Pickler Memorial Library

Art History - Reliability of Sources

Evaluate your sources based on the following criteria:
Authority: What are the authors qualifications?     How reputable is the publisher? 

Accuracy: Are there editors and fact checkers?    How reliable is the information? 

Coverage: What topics are included in the work?    To what depth are topics explored?

Currency: Is the content of the work up-to-date?    What does the date on the web page mean, 1st created, last revised?

Objectivity: Is the information presented with a minimum of bias?    Are the goals/aim of the web site clearly stated?

Use the links below to find sources that will help you determine the reliability (authority, accuracy...) of the sources you want to use.


About the Author          About Periodicals         About Books         About Web sites

About the Author

1. Google them! Check the Web for faculty home pages, university web sites, scholarly repositories, other directories, etc.

2. Use the following sources to find books and articles published by the author and items about the author. Do an author search for best results.

3. Use Other resources for finding biographical information:

Biography and Genealogy Master Index.   An index to the various biographical dictionaries such as Who's Who, Who's Who in America, Directory of American Scholars, and hundreds of others.  [ Use Literature Resource Center to find biographical information about authors -- particularly in the set "Contemporary Authors". ]

Print sources to check:
International who's who - Reference CT120 I5 (older volumes in General Collection)
Who's Who - Reference DA28 W6 (older volumes in General Collection)
Who's Who in America - Reference E663 .W5612 (older volumes in General Collection)

Biography Resource Center Includes biographies and full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and newspapers on people from all eras and fields of endeavor. It also includes tens of thousands of images and links to vetted websites

Credo Reference or Gale Virtual Reference Library -- Collections of subject Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, may include biographical entries

New York Times Index 1851+
Actual articles will be on microfilm.
1980+  use LexisNexis Academic which includes full-text articles from the New York Times

New York Times Obituaries Index.  1858-1978.  Print:  Reference CT 213 N47
Actual articles will be on microfilm.

The Times (London) Digital Archive - 1785-2008
Use LexisNexis Academic which includes full-text articles from the London Times for recent articles.

Obituaries from the Times. (London)  Includes reprints of the articles for leading personages.  For others only the reference citation is given. Print:  Reference CT 120 O16  (1951-1975)

National Faculty Directory.  A list of faculty at universities around the country.
    Print:  Reference L 901 N34

Official Museum Directory.  Look in the personnel index in the back.
    Print:  Reference AM 10 A2 O44

About Periodicals

Magazines for Libraries.  Gives information regarding reliability, bias of periodicals,
    if it is peer-reviewed (refereed).
        Print:  Reference PN 4832 M34

Search JournalFinder : A  Peer Reviewed: will display if the journal is peer-reviewed.
*This is a listing only of journals the library has access to through our many databases or in print.

Finding the full journal titles by abbreviation: http://www.abbreviations.com/jas.php

About Books  (Book reviews)

Search TruSearch for Book Reviews:

Results limited to content type Book Review

Book Review Index.  Index to reviews appearing in newspapers, journals and magazines.
        Print 1965+:  Reference Table A

New York Times Book Review Index, 1896-1970.  Index to book reviews appearing in the
    New York Times newspaper.  The actual articles are on microfilm.
        Print:  Reference Table A

 Humanities International Complete  

 JSTOR    

Art Full Text. 1984+.
Indexes more than 400 key international arts periodicals and some other arts publications.   Full text from 1997 onward is available for select publications.

Art Index Retrospective. 1929-1984.  Coverage of older articles in international periodicals and journals in the arts. Also in print 1929-1997: Reference N1 A1 A78.

LexisNexis Academic   Includes full text of reviews appearing in many
    newspapers from about 1980 forward.

About Web Sites

  • Be Careful! Remember almost anyone can publish anything on the Web
  • Web pages are unstable and easily altered
  • Blur between information and advertising

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask : by UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops

For further assistance you can visit the Library Service Desk, call the Reference Department (660-785-4051) or contact the Reference librarian for Art.

Janet Romine, Reference Librarian for Art & Art History
(660) 785-7418
jiromine@truman.edu