Ms. Vassallo's Art Classes
Research Resources
Researching in an Art Class
Getting to the Databases
- Go to www.peelschools.org.
- Click on the BYOD link.
- Click on the teal library circular icon.
- The intermediate/secondary library databases will be listed below.
Where to Begin
The Top 5 Databases
Database #1 - Gale in Context
I know it might seem weird to start at Gale in Context for an Art History assignment but I promise, it's the best place to start. Not only does it have a brief description of all the art history time periods, it also has short biographies of many of the artists who were famous at that time. This is step one of your art history journey.
Database #2 - Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition
The thing that makes database #2 - Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition so awesome is that not only is there great information about almost all of the art history time periods, if you look on the left hand side of your screen, you will see a link called "Web's Best Sites". These are links to websites that you can actually use for your research because they have been approved as being a reliable source of information. So go ahead and use them!
Database #3 - History Reference Centre
I bet you were wondering when we would get to the history database. Well, here we go! This database also has great information but sometimes you will need to dig a little deeper here. Don't stop at the first article you see. Sometimes you will need to scroll down through a few articles to find the one that will be best for your research. But there is definitely information in here for you!
Database #4 - InfoTrac Student Edition
Database #4 - InfoTrac Student Edition was built with high school students in mind. Once you type in your topic, be sure to look across the top of the page as there will be many options to choose from. Magazines, academic journals, books, news and images are all there for you to find information from.
Database #5 - Britannica Image Quest
Last but not least is database #5 - Britannica Image Quest. Once you have gathered all of your research about your time period and your artist, you will want to show off their work! You can search for examples of art from your time period here.
Database #6 - Canada in Context
Citing Your Work in MLA 8th Edition Format
Doing research can be a lot of work but you don't want all of that hard work to go to waste by losing marks because you didn't cite your work. That's also cheating and considered to be plagiarism! One of the benefits of using a database is that the citations are built into the databases for you so all you have to do is copy and paste the citation! So simple. You will be doing your citations in MLA format so it will be called a works cited. The following video explains how to do it correctly!
Embedded Citations - MLA 8th Edition Format
In addition to the citations that appear at the end of your work on your works cited page, you also need to include embedded citations throughout your work so that you can properly give credit to which source you obtained your information from. Embedded citations in MLA 8th edition format are quite easy to do. Take three minutes to watch the following short video to learn how to ensure that you are embedding your citations properly.
Creating a Works Cited Page in MLA 8th Edition Format
MLA 8 was designed to simplify the process, helping writers accurately and intuitively cite sources more easily, requiring that every source type follow the same format. This means that books, websites, periodicals, videos, photographs, and all other types of sources now use this same standard format.
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate the same “core elements” from their sources and place them in a standard order in order to create their citations.
The “Core Elements” of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):
- Authors.
- Title of the source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Numbers,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.
Example of an MLA Eighth Edition Works Cited Page:
MLA 8th Edition - Formatting Help
Citation Machine can be a useful tool when starting to cite your work in MLA 8 format. But you always want to double check that is has been done correctly by looking at the formatting in Perdue Owl. This dynamic duo will help ensure that your citations are picture perfect.
Your Librarian Is Here to Help
Email: p0063320@pdsb.net
Location: 365 Father Tobin Road, Brampton, ON, Canada
Phone: 905-793-5451
Twitter: @Ms_St_Aubyn