EVDS 1600

Library Research Methods

Today we will look at:

  • Search strategies
  • Finding historical context of a design
  • Finding stylistic contextual info
  • Citing: Images, articles, books, and more

UM Libraries Homepage

umanitoba.ca/libraries

Search Tip #1

Put a phrase "in quotation marks" to find results with that phrase.

 

E.g.: "gothic revival" - finds documents with this phrase

Searching for gothic revival without quotation marks finds all documents with gothic and all documents with revival.

 

Gothic architecture = medieval, mid-12th to 15th centuries

Gothic revival architecture = 18th & 19th centuries, renewed interest in Gothic style

CBS News. "Meet the man behind a third of what's on Wikipedia". January 26, 2019.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-the-man-behind-a-third-of-whats-on-wikipedia/

Start collecting keywords

What do you know about the subject so far?

  • Name of the work: Schwartz (Martin) House
  • Architect's name: Pierre Koenig
  • Period: 1994-2003; "20th century"
  • Location: Santa Monica,

           California, USA

  • Style: ??
  • postmodern?
  • "gothic revival"?
  • bauhaus?

Pierre Koenig. 1994-2003. Job 6491: Schwartz (Martin) House (Santa Monica, Calif.).  https://library-artstor-org.uml.idm.oclc.org/asset/AGETTYIG_10313543777.

Step 1: Expand your background info

Reference sources: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, etc...

 

Many reference sources are available online via the UM Library Search. The Library Search includes:

  • All physical resources within the Libraries
  • Some (not all) of the databases we subscribe to

 

The Library Search is a very broad search engine - might get a lot of unrelated results.

UM Library Search

umanitoba.ca/libraries

Search Tip #2

Try to find all the different ways of expressing the concept you're searching for. This can be done by:

  • putting OR between synonyms (Canada OR Canadian)
  • adding an asterisk (*) to the root of a word:

 

E.g.: Canad* - finds Canada, Canadian, Canadians...

"new urbanis*" - finds "new urbanism", "new urbanist"...

 

(note: don't use this for short root words - art* = art, arts, artist, artificial, arthritis, Arthur... 292 million results in Library Search)

Search Tip #3

Use NOT (all caps) before words or phrases you want to exclude from the search

 

E.g.: gothic NOT revival - no results for "gothic revival" will come up.

 

        Miami dolphins NOT football

 

 

Types of academic resources...

  • Reference resources - encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc
    • For general overview & background info
  • Books - found via UM Library Search
    • Some general, some more specific in topic
  • Journal Articles - found in UM Library Search AND databases
    • Usually on a specific topic
    • often peer-reviewed

Library Resources

1. UM Library Search

  • All physical resources within the Libraries
  • Some (not all) of the databases we subscribe to
  • Very broad search engine - might get a lot of unrelated results.

2. Databases

  • Mainly journal articles
  • May be more narrow in terms of subject
  • Can expand your search beyond UM Libraries

bit.ly/UMLevds

Citing Your Sources

Why do we cite?

  • Giving credit where credit is due
  • Help the reader find the sources you used
    • They can check: Did you interpret the work accurately? Or was the quote taken out of context?
  • Makes your writing more credible - it's backed by research done by experts in the field
  • Shows you have researched the subject

Chicago citation style

 

Chicago style has two systems:

  • Notes & Bibliography System: sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes
  • Author-Date System: sources are cited in the text, with author's last name & publication year (Smith 2008)

Basics of Citing in Chicago Style

In her book The Great Big Sea & Me, Smith raises the excellent point that "architects handle rising sea levels like champs."

1

Footnote:

 

Routledge, 2008), 33.

Bibliography:

Smith, Jessie. The Great Big Sea & Me. New York:

Routledge, 2008.

1. Jessie Smith, The Great Big Sea & Me (New York:

Citing Images

Chicago Manual of Style notes how to format the citation for an image...

Turabian Tip Sheets provide examples and point out all necessary formatting.

The best diptych by far is widely recognized as Rogier van der Weyden's Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

1

Footnote:

 

1430-1432, diptych panel, 18.5 x 12 cm., Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, accessed January 20, 2012, http://www.artstor.org.

Bibliography:

Weyden, Rogier van der. Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Citing an image seen online:

1430-1432, diptych panel, 18.5 x 12 cm., Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, accessed January 20, 2012, http://www.artstor.org.

1. Rogier van der Weyden, Saint Catherine of Alexandria,

LIGHTNING ROUND

Questions?

  • Environmental Design Research Guide: bit.ly/UMLevds
  • All library staff can help with basic questions
  • Research support: librarians on desk 1:30-4:30 Monday-Friday
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