Workshop for Research in Art History Purdue Writing Lab

Secondary Research Writing a Research-based Paper Argumentative vs. Expository Point by point (Theme by theme) Compare and Contrast Chronological Order

Using sources in your writing ; where and when? Providing background information Providing existing literature – that dealt with the same topic What other people have said about the topic How it has been discussed and debated Inviting the readers to your topic Enhance the credibility of your paper

Warm-up Find any information about “Mona Lisa” and “Leonardo da Vinci” What did you find, and how did you find it?

Finding Sources Scholarly Databases (Academic Journals, articles, books, reviews, commentaries, analyses, reports, etc.)

Searching Sources Keywords Artist’s name Title of books/articles Dictionary of Art

The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Available at Purdue)

Purdue Library General Search

Searching the catalogue can be very frustrating. Be persistent. Refine your search by format material, topic, etc. When searching books, pay attention to the date and the publisher, and take this information into account.

Most of the art history books are located in the 3rd floor of the HSSE Library Write down the information so that you can find the book

Using Oxford Dictionary of Art, Search for Leonardo da Vinci. Find keywords from the description about the artist. Write down keywords.

Art-related Databases Art Full Text Humanities Abstracts Full Text Historical Abstracts Art Bibliographies (Diss & Theses) Dissertation and Theses JSTOR

https://www.lib.purdue.edu/ Purdue Databases Art Full Text

In order to exclude words, there needs to be "NOT" in front of the word one does not want to include (example below: Claude Monet NOT impressionism -- the search results will not include sources about impressionism ) 

Enter keywords related to your topic. Check “Full Text” Check “Peer Reviewed Journals” Check “Apply related words” if you want the database to look for alternative keywords that might be related to the keywords you have entered.

Using the keywords you wrote down, Search for sources about Leonardo da Vinci in Art Full Text (EBSCOHOST)

WorldCat “WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.” You can access World Cat from the home page of Purdue Libraries Website

Using WorldCat, Find sources about Leonardo da Vinci. What did you find? Where is it?

Requesting book via Interlibrary Loan: “Interlibrary Loan supports the instructional, research, and scholarly activities of currently employed or enrolled West Lafayette faculty, staff, and students by obtaining research material not owned by the Purdue University Libraries.” You can access the Interlibrary Loan Library at: https://www.lib.purdue.edu/services/interlibrary-loan

You can access JSTOR from the Purdue Libraries Website: JSTOR Searching on JSTOR: “JSTOR is a not–for–profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive of over one thousand academic journals and other scholarly content. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.” “JSTOR offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. It includes archives of leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. The entire corpus is full-text searchable, offers search term highlighting, includes high-quality images, and is interlinked by millions of citations and references.” You can access JSTOR from the Purdue Libraries Website: JSTOR

Searching the Dissertation and Thesis PQDT: “Index of theses and dissertations from U.S. and international universities.” You can access Dissertation and Thesis from the Purdue Libraries Website: Dissertations and Thesis

Evaluating Sources Read the preface/abstract--What does the author want to accomplish? Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? If you don't find your topic discussed, try searching for some synonyms in the index. Check for a list of references or other citations that look as if they will lead you to related material that would be good sources. Do you think there's enough evidence offered? Is the coverage comprehensive? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.)

Evaluating Sources If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? Check for accuracy. How timely is the source? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound fifty or a hundred years later. Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere? How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization? Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

Publication process Print Sources: Traditional print sources go through an extensive publication process that includes editing and article review. The process has fact-checkers, multiple reviewers, and editors to ensure quality of publication. Internet Sources: Anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can publish a Web site or electronic document. Most Web documents do not have editors, fact-checkers, or other types of reviewers.

Authorship and affiliations Print Sources: Print sources clearly indicate who the author is, what organization(s) he or she is affiliated with, and when his or her work was published. Internet Sources: Authorship and affiliations are difficult to determine on the Internet. Some sites may have author and sponsorship listed, but many do not.

Sources and quotations Print Sources: In most traditional publications, external sources of information and direct quotations are clearly marked and identified. Internet Sources: Sources the author used or referred to in the text may not be clearly indicated in an Internet source.

Author qualifications Print Sources: Qualifications of an author are almost always necessary for print sources. Only qualified authors are likely to have their manuscripts accepted for publication. Internet Sources: Even if the author and purpose of a website can be determined, the qualifications of the author are not always given.

Publication information Print Sources: Publication information such as date of publication, publisher, author, and editor are always clearly listed in print publications. Internet Sources: Dates of publication and timeliness of information are questionable on the Internet. Dates listed on Web sites could be the date posted, date updated, or a date may not be listed at all.

Effective Summary Look for a central argument Reasons that support the argument Data and main findings Sub-headings Write the main ideas in your own words Change sentence structures and vocabulary that could deliver the same meanings.

Citing Sources In-Text Direct Quotes Johnson (2005) argued that “research is important” (p. 120). Indirect Quotes Johnson (2005) asserted that it is crucial to conduct research (p. 120).

Themes for your Research Paper 1. the guilds, the workshops and the training of the artist 2. the patron and the artist, the role of the aristocracy and the merchant class 3. trade, commerce and the art market 4. politics, war, law and punishment 5. religion, propaganda and superstition 6. the Church, the Protestant Reformation 7. women, children and the family 8. class structure, poverty, peasant life 9. death, health, education 10. nature, science and technology, books and prints 11. fashion, decorative arts, entertainment, music and theater 12. Humanism and the ancient world, Italy and the North

Other web-based sources and other materials

Other web-based sources: History of Art: http://www.chart.ac.uk/vlib/ Art Source: http://www.ilpi.com/artsource/welcome.html Art Links on the WWW: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/Artweb_frames.html Oxford Art Online: http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/