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Landscape Architecture: Search for Information

How to search for and find architectural literature and images

Finding books & articles

 

A good place to begin searching is in the Library catalogue. Use the Library catalogue to find books and journal articles on your topic. 

To learn how to use the Library catalogue, watch this video:

Example:

A Library catalogue search for the keywords: Central Park landscape found the below book about the landscape architecture of Central Park. 

'Forty years of landscape architecure, Central Park' - book found in library catalogue

Tips for searching... 

  • Books

Use general or broad keywords to find books all about the location, architect or architectural process in your assignment question. 

  • Journal articles

Try restricting your search to peer reviewed articles. Because peer reviewed articles have been double-checked by academic experts, it's easier to be sure that the words and ideas you're using are of sufficient quality for a university assignment. 

Evaluating your results

 

Not all the information you get from a search will be useful. A successful search will show results relevant to your topic. If your results are not relevant go back and try different keywords in your search.

To evaluate whether your source is of sufficient quality use the C.C.O.W. Test. Click on the letters of the acronym to learn more:

Other places to search 

 

Using the same searches you've mapped out earlier, try using some of our key resources for landscape architecture: ScienceDirect, JSTOR, and Taylor and Francis Online Journals (linked below). You'll find the results are different in each database. The picture below is one of the top hits from JSTOR.

'Creating Central Park' - article from JSTOR database