UCB Libraries

Your Assignments

During your course you will be choosing topics several times, either from a list or on a "topic [that] must be relevant to the content of the course."

 

During your presentation you must provide your audience with a strong, basic understanding of the subject matter

Finding Encyclopedia Entries

Reference sources such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are a great tool to get acquainted with many topics quickly. This way you can choose the one you are most interested in. Using different reference sources you can investigate your topic from multiple perspectives.

They will give you a basic understanding of the topic and they include a bibliography, which will point you to the best sources for developing a strong grasp of the subject

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Oxford Art Online An extensive online encyclopedia of Art & Architecture. Individual entries are written by scholars in the field and typically include an extensive bibliography of relevant resources.   Gale Virtual Reference Searches across many reference sources at once, providing full text entires. A perfect tool to look at one topics through many different lenses.   Oxford music online Provides access to a number of important reference resources for music, including the Grove Dictionary of Music. Individual entries are written by scholars in the field and typically include a bibliography of relevant resources.   Reference Universe Indexes the library's print reference works such as dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias.

 

Go on to making an Annotated Bibliography >>

 

Your Assignments

You'll need to create several bibilographies

• Presentation: an annotated bibliography of at least six sources.
• First Research Paper: Use and cite 4-5 sources in addition to those we’ve read for class and create an additional bibliography.
• Second Research Paper: Use at least 4 sources and create a bibliography

Automate your Bibliography

There are several programs available that allow you to save citations you find on the web and automaticaly generate bibliographies. Using them at the outset of your research means you won't have to go back. These are huge time savers!

Citation Managers

RefWorks A web-based citation management tool that allows you to save citations and retrieve them later using "Find it at CU" buttons. Citations from most databases can be easily exported directly to RefWorks. It also creates and formats bibliographies automatically using the citations you store in it.   Zotero A Firefox plugin that easily captures citations from library catalogs and article databases. Integrates with Microsoft Word and OpenOffice to generate bibliographies, footnotes, and in-text citations.   Mendeley Stand alone software that allows you to organize your citations, add pdf's, and annotate. Integrates with word processing software.

 

Have a strange source you're not sure how to cite? Check out our MLA Style Quick Guide [PDF] or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

 

Go on to Finding Books >>

 

Your Assignment

• Use a combination of texts and articles – none of which can be a web-based source.
• Use both primary and secondary sources
• Quote authors and artists you have researched
• Must rely heavily on examples from music, literature, or visual arts to illustrate your theses.

Finding Books

Books will be some of the most important sources (both primary & secondary) you will find on your topic.

Library Catalogs

Chinook Chinook is the catalog for books and other materials owned by the CU Libraries. Articles are not in Chinook Find Primary Sources: Do an author search for an artist or writer you are interested in to see if any books are published by or composed of writings by your subject. Or Add keywords like "letters," "journal," or "writings," to try to find primary source documents.   Find Multi-Media: Chinook also contains audio-visual material.. Use the facets on the left-side of the screen to limit your search results to Music or Videorecordings Prospector If you search Chinook and find that the CU Libraries do not have the item you are looking for (or if the item you are looking for is checked out), you can search Prospector, which is a combined library catalog of 23 libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Once requested, the items will generally be delivered to Norlin within a few business days.

 

Go on to Finding Articles and Magazines >>

 

Your Assignment

Use a combination of texts and articles – none of which can be a web-based source. Use both primary and secondary sources.

Finding Articles & Magazines

Finding articles in journals requires using an Index, which brings together the individual titles from multiple magazines and makes them searchable. Indexes are often focused on a specific subject. Use the index that matches the subject you are researching to find the best articles.

 

Article Indexes

Humanities Full Text Broad range of topics including art, music, theater, and literature.   Art Full Text An excellent general resource for art, art history, architecture, and related topics.   MLA International Bibliography Literature, language, drama, theater, and much more.   America: history and life with full-text American History   Historical abstracts with full text World History except for America and Canada   Film and television literature index Film and Television articles   JSTOR A full-text archive of important scholarly publications in the humanities and social sciences. It covers far fewer journals and so is best used when you need to be able to search the full-text of articles.

 

 

Getting Articles in Print:

If you find an article and we don't have it electronically, chances are we have it in print. Search Chinook for the journal title, then either find it on the shelves or request a PDF.

Does your paper intersect with topics beyond Art, Literature, Music or Theater?

Check out all our databases organized by subject here.

 

Accessing Resources from Off Campus
In order to use the databases listed below (and any other licensed resources provided by the library), you MUST download, install, and run VPN software. For more information about VPN, please see the library's page on Off Campus Access.

 

Go on to Finding Images & Media >>

 

Your Assignment

• You must use Powerpoint/video/music/other media
• You must rely heavily on examples from music, literature, or visual arts to illustrate your theses.

Finding Images

Images are important to both illustrate your points and as primary sources to be analysed. Using high-quality images and finding details can be vital to performing a visual analysis.

 

Images are key to a successful presentation. Using high quality images that capture exactly what you are talking about make presentations both more engaging and more enlightening.

 

Use our How do I Find Images Guide for many more image resources.

Image Databases

ARTstor Over one million images of visual and material culture, covering all geographic areas and historical periods. ARTstor is the best resource for finding high-quality images of art.   CU Digital Library Images digitized by the University Library and Visual Resources centers. The architecture and planning collection contains 100,000 images.   AP Images Provides access to Associated Press photos spanning 160 years. Includes both images and sound.

 

Finding Multi-Media

The library owns over 55,000 sounds recordings, which you can find via Chinook. Learn more at the Music Library.

Use the Libraries' How Do I Find Videos and DVD guide to find both CU owned content and Web content.

 

Need Help Furthering your Research?
Want to speak with a librarian right now? You can contact us in person, via the phone, or even over IM. Use the Ask Us page to chat with a librarian even if you're away from campus.   Schedule a Research Consultation with a librarian to get in-depth help and guidance. I can help you overcome a roadblock in your research or with developing excellent keywords and search strategies.