LibGuides: ARTH 210 (Contemporary Art in Canada) Course Guide: Find Articles

Search Tips

Remember that you will need to use keywords, not full sentences, when searching the databases
Start out simple. Search using one of the main concepts (keywords) you identified
Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase, but do not put quotation marks around your entire search.

Example of a bad search using a full sentence and a good search, using keywords and short phrases

If you get too few results, use OR to broaden your search and to include related keywords. These could be broader, narrower, related terms or synonyms
If you still get too few results, try searching in a different database

Screenshot showing the use of OR to connect synonyms in a database search

If you get too many results, you will need to add in keywords representing your second concept using AND to narrow your search.

Screenshot showing a search using AND to narrow results

Key Resources

Art & Architecture Source This link opens in a new window
The largest full-text art research database covering fine, decorative and commercial art, as well as architecture and architectural design. With strong international coverage, it offers hundreds of full-text art journals, magazines and books, plus detailed indexing and abstracts and thousands of images.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals, primary sources, and eBooks across a wide range of subject areas.
Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) This link opens in a new window
Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) Database provides access to Canadian academic journals, newspapers, magazines and reports on topics ranging from business, current events, public policy, health, culture, and more.
Art & Architecture ePortal This link opens in a new window
An authoritative eBook resource that features important works of scholarship in the history of art, architecture, decorative arts, photography, and design. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Yale University Press developed this innovative site to provide greater access to and discoverability of recent, key backlist, and out-of-print titles on a wide variety of subjects from some of the world’s finest academic and museum publishers. Peer-reviewed born-digital content is also published on the A&AePortal.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Art Online is the access point for Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, and other Oxford art reference resources. It is the most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts, and includes links to art images from private galleries and museums around the world, many of which are not readily available on public websites.
Critical Collective This link opens in a new window
"Critical Collective is an initiative by art curator and critic Gayatri Sinha. Critical Collective works towards building knowledge in the arts in India." -- Critical Collective website

Video: What is a database?

Has your instructor told you to use the library's databases to find sources for your paper?

Our databases provide you with access to thousands of articles from scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers.

NEIU Ronald Williams Library. (2013, Sep 17). What are the library databases and which one should I use? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/fgwloQ5b0xw