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ART 103: Prof. Guest's Patronage Project: Tips for searching databases

Searching Using Geography

Some databases make searching by geography especially easy to do:

ARTstor allows users to search by place and type of item. So users can easily locate maps of specific countries during specific time periods.

History in Context: World allows users to browse for articles by country, culture, events, periods, wars, etc. 

   

Searching for Artists

When searching the databases for a specific artist, you should enter the last name first. Also use the advanced search option, if it's available.

 An advanced search gives users more search boxes and search options. The example below is from Academic Search Complete.

Other databases, such as Project Muse, are set up differently. Project Muse does not give users an advanced search option on the homepage.

However,  you can search using your artist's name (last name first) such as "Picasso, Pablo"  

and then modify your search to include additional terms, such as studio.