, scenes in the Title field, and discourse-analysis in the Search Term field will locate Michael Agar's "Language Scenes and Political Scenes" from the Journal of Pragmatics 14.1 (1990), pp. 25-38 and no other item. Within fields, use the Boolean and or or for complex searches. E. g., gender and class in the Title field will locate titles with both of those letter-combinations in them; whereas gender or class will locate titles with one or the other letter-combination in them.

Numeric ranges For numeric range bounded at one end, use >, <, >=, or <=. For numeric range bounded at both ends, use between [low value] and [high value]. E.g., between 1939 and 1941 in the Date field will locate items published in 1939, 1940, and 1941.

Excluding terms For the Boolean not, use ! E.g., class and !gender in the Title field will locate titles with "class" and without "gender" in them. A single ! in a field will locate records with no information in that field. E.g. gender in the Search Terms field and ! in the Book field will locate material in journals but not in books keyworded with the term "gender." Multiple-field ! will not work, however.

Wildcard symbol The wildcard symbol is *. E.g., class* in the Title field will locate titles beginning with that letter-combination: "Classroom . . ." "Classification . . ." etc.; whereas *class will locate titles ending with that letter-combination: ". . . composition class," ". . . an underclass."

Author names Names of authors appear sometimes last name first and sometimes last name last.  Entering kinneavy, james will not catch entries where he appears as "James Kinneavy." To find all records of an author with one search, enter first name and last name separated with and--for example, james and kinneavy. Multiple authors are always separated by semi-colons (;). Multiply authored pieces can be located by typing in a semi-colon in the Author field.

Journal items Volumes of journals from 1 through 9 are written 01, 02, etc.  Issue numbers do not use the zero.  Volume and issue number are separated by a period. E.g., college composition and communication 07.3  in the Journal field will locate all records in Number 3 of Volume 7, and college composition and communication 07 will locate the records in all four issues of Volume 7. Journal titles are NOT abbreviated.  For titles used, see Journals.  A distinctive part of a title, of course, can be used as a shortcut; e.g., edge in the Journal field will locate entries from the journal Writing on the Edge.

Edited collections To locate all the contributions in a multiple-author volume, type distinctive publishing information in the Book field.  E.g., berlin and vivion in the Book field will locate all 21 essays in James Berlin and Michael Vivion (Eds.), Cultural Studies in the English Classroom (1992).