Skip to Main Content
LIBRARY

ART 157 (Kluck) SP25

Database Search Tips

 
  • Spelling counts! Double-check the spelling of your keywords.
  • Try "Phrase Searching" - Place quotation marks around two or more words.
    • Example: "female gaze" "art history"
  • Use AND to combine different concepts.
    • Example: Manet AND Olympia AND criticism
  • Grow your keywords with terms you find in abstracts, article titles, and subject headings
Édouard Manet's Olympia (1863) - painting depicting a reclining nude woman with an attendant bringing flowers

Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863

Keyword Example: Olympia by Edouard Manet

Step 1: Start with background research

1. Preliminary Focus: Understanding Olympia by Édouard Manet

2. Get to know your artwork before forming an argument! Use general keywords to explore its context, meaning, and reception.

3. Try these keyword combinations:

  • Manet AND Olympia
  • Manet AND Olympia AND reception
  • Manet AND Olympia AND criticism
  • Manet AND Olympia AND scandal
  • Manet AND Olympia AND controversy

Step 2: Find scholarly sources

Once you understand the background, develop a unique argument and search using more specific keywords.

Main Concept: Manet AND Olympia

Unique Aspect:

  • gaze
  • modernism
  • maid
  • prostitution

Example Search: Olympia AND Manet AND gaze

Step 1: Search Reference Databases

Step 2: Search Other Databases