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Welcome to the library research guide for ART 360 - Western Art History!This guide includes links to databases and other relevant information.
Dix, Otto. Portrait of the Dancer Anita Berber. 1925. Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. https://www.kunstmuseum-stuttgart.de/en/exhibitions/now-or-never. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
When searching the library research databases or SearchCat, it's good to have a strategy. Unlike Google or Internet search engines, the databases and SearchCat can't interpret natural language or strings of unconnected words. You should identify the key concepts in your thesis or research question and then brainstorm for a few alternative terms and synonyms that go along with them. Then you can connect and combine those terms in different ways using Boolean (see video in box below).
For example, what if you were researching the topic:
women and early photography
The key concepts are obviously the words I underlined:
| women | early photography |
It's good to have a few synonyms and related terms for your key concepts. They may also be helpful in your search!
| women | early photography: |
| women photographers. female, women pioneers, etc. | photography, photography-history. etc. |
Now I can develop either a basic search statement:
women AND early photography
Or a more advanced search statement with some flexibility:
(women OR women pioneers) AND (early photography OR photography)
Find out why I combined terms with AND and OR in the video below (capitalization and bold type just for emphasis)!
This video from the University of Auckland Libraries in Australia explains Boolean operators very well, and shows how they work in library catalogs, databases, and even Advanced Google.