Stanford
TeachingWriting

Online Research and E-Book Resources

With publication shifting increasingly online in recent years, there are an abundance of online resources available to writers, speakers, and researchers.

Online Resources and E-Books for PWR Students

Several popular rhetoric and composition resources are available online for students, free of charge.

Articles through the Stanford Databases

Stanford provides access to over 2500 databases that will provide full-text access to your students.  Use the filter of the left menu to help find the most relevant databases for your class or search.

Some of them might provide access to primary sources, such as “Ethnographic Video Online” from Alexander Street Press 

Other E-Books and Resources

In general, many books are already available in digital form, both publicly and also through the Stanford library system.  If you would like to request the library look into purchasing a book in an online format, make the request through their online request system.

You can find digitized materials through the library system by going to the Searchworks Homepage, click on the left under “Find Material By…”, Select Access, then limit to online.  You can then narrow by Topics or you can put your search term in the search field and it will show you only digitally-formatted sources on that subject.

Google Books is another resource students might use.  In addition, students might not realize that they get additional access to fulltext on Google Scholar searches if they connect it to their Stanford account (directions for doing so are here).

For resources for video, film, etc. you might consider looking at Kanopy or Swank Motion pictures

Digital Collections and Primary Sources

Ask a Librarian

The Stanford Library offers a live chat space for students to ask questions of librarians. Check out the Ask Ussection of the Stanford Library website to learn more about contacting a librarian and chatting in real time.