Skip to Main Content
UNH Library home

Art and Art History (UNH Durham)

Developing a Topic

Think about the information you are searching for and brainstorm a list of the various keywords that describe your topic.  What words or combinations of words will retrieve the specific information that you need?  As you retrieve information take note of any new keywords or subject terms to use in your research.

For example you might search using:

Country, Region, or Place Name

  • Japan
  • "United States" or America
  • Adirondacks
  • "New England"

 Title of the Work

  • "La Japonaise"
  • "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit"
  • "The Slave Ship"

 Name of the Artist

  • Monet
  • Picasso
  • "J. M. W. Turner"
  • "John Singer Sargent"

Movements, Theories, Schools

  • impressionism
  • cubism
  • orientalism
  • "pop art"
  • "Ecole de Paris"

Subjects, Themes, Time Periods

  • war
  • motherhood
  • slavery or abolition
  • "gilded age"

 

Research Process Flow Chart

The following flow chart can be helpful in identifying the concepts around the research process. But remember that research is not necessarily linear--as implied by the flow chart--but can be very iterative. Start anywhere here and you may be moving backward and forward through the chart.

Writing Tips

UNH Writing Center Handouts - The UNH Writing Center has handouts that help with writing all parts of a research paper

Steps in Writing a research paper - Starts with development of a research question and thesis and goes through all of the steps for writing a research papers.

Writing Guide from University of Michigan 

Art History Assignment Types - a Guide from UNC that describes common types of Art History Writing Assignments

Writing About Art History from Purdue University