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ART: Art & Artists Research for Studio Art Courses (2024)

A guide for students in studio art courses, created by arts Librarian Maryke Barber
Profile Photo
Maryke Barber
(she/her)
Contact:
mbarber@hollins.edu
(540)362-6592
Office: Wyndham Robertson Library, 2nd floor, Room 205

B.F.A., Music Theatre, Shenandoah College and Conservatory
M.F.A., Theatre, Virginia Commonwealth University
M.S., Information Science, University of Tennessee
Website
Subjects: Art, Dance, Film, Music , Theatre

1. Does this work for me?

DO THIS: go back and read your assignment. Answer the following questions:

  1. Is this information really relevant to the assignment and to my topic?
  2. Does this information help me shape the questions I have about this topic? Does it help me consider answers?
  3. Does this source lead me to other sources I can use?

2. Who Wrote This?

Who is/are the authors? Are they qualified to write on this topic? Does their background, resume or current activity make them more or less credible on this topic?

DO THIS: Do a quick search for an author's bio or cv (= academic resume). You can also check to see whether the author has written any other articles, papers or books on the same topic.

Make sure websites provide you with the name of the actual author (not just the webmaster).

Can't tell who the author is? You should never use information that you can't verify in an academic paper.

3. Who published this?

DO THIS: find a description of the publisher of your book or article, or find their website. What is their mission? What types of things do they publish, and who is their audience?

OK to use: art history book by Yale University Press.
Why? University publishers produce academic-quality books that have been written by experts in the field, and have been fact-checked before they are published.

Questionable: book on Susan B. Anthony by Scholastic Publishing.
Why? Scholastic is actually a publisher that produces books for K-12 schools. The information in the book will be accurate, but for a college paper you can find a book that's more at your level.

Questionable: book on the Civil War published by Author House.
Why? Author House is a website that helps people self-publish: anyone can write a book and publish via Author House. No fact-checking, no guarantee of subject expertise.

Online:

  • .com = business
  • .org = organization
  • .gov = government agency
  • .edu = school
  • .edu/~morgan = Mr. Morgan's personal page at Unnamed University.

4. When did they publish it?

DO THIS: find a date. Ask yourself:

  1. is there more recent information on your topic?
  2. is it important to your paper that you use the most recent information? IDepends on the subject)
  • On web pages, find the date the material was originally written, and when the page was last updated.
  • Journal article in a database: make sure you know when the article was originally written (don't confuse that with the date it was added to the database).

5. What's in it for them?

DO THIS:  use information about the author and publisher to determine whether they may have a bias about your topic.

If they do, you will have to make this clear in your paper when you use any information from their writing. Ask yourself:

  • Is the information fact, or opinion?
  • Is it supported by evidence? What sort of evidence?
  • What is the purpose? What do the authors want to accomplish?
  • Is there an implicit or explicit bias?

6. Can I verify it?

DO THIS:

1. check for sources. Do the authors use citations, do they provide references and/or a bibliography?

2. check a few facts from the information against a reliable source, for example, an encyclopedia. The library subscribes to Credo Reference, and has encyclopedias in the first-floor reference section.

What is peer review?

Peer reviewed articles (also sometimes called refereed articles or scholarly articles) require that experts in the field must first examine the article before it is accepted for publication. This ensures that the research is current, complete, and of high quality.

Tips for finding peer reviewed journals and articles:

1.    Find the journal's website, read the description of the journal and the information they provide to authors. Look for information on whether it has an editorial board, and who is on that board: are they other scholars? 

2.    Ask a librarian at the Reference Desk or at askref@hollins.edu.

Popular vs. scholarly: which is it?

Your assignment may require you to use scholarly, or peer-reviewed, journal articles for your bibliography. What are these articles, and what makes them different from articles from magazines like Time?

 

 

Scholarly journal

Trade/professional pub

Popular magazine

Appearance

Plain cover/plain paper; black/white graphics and illustrations

Cover may depict industry setting; glossy; color

Eye-catching cover; glossy; pics and illustrations in color

Content

Long articles, providing in-depth analysis of topics. Style: research projects, methodology, and theory.

Shorter articles, often providing broad trends. Style: Industry trends, products or techniques, organizational news

Shorter articles, often providing broad trends. Style: personalities, news, opinions, general interest

Authors Usually an expert in the field: name and credentials are provided. Usually a journalist, staff writer or editor: name is only sometimes provided. Usually a journalist, staff writer or editor: name is only sometimes provided.

Audience

Academic or professional; professors, researchers, students

Members of specific business, industry, or organization

General public

Peer reviewed?*

Yes

Rarely

No

Bibliography

Always

Maybe – sometimes have short bibliographies

Never

Advertisements

Few or none

Moderate – most will be trade-related

Heavy

Abstract

Yes

Maybe

No

Writing style

Specialized vocabulary or jargon; may require training or subject expertise to understand

Specialized vocabulary or jargon; may require training or subject expertise to understand

Vocabulary that can be understood by general public

Examples

Communication Research

Journal of Communication

Journalism History

Advertising Age

Columbia Journalism Review

Editor & Publisher

Time

Sports Illustrated

Vanity Fair