Art: Internet Resources

Many museums have extensive websites and highly developed online collections.  Several museums are listed below.  You may find other relevant resources by searching the Internet for museums in specific countries. The resources linked below were chosen specifically for excellent visual content, but include only resources in English.

The resources below offer additional information about the history of art.  Some sites provide timelines or images to supplement the descriptions at museum websites.  

Wikipedia is a great tool for a summary of a topic. Wikipedia content is constantly revised, and entries vary in quality. Some of the content is excellent, some is questionable.

Many educators disapprove of the use of Wikipedia. Why?

• Wikipedia entries are anonymous.  You have no way of knowing if the author is well-known in the subject area.
• Although some of the content is written by subject experts, other entries may be inadequate or incorrect.
• Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings.
• For research papers, authoritative resources are required, so it is necessary to consult published books and articles.
  

However, you can use Wikipedia in a way that benefits your research process.

• Review the article to get general information and terms you can use as keywords for further searching.
• Look at the list of references for the article. Sometimes these references can lead you to excellent books or articles that you may find at the Cheng Library or in one of the Library's journals.
• The Web links at the end of an article are often very useful.  You may find related articles and important websites in this list of links.
• As you read Wikipedia articles, you may read notations that call for more evidence or indicate that revisions are needed. These instructive notations may indicate portions of the entry that are inadequate.
• Don't reference Wikipedia articles in your paper, unless you are pointing out something specific to Wikipedia.

Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Diana) (detail). From the book Jeff Koons: Gazing Ball, published by David Zwirner, New York, 2014

You may find an interesting website using Google or another Internet browser. However, not all web sites provide credible, unbiased information. The categories listed below are just five of the criteria used to assertain the validity of web resources.  These guidelines will help you to determine the reliability of a web site.

 Authority      

• Is an author or creator identified?
• Can you verify the author's qualifications or credentials?
• Is the author affiliated with a university or other reputable institution?
• Does the site display the author's contact information?

Relevance

• Is the information provided relevant to your research purpose? 
• Does the information provided by the site contribute a meaningful perspective to your research question?
• Is the information significant and appropriate for your research?   

 Accuracy      

• Are the facts well-documented?
• Can you verify the information provided in other sources?
• Do graphics add or detract from the content?
• Is the information complete and accurate?

 Objectivity    

• Does the website seem objective in the presentation of the inforamtion?
• Does the author state the goals for this site?
• Does the content inform, educate or persuade?
• If the author is affiliated with an institution (government, university, business, etc.), does this affiliation bias the information presented?

Currency or Timeliness

• When was this page created?   
• Is there a revision /creation date?
• Do the links work?
• Is the content of the site up-to-date?

For more in-depth information on evaluating websites, see: Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask from UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops.