This guide is intended to help you research topics in art and art history, a field with a wide variety of library resources. Art research encompasses the study of painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, design, graphic arts, and intersects other subjects such as geography, anthropology, and mass media.

Using the tabs at the top of the Research Guide, navigate through the tabs to locate the specific type of resources you need including reference encyclopedias and dictionaries, books, journals and research databases, and web resources. Use the tab for Image Resources to find links to many online sources for images to use for study and research.

L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp, 1919

rectified readymade: pencil on postcard reproduction

Image courtesy of ARTstor.

Develop your research topic.

What are the key concepts of your topic?  Can you broaden or narrow your focus? Consider focusing on one or more of the following:

• time period
  
• place
• specific event   
• specific people

Does your topic overlap other subject areas such as anthropology, geography or political science?

Think of 2- 3 questions that you will need to explore.

• Think about the history of your topic, and its categories.
• Who are the key people? What did they do? Why did it happen?
  

Under each question, think about the following aspects:

• What do you already know about your topic or issue?
• What do you need to learn to better understand your topic or issue?
• What kind of information resource might provide the answer to these questions?

Consider your audience.

• Who will read your paper?
• Why will it be of interest to them?
• What will be new to them?

For more tips, see the Cornish Writing Center Resources guide.

For tips on creating a bibliography, see the Cornish Library Citation guide.