This section highlights Kent’s digital reference sources that are relevant for study and research in the Arts. These are all included in LibrarySearch. You may find it helpful to browse the sources in the list below directly by your subject or the topic you are studying/researching so that you get the specialised discipline focus that you may need.
Using reference sources
Reference sources are a useful starting point for your research. They will give a good overview and help to highlight the important aspects of broader topics which can assist with how you focus your search and choose your keywords. You will see that they are all coming from academic publishers too, so they will have gone through a peer review process, and you can be sure that the information you are getting has been quality checked and is accurate.
Oxford Art Online
Oxford Art Online is a search engine and access for several key art reference resources, including Grove Art Online, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Oxford Companion to Western Art.
Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online is a large collection of subject dictionaries and guides.
Oxford Music Online
Key reference resource for music research with over 52,000 articles written by 9,000 scholars charting the diverse history and cultures of music around the globe. Contains Grove Music Online, with access to search The Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion to Music.
Oxford Very Short Introductions
E-book collection containing hundreds of concise introductions to a wide range of subjects to help introduce you to popular theories, ideas, and subjects. Covering all subject areas in the Arts.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) is an illustrated collection of specially written biographies of people from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain’s past.
American National Biography
American National Biography contains biographies of over 18,000 men and women from all eras and walks to life, whose lives have shaped America.
Referencing
Cite Them Right
Use the Cite Them Right guide on how to reference correctly for your subject’s citation style. Particularly good for looking up how to reference types of sources in the Media and Arts (see under ‘Browse Categories’).