Research Tutorial for Art 109A Arts Since 1945

1. Research Tutorial
Professor Melissa Hall
Fall 2013

2. Course Objectives
• Conduct research on a
contemporary artist, and situate
their work in the context of post-
1945 art practices

3. Research Sources
• Internet
• Books
• Periodicals

4. Search Engines
• Search engines are used to
locate information on the
internet

5. Keyword Search
• Begin your search by choosing
a “keyword”

6. Keyword: Jackson Pollock

7. Search term is too broad

8. • Narrow your search by using
more specific keyword terms
 Jackson Pollock and
Existentialism
 Jackson Pollock and Action
Painting
 Jackson Pollock andHarold
Rosenberg
 Jackson Pollock andClement
Greenberg

10. Limit your search to images using Google’s
image feature

11. Click on Search Tools and select “Large” for
high resolution images

12. Evaluating Web Resources
• Much of the information
available on the internet is
not reliable
• You must therefore evaluate
your resources to determine
their validity

13. Criteria
WCC Librarians recommend 5
simple criteria:
1. Authority
2. Accuracy
3. Coverage
4. Objectivity
5. Currency

14. Authority
Authority:
• Is the author or sponsor a
reliable source?

15. Authority
• Since anybody can post on
the internet you must be sure
that your source is credible

16. Authority
• This is why Wikipedia is not
considered a reliable
resource

17. Authority
• But Wikipedia can be a great
jumping off point!

18. Authority
• But Wikipedia can be a great
jumping off point!

19. Authority
• Wikipedia is an Encyclopedia
• It is a research “tool” not a
research “source”

20. Authority
• Look for sites sponsored by
recognized institutions and
experts in the field

21. Authority
• Beware of sites that appear
to be authored by experts

22. Authority
• The authors are not always
experts on the topic

23. Authority
• Art Story contributors all
have MAs -- not PhDs!

24. Authority
• Domain names can help you
identify credible sources at a
glance

25. Authority
• Museums and libraries are
identified by the “.org” tag in
their URL

26. Authority
• Museum sites are an excellent
source of “vetted” information

27. Authority
• Artcyclopedia provides links to
museum object pages

28. Authority
• Artcyclopedia provides links to
museum object pages

29. Authority
• Also links to articles and
multimedia

30. Authority
• Commercial sites are identified
by the “.com” domain
name:http://www.jacksonpollock
.com/
• Beware of .com sites!

31. Authority
• If the site is trying to sell you
something, it can not be
considered “reliable”

32. Authority
• Be wary of distracting
advertising!

33. Authority
• Be wary of blogs!

34. Coverage
• Coverage refers to the
quality and depth of content
• If the site repeats the
familiar old clichés about
Jackson Pollock, it is not
worth using!

35. Accuracy
• Are there mistakes in facts,
spelling, or the use of
vocabulary?

36. Objectivity
• Is the information presented
objectively, or does it
promote an opinion or point
of view?

37. Objectivity
• Much art criticism is opinion,
rather than scholarly
research

38. Currency
• Currency refers to whether information is current or up to date
• Greenberg and Rosenberg are “historical artifacts,” not current
“authorities

39. Citation Format
• Citing internet sources is a pain
in the neck -- but everybody has
to do it!
• Otherwise, you will be guilty of
plagiarism!

40. Citation Format
Required information includes:
 Author or agency
 Title of article
 Site name or original source
 Date created and publisher
 Date of access
 URL

41. Citation Format
Required information includes:
 Author or agency
 Title of article
 Site name or original source
 Date created and publisher
 Date of access
 URL
Melissa Hall, “Jackson Pollock,” Art Since
1945, Westchester Community College
(October 7, 2013)
http://medumpa.wordpress.com/lectures/we
ek-3/jackson-pollock-1912-1956/

42. Citation Format
• There are now “citation
machines” available on the web
that will do the formatting for
you
http://citationmachine.net/

43. Citation Format
• If you can’t find the information
you need then you might want
to question the reliability of your
site
http://citationmachine.net/

44. Citation Format
• Many museum sites now offer
information about how to cite
their pages

45. Books

50. Periodicals
• Know the difference between
popular magazines and
scholarly journals
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/tutorial_files/scholarlyfree/index.html

51. Periodicals
• Scholarly = peer reviewed
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/tutorial_files/scholarlyfree/index.html

52. Periodicals
• Magazine = glossy pictures and
advertisements
• General audience
• Exhibition reviews
• News on market trends and
conservation

53. Periodicals
• Scholarly journals – no
advertising; longer articles;
more “serious” appearance

54. Periodicals
• Lots of footnotes!

55. Use library
database to
locate
periodicals

60. Modify
search

63. Summary

64. WTF???!!!
If you can’t understand the
abstract, skip it

66. Page Scan

69. PDF

70. PDF

73. Journals to Look for
Art Bulletin
Art Journal
Art in America
Art History
Oxford Art Journal

74. Journals to Avoid
October

75. Journals to Avoid
Art News

76. Can be Good
New Yorker
New York Times
Artnet

77. Art Critics
Roberta Smith
Michael Kimmelman
Holland Carter
Michael Brenson
Jerry Saltz
Peter Schjeldahl
Deborah Solomon

78. Links
Check out links on course website
(mostly criticism; reviews)

79. Help
The library provides abundant
resources

80. Tutorials

81. Tutorials

82. Help