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| SHORTCUTS encyclopaedias and dictionaries for art terms chronologies philosophy 19th & 20th century Internet sites Library Catalogue Dewey for art Indexes and databases in electronic format Art abstracts Academic search premier Academic OneFile EAI: Expanded academic index Philosopher's index Periodicals index online Factiva JSTOR Project Muse If you have any queries, please contact me, Kay Leverett, Architecture Librarian Essay and thesis writing guides Intercampus requests Document Delivery Image & Copy Centre Department of Architecture Landscape Architecture and Urban Design |
To get an understanding of aspects
of your topic, some
background information is useful so, try encyclopaedias and
handbooks. (1) For more detailed discussion find other books and handbooks through the Library Catalogue (2) Once you know which aspects of the topic you want to develop for your essay, you may need to read comment and opinion written in journal articles. Use specialised indexes, known as Databases, to find out what articles and papers might be useful. (3) When you have a reference to a book or journal article, check the Library Catalogue to find out if we have access to that title. (4) (1) Need some information about an artist, a period, a style, or want an illustration of a work of art? Try a specialised handbook or encyclopaedia In the Barr Smith Library there are a range of locations for encyclopedias on art and related works, although most will be found in 700-709; 730 and 750. Click
on the link for a list of Dewey Decimal
Classification
numbers
used in the Barr
Smith
Library for books and journals on art and related topics.
Encyclopaedias
and handbooks will give information on basic
concepts, explanations
of terminology, biographical details for notable artists,
information
on specific topics, illustrations of works of art, and lists of
references
for further reading on a topic.
In addition to the printed encyclopaedias and
dictionaries, there are many internet sites. Be careful with these as
they may represent a personal opinion and not have academic status.A wonderful source of reliable websites is Professor Chris Whitcombe's art history resources on the web - look at it! (2) Finding information for an essay topic The Library Catalogue will lead you to books about aspects of your topic, available in or through the Library. From the rectangular boxes across the top of the screen, click on the one labelled [Catalogue] This will bring up the Catalogue search bar. At by: pull down and select Keyword (use and, or, not, " ") Before you start a Keyword search - Think
about the concepts in your topic
Type the computer command and between each word to tell the system to find only those Catalogue records which include each word you have selected. eg. art and
modern
Click on the [Search] button to bring up the Search Results: that is the titles that match your search strategy. The Brief Record format indicates the location of the book and whether it is on loan. Click on the title for more details in the Full Record. The Full Record describes the physical format of the book and lists the Subject Heading(s): which may give leads to more books on the topic. Click on a Subject Heading: to bring up a list of headings that you can select from to find other relevant material. To improve your search strategy to get more relevant results, think about other words that an author might use in their title, which would still be of interest to you. eg. art and
modern and
style
Where the search word could be singular or plural, use the truncation symbol ? to tell the system to find all words beginning with the letters you have typed eg. art?
and
modern
and
style?
There might be other words which could be used for each concept so combine search terms with the operators and, or, " " eg. (art?
or
sculptur? or
paint? or
drawing?)
and
(modern?
or
postmodern?)
and
(style
or
surreal? or
stijl? or
expressionis? or
dada?
or
"pop art")
(3) Finding articles on a topic using Indexes and Databases You cannot use the Library Catalogue directly to find out which journal or newspaper articles are available through the Library. To find out what relevant articles or papers have been written, and where they were published, you need to search databases or indexes. The Library's subscription to some databases may include access to the full text of the article. First, choose a database or index depending on your topic. Your topic looks at many issues. In addition to databases covering business and commerce, consider databases indexing technological issues, social issues, psychology, politics, etc. Is an Australian database appropriate? Examples of possibly useful databases are: for art see
Art
index. 1929-1998
Reference Collection 705 A778 continued by also in print form are -
Artbibliographies modern.
1969-
State Library (1969-1987) and University of South Australia Library (1969-1996) A comprehensive coverage of art and design of the 19th and 20th centuries. BHA: bibliography of the history of art. 1991-1995. Reference collection 705 R425.2 Focuses on European art and American art and the art of other areas that reflects contact with the Western tradition. for interdisciplinary indexes that include a coverage of art, try Periodicals index online: PIO
1665-
Millions of references from the arts, humanities and social sciences. Is a useful source of contemporary comment on art in the 19th and 20th centuries. Links to the full text for many articles in Periodicals archive online: PAO 1802- Academic search premier Covers a wide range of articles from general magazines to academic journals. Includes some art journals. Factiva Provides a global coverage of news sources; newspapers, wire services and company reports. Newspapers often provide useful comment on the opening of an 'important' art exhibition, anniversary or controversy. A very big database so you may get irrelevant material! Web of Science 1980- Despite its name, this database covers journals in the social sciences and humanities overs a wide range of articles from general to academic journals. Includes some art journals. Second, searching effectively. Search techniques vary in databases but most use the the same basic search strategies as used when searching in the Library's Catalogue by Keyword (use and, or, not, " "). Before you start a search - Remember that journal articles are usually on a specific topic - do not use general search terms. Think
about
what information you would like to find to support your case.
Think
of
terms, words and phrases, that could be used in the
title of an article that would make you think it could give the
information you need.
Consider
searching for an artist's name or a style.
Truncate terms. *
is the most
common
truncation symbol, but there are others. The ? is used in the Library Catalogue
Combine search terms with the
commands and, or, " "
Remember to use brackets ( )
around search terms separated by the or
command.
Next, dealing with the results Look at the titles - are there
other, useful, search terms
in the
titles and
abstracts of the first
articles you retrieve? Consider 'improving' your search strategy!
Look for a refine
search option to modify ('improve') your search.
Display the full
record, usually by
clicking on the title. The full record includes the
abstract, a summary of the article, plus subject terms which can lead
you on to more articles on that topic.
Look for the 'boxes' to mark
useful records.
Look for icons and instructions
for emailing, printing or saving
your
results.
Finally, once your database search has given references to articles, you need to find the full text of the article. In many cases,
the Library has paid for full text through our subscriptions, so you
are supplied with a link to the electronic
full text of articles. If this is not so, look for the blue
rectangular box labelled [ Check
fulltext options ].
If these links are not present not, search the journal title (not the article title) in the Library Catalogue. (4) Following up references - or does the Library have the book or journal article that I need? At the Library Home page, click on Catalogue For a book -
type the book title in the Search for: bar, and change the default at by: to Title (omit the beginning The, A, etc.) eg. Search for: Concepts of modern art by: Title (omit the beginning The, A, etc.) For a journal article -
type the title of the journal in the Search for: bar, and change the default at by: to Journal or Newspaper Title eg.
Search for: Art in America by: Journal or Newspaper Title For most journal titles you will get a brief records display where the Library has the journal in both print and electronic format. For journals available in electronic form
the Library Catalogue record provides a Link
to e-Resource: and indicates
the years available electronically.
For journals in print form the
Library
Catalogue record lists the Location: (which
library),
the Call
Number:
(where in that library) and what the Library
Has: (which issue our set starts with, and if it has finished,
the last issue)
REMEMBER to check the date and volume number of your reference against the Catalogue information to make certain that the Library provides access to the article you want. The Barr Smith Library does not hold all journals indexed in the databases. To find out if a journal is available in Adelaide, try the Other Catalogues option to search the catalogues of UniSA and Flinders University libraries |
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