Country Studies, Demographics, & Statistics Databases
- Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online A searchable database of over 165,000 geographical places and features of all kinds. Lists names, descriptions, and characteristics including information on population, agriculture, industry, services, climate, and relief.
- CultureGrams Country information. Includes World Edition, Kids Edition, States Edition (U.S.) and Provinces Edition (Canada). Covers Land and Climate, History, Population, Language, Religion, Customs and Courtesies, Lifestyle, Government, Economy, Education, Health, Transportation and Communications. Current Country Information, Maps, Images, Native Recipes, Biographies, Downloadable Statistics.
- Europa World Plus Combines Europa World Year Book and the nine Europa Regional Surveys of the World into one database. Regularly updated economic, political & geographic background information & statistical data by country. Directory contact details & a listing of over 1,900 international organizations.
- SimplyAnalytics Extensive demographic, business and marketing data from sources such as census data from 2000 and 2010,Current Estimates, Five Year Projections, the Experian SimmonsLOCAL® and Nielsen Claritas PRIZM® Data Packages.
Best Interior Design, Art, and Architecture Databases
If you want a little background information on your topic or need help identifying possible search keywords, check out the library's reference materials.
Reference materials are the place to go if you need factual information. Think encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri—simple, straight-forward information, presented in an easy-to-navigate format.
Here are a few that may be good for art terms:
Try searching our new Start Your Research tool! It searches multiple databases for articles and the library catalog for books and other materials. This tool can be good if your topic is cross-disciplinary and you are looking for different types of materials like images!
After you do an intial search in the box pictured below, look to the right to see related images. Under the Refine Your Results drop down on the left, click Show More to select Image Quick View Type, at the bottom of the refine search pop-up page. Please ask for help with this new tool if you need it!
Interior Design, Architecture, and Art Databases
These resources can be found on the Library Home Page through the Databases link and then under the Art & Design. Most of these are for finding articles. Here is the full list of Architecture Databases. Also refer to the Library's Image Collections resources. If you are not in the library you will be prompted for your Texas State username and password. Use the Images tab on this guide for more about finding images.
- Architectural Digest Archive
- Art & Architecture Archive
- Art & Architecture Complete (used to be Art Full Text, now includes Art Index Retrospecitve)
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
- Bloomsbury Design Library
- Design and Applied Arts Index
- Art: Search (was DesignInform)
- Humanities Source (was Humanities Full Text, now includes Humanities International Complete
- JSTOR
- LinkedInLearning (Includes Autocad video tutorials)
- Mapping Gothic France
- Project Muse
- rhizome.org (covers contemporary art)
- World Textiles
Communication Studies Databases
Communication Studies Databases could also be another good source for articles since they can cover visual communication theories.
Disserations & Theses from Proquest
Good for finding literature reviews
Image Databases
Also refer to the Library's full list of Image Databases. Use the Images tab on this guide for more about finding images or see the Finding Images Research Guide.
- Ad*Access
- ARTStor
- AP Multimedia Archive
- Credo Reference
- Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920
- Grove Art Online
- WorldImages
- Web Gallery of Art
- Google Image Search
Newspaper Databases
You could also check out our newspaper databases, especially the historical ones, for good resources on art. and design. Newspaper articles from the time period of the work of art or furniture/design/architeture can be considered a primary source material. Exhibition catalogs from the time period of the art are primary sources too!
