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History of Photography (HIST 17545)

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This guide provides research guidance for students in the History of Photography course. Find tips on where and how to search for relevant primary and secondary resources. 

Before Photography by George Eastman Museum

Research Process Overview

Doing research takes time. You can't realistically expect to do a single search and find everything that you'll need to write a college level research paper. As you get started on your research, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Start by brainstorming:

  • Review your assignment criteria. What topics are acceptable? How many sources do you need? What types of publications are acceptable?
  • Plan your Research. Decide on a topic, research question, and keywords.
  • Consider Types of Sources. What type of publications would have information about your topic? Books? Journals? Websites?
  • Choose a Database. Decide on the best place to look for sources on your topic.

Pay attention to the results:

  • Were there too many results? Too few?
  • Where did your keywords appear? What keywords did you use that are working? What keywords are confusing your results?
  • What vocabulary are the authors are using? Are there any new words that you could add to your list of keywords?

Modify your search strategy and search terms as needed.

Reflect on your search:

  • Did you find enough sources to meet your assignment requirements?
  • Were you satisfied with the relevance and quality of the sources you found?
  • What strategies worked well? What strategies were not helpful?

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