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ARH6897 Visual Art & Sound - McConnell: Conducting Art Research

Course guide for Dr. Brian McConnell's Art History Graduate Seminar, Fall 2019

Search Terms

List your search terms, broadly, narrowly, and as you continue to do your research. Here are a few broad terms:

  • architecture -- human factors
  • architecture and music
  • art and music
  • background music and art
  • motif and art and music  (arts -- themes, motives)
  • music in art
  • outdoor acoustics and architecture
  • sound sculpture OR sound sculptor
  • sound installation pieces
  • sound art
  • urban ecology and acoustics
  • visual art and sound
  • synesthesia

Conducting Research in Art

See tips about conducting research in Art from these museums:

You may also find information on conducting research on other art or museum sites listed under

  • research
  • tools
  • explore
  • education
  • learning
  • blog or other terms 

Searching for Contemporary Artists

Check out these tips!

  • Search other college and university sites in Google or Bing. Look for digital or special collections that they have. Type in artists name, followed by site:.edu. Organizations can be searched using site:.org.
    • Example: Trimpin site:.edu OR Sound Sculpture site:.edu
    • Example: Sound sculpture site:.org
  • Look through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for publications on your topic. Look at the References/Works Cited section within these documents for lists of resources.
  • Plan your research far enough in advance that you can request books through UBorrow or Interlibrary Loan, or articles via Interlibrary Loan.
  • Consider other repositories like Google Scholar or Open Access sources.
  • Many videos will also include transcription of the voice. Use "Ctrl-F" to search for terms or names in the transcription to see if your topic is covered in sufficient detail to warrant watching the video.
  • ALWAYS write down your search terms, good searches, related terms, and failed searches to avoid going in circles.
  • Use RefWorks or Zotero to keep track of your references (even after graduation, you will have access to this account). RefWorks has new features including downloading and saving articles.