For your assignment, you'll need to find 3 academic, in depth sources, not including your course text. You may hear the terms scholarly/academic/peer-reviewed/authoritative, etc. These all refer to information that has been created and reviewed by experts. You can find this information through the library in:
Books - online and print
Journal articles
Using the library to find resources makes research easier! Because most of the resources are scholarly, you don't have to do as much work to evaluate whether the resource is appropriate for your assignment.
Where to look depends on the type of information you're looking for:
Specialized encyclopedias do not count towards your three annotated bibliography sources but they are a great place to start when you are developing your topic. The library subscribes to or recommends specialized encyclopedias such as Grove Art Online and the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. Gale Virtual Reference Library also has a number of encyclopedias on potentially related topics (Encyclopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia of World Cultures, and the Encyclopedia of Anthropology), and Smarthistory. Try these resources first, instead of unspecialized encyclopedias like Britannica and unreliable sources like Wikipedia, Art in Context, or Art Story.
Books are great sources of in depth information written by experts. Similar to encyclopedias, you can search for books using an artist's name, names of artworks, and broader concepts.
You can search via the Books and Media search (also called the library catalogue). Your search terms will appear within the table of contents of the book record.
You can search for periodical (magazine and newspaper) and scholarly articles via the Quick Topic Search (the main search box on the library's home page).
Scholarly journal articles, also known as peer-reviewed or academic articles, are articles in which researchers report their research findings, critical analyses, and new ideas. These articles have been evaluated and critiqued by other researchers and experts in the same field before they are published.
Journal articles tend to be on very specific aspects of a topic. They also cover the latest research and so you may have better luck find journal articles on a new or emerging artist/topic than books or encyclopedia entries.
You can search for articles using the Quick Topic Search above. However, the Quick Topic Search does not cover all of Langara's databases. Additionally, it is highly multidisciplinary, so it may also return a number of irrelevant results. It helps to limit your results list on the left under Record Type:
Because of the limitations of the Quick Topic Search, it may be necessary for you to search in individual scholarly databases to find the most relevant research. Suggested databases for art-related topics include: Art Full Text, JSTOR, and Academic Search Complete.
Use image databases for high quality images that are copyright compliant: ARTstor Digital Library, A&AePortal, MOMA Online Collection, National Gallery of Canada.
If you need help determining whether a resource is appropriate for your research, think about the Five W's:
You can learn more about the Five W's in the video series Evaluating Your Sources.