About JSTOR

1. JSTOR provides images in the articles, information which is not conveyed in text alone;

2. Likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.

3. Must check for up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR.

Click to browse some major journals in the field:

You are likely to study iconography in medieval art courses— focusing on a particular element that occurs in the object (an object, action, gesture, pose): when that same element occurs in other objects historically and how a particular representation of it is unique; what the element means generally in art or to art historians.

Studies in Iconography. (volume contents) NX1 .S84

An annual that contains original essays that study the visual culture of the period before 1600. Each volume includes an overview of scholarship on a topic of current interest, approached from an interdisciplinary and/or theoretical perspective; five to seven articles that often highlight interdisciplinary concerns; and six to ten in-depth reviews of important recent scholarly books, facsimiles, and catalogues.

Strategy in Selecting a Database

First, run a relatively broad search in them to assess their relevance on a topic;
Next, try out a variety of keyword, subject, and author searches in a chosen database.
Last, use newly learned ideas and words in other databases.

Some Database Characteristics

Each Database is selective

Subject Matter—disciplinary perspective, period, geographical region, and more;
Scope—types, number, and years of publications covered
Depth (of indexing) —citation, abstracts, full texts, which determines their search capabilities.

Evaluation of Search Results:

In what types of journals and publications (besides art history and medieval studies journals) did you find relevant work? What does this suggest about research on your topic?

What sorts of audiences seem to be addressed in works on your topic? How can you tell? 

What aspects of the search results surprised you? Why? Did “peripheral materials” lead you anywhere? How?

Based on your search, how would you characterize the main approaches to your topic? What do you think are some of the central debates in the study of your topic? What is your evidence for thinking so?

Reviews of recent books on a subject are likely to summarize the current state of research in an area:

review* and iconograph* and medieval and (fabrics or textiles)

Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. review* searches for all forms: review, reviews, reviewing, etc.

Find Authors Who Have Recently Cited an Article

1. Not every single article is cited;
2. Influential authors are cited more often;
3. More recent publications take time to be cited.

Therefore, search for seminal works by influential scholars and find out who cited them recently.

Those who cited the article found in Arts & Humanities Citation Index:

Read a Couple of Articles Carefully and Identify:

• the "problem" addressed (the thesis of the article);

• the central debates on this problem;

• the major arguments by the author;

• the methods applied in making these arguments;

• the evidence (e.g., visual/formal details, original documents, or secondary sources);

• if the conclusions are based on speculations, are they convincing?

A Survival Guide for Art History Students by Christina Maranci. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, c2005. (N385 .M37 2005)

Throughout your reading:

• Compare and contrast methods by authors: key points of difference or convergence

• Note controversies and weaknesses; explain and clarify gaps

• How about the presentation, logic and clarity of the article?

• State your own positions; provide your own interpretations and critiques

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the button to these three options:

• a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;

• b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.

• c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

• a.Tufts Library Catalog (including e-journals)
• b. Electronic journals list
• c. Use ILliad to request your article, if Tufts does not have your journal.

Related Databases:

1. Africa-Wide: NiPAD
2. Bibliography of Asian Studies
3. Index Islamicus
4. PRISMA (Latin America)
5. Slavic and East European Studies

1. Women's Studies International  
2. The Gerritsen Collection Women's History, 1543-1945.