OUGD501 - Lecture 13: Dissertation or Extended Written Piece: Library Research

Key words

• Focus
• Relevance

Try have a title as specific as possible. This will allow for relevant information and research.

Title examples

• 'The role of costume within the film 'A Taste of Honey'' - very specific. Clear subject title.
• 'Did western soccer ever need cars; are they a necessity and how have they contributed to the formation of the urban environment' - not quite as specific. 'Western society' - can mean a lot of different countries - the same with 'urban environment' - not specific enough.

Visualise the title. Break it down into the elements that need to be researched and looked at.

More examples

• 'An analysis of the relationship between national based branding, national identity and stereotyping'
• 'Documentary photography: does it ever truthfully represent reality?'
• 'An investigation into 'expressionistic' and 'realistic' lighting in film'
• 'What role does the graphic designer play in the modern music industry?'

Primary and secondary research

• Primary research - gathering your own original data
• Secondary research - reading up on the subject, making use of the research and findings of others for corroboration, disagreement, triangulation, theoretical underpinning etc

Research methods

• Visual practice, experiment, interest and enquiry (research and critical diaries)
• Questionnaires (qualitative/quantitative)
• Interviews
• Case Study
• Site visits
• Literature search

Literature Search 1

• Books
• Journals
• Websites / Blogs / Online forums
• Videos / DVDs
• Cds / Tapes Cassettes / Vinyl Recordings
• Tv / Radio
• Newspapers / maps / reports
• Printed Ephemera

Literature Search 2

• Knowing where to look most effectively
• Effective use of catalogues - narrowing and boarding search terms, using related terms, browsing using Dewey Decimal Classification
• Use of contents page and index
• Reading the introduction or abstract
• Using a books own bibliography to inform further reading

Books Search

• Leeds college of art Library
• Leeds Met University Library
• University of Leeds (SCONUL)
• The British Library in Boston Spa
• COPAC

Journal Search 1

• InfoTrac - a store of online magazine articles
• JSTOR - a store of online magazine articles - only available in college
• Art Full Text - Jornal index & some full text articles available

Internet Search 1

• Athens - a store of password protected sites. Each student who wishes to access this site will need to ask the Librarian for a login and password
• WGSN - a database of fashion information trends.
• Google Scholar - Some full text PDF articles available

Library E-Studio

• most of the information is under 'Learning Resources'

Tips

• Don't bite off more than you can chew - keep the topic and title focused and manageable
• Create a sense of momentum - note taking, writing draft section when you can, keeping your bibliography up to date