Visual and Performing Arts Research > 4: Supporting Data, Documents & Artifacts

4A: Types of Resources

Data (such as facts or statistics), documents, artifacts (objects) and biographical information related to your topic will provide support, evidence or credence to your research thesis or claims. The best source for your project will depend on what type of information you are researching. For example, biographical information provides context to a subject's life. Data and statistics illustrate trends or provide support for ideas. Artifacts provide visual evidence for your findings.

It is important to distinguish between the two basic types of information: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are from the time period you are researching (from the historical context). These sources can include artifacts, statistics, autobiographies or newspapers. Primary sources often form the foundation for a research project. Examples are: American costumes from 1950, drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, ballets and operas (experiences or viewed on tape), correspondence to and from Shakespeare, etc.

Secondary sources may also form a foundation for research, but more often these sources provide additional support for your ideas. They include Web pages, articles, or contemporary books. The key distinction between primary and secondary sources is that secondary sources interpret primary sources. Textbooks, biographies, and book reviews are good examples of secondary sources.

4B: Examples

Artcyclopedia
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/

References to sites on the Web that provide online images of museum quality art. Searchable by artist or browsable by movement, medium, subject or nationality.

AskART.com
http://askart.com/

Information on over 52,000 North American artists. Includes: Auction Records, Biography, Image Gallery, Book and Periodical References, Dealers, Museums, Exhibitions, and an Artist Bulletin Board.

ccMixer
http://ccmixter.org/

A site offering creative commons licensed music. This is music that can be downloaded and remixed and reused.

Performing Arts Encylopedia (Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov//performingarts/encyclopedia/

A guide to the performing arts collections and exhibitions at the Library of Congress. Each collection, exhibition or resource includes a descriptive summary and, if available, a link to the online resource.

Smithsonian: Art and Design
http://www.si.edu/art_and_design/

Digitized collections from the Smithsonian's Archives.

4C: How to Find More

USA.gov
http://www.usa.gov/

The official U.S. Government portal to over 30 million pages of government information, services, and online transactions. It is a source for finding government documents, reports, and statistical data from a variety of federal sources. Search by key word or use the topical index to browse your way through the documents.

Google Book Search
http://books.google.com

A beta search tool with scanned pages from thousands of all types of books contributed to Google by publishers and libraries. Your keywords can be searched within the full text of books. Only a limited number of pages can be viewed online for books under copyright restrictions. In these cases, see if OSU or an OhioLINK library own the book for borrowing. Books that are no longer under copyright restriction can be read and printed in their entirety online.

OhioLINK Digital Media Center ***
http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/

Audio, video, and image collections provided by OhioLINK.

Oxford Reference Online ***
http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/

A resource (available to the OSU community by means of subscription) of about 100 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. It is a fully-indexed, cross-searchable database of these books.

OSU Library E-Book Collections***

These collections are available through the OSU library subscriptions. All titles in these collections can be found through the library catalog, but by connecting directly to a collection, topics and names are searchable within the books.

Activity

Go to AskART.com. Search for artist Seth Eastman. Who was he? What year was he born, and what year did he die? What type of artwork is he best known for?

[Links open in new browser window.]

Pop Quiz

Which of the following is NOT a primary source?

Correct answer:[NOTE: Score is not recorded]

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