Art Research using ProQuest

Introduction

Welcome to this tutorial on using databases available from ProQuest for art-related research. Here you will learn to:

• Search ProQuest's art-related databases
• Narrow search results
• Locate materials

Please click on the arrows below to move back and forth through the tutorial.

Hover over the Table of Contents icon  in the upper right corner of this frame at any time to jump to a different section of the tutorial.

Searching ProQuest's Art & Architecture Databases

Let's begin by searching ProQuest's art-related databases.

First, click P under Databases. Then scroll down and click ProQuest Databases. You are now in the ProQuest search platform.

The default setting is to search all 33 ProQuest databases available through UNM University Libraries. Note that the number of databases you are searching is displayed at the top of the window:

To choose which databases you'd like to search, there are a couple options:

• Click the yellow arrow at the top of the window, then choose View by name or View by subject, and finally 
  select the desired databases
• Click your subject area of interest in the middle of the screen 

Searching ProQuest's Art & Architecture Databases

For our sample search, let's look for materials on school murals or other public art. We'll choose several  databases relevant for our search.

First, click the yellow arrow at the top of the window, next to Searching: 33 databases. Next, click Select all in the upper left corner of the dialogue window that appears. Then choose the following databases:

• ARTbibliographies modern
• ERIC (education database)
• International Bibliography of Art

(Albuquerque High School Mural by Francisco Lefebre, 1978)

Searching ProQuest's Art & Architecture Databases

Now we are searching 3 databases on Advanced Search page.

Enter "school" in the first search box, "mural" in the second row of boxes next to AND, and "public art" (with quotation marks) in the following box next to OR. Your search boxes should look like this:

In databases, the following have specific uses and meanings. Click on each of the following to read an explanation:

• Quotation marks 

• AND 

• OR 

Narrowing Search Results

The results of our search were too many to be useful. This is often the case, so it's important to know how to narrow them.

Take a look at the sidebar on the right side of the results page for the many options for narrowing results.

Try out some of these tools for narrowing results. Think about which tools would be useful for your research, such as limiting results to peer-reviewed sources or those in a particular language.

("Alphabetosaurus," 2003 sculpture by Carl Goldman at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA)

Locating Materials

Once you have located the record of an item you're interested in, you'll want to locate the item itself. There are several possibilities you may encounter.

First, you may see either Full Text or Full Text - PDF at the bottom of a record. Clicking on Full Text lets you read the source as a webpage. Clicking on Full Text - PDF allows you to download the source as a PDF file.

Second, you may see a Find @ UNM button:

Clicking the button will open another browser window explaining options for obtaining the item, such as:

• View Full Text
• Print copies at your library
• Request a copy of this item

You may need to do a bit of sleuthing to find a source. If you ever need help locating materials, please do not hesitate to contact a librarian.

("Visitation Realization," a 1998 mural at Visitation Elementary School in Chicago, IL)

Review & Further Help

This tutorial has demonstrated how to:

• Search ProQuest's art-related databases
• Narrow search results
• Locate materials

You can also contact a librarian at the UNM Univeristy Libraries homepage. Click Ask a Librarian in the upper right corner. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions! We’re here to help you succeed with your coursework and research.

("There Is a Hero Within You," a 2009 mural located at Donoghue School in Chicago, IL)

Certificate

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