Historical and Cultural Significance of Beauty Practices
For this project, you will be researching a topic related to a specific beauty practice and creating a presentation to share what you have learned.
This guide will help you get started with your research. It also contains resources for creating presentations and citing sources.
If you have questions about research or citations, Ask A Librarian or reach out to me, your subject Librarian, directly!
For the most specific information about the assignment, always refer to your class syllabus or ask your instructor.
Choosing a topic
You will be researching a topic related to a specific beauty practice and its importance in a specific culture. Pick something that interests you!
Check your topic with your instructor before getting in too deep.
But also…
Your topic may change as you do your research and that’s OK.
Getting Started
You may want to think about trends, beauty standards, and care practices relating to subjects like:
- Makeup
- Hair
- Nails
- Skin
And think about WHO was engaging in these practices, and WHEN?
- Time period
- Geographic location
- Subculture
If you've got one idea, try doing some background research to get more specific. Go to Wikipedia, Google, social media or the news. Look for information on your beauty product, your culture, or your time period. Flip through a magazine or a book on beauty subjects. Talk to your instructor or Librarian if you're stuck.
Remember, you need to be able to give an overview in about 5 minutes!
Search the Library for books and more
Use the Library Catalog (below) to search for books, ebooks, and videos we own.
When searching books, sometimes broader is better.
Try searching things like:
- An overarching subject (i.e. makeup, hair)
- A type of product or service (i.e. eyeliner, plastic surgery)
- A culture (i.e. victorian, drag queens)
- A location (i.e. korean beauty, mayan history)
Mix and match!
Try different words - sometimes you and the resources will be using different words to describe the same thing.
Check the table of contents in books that have a bigger scope. There may be just a section or a chapter that you need.
Use one source to find more sources -- what did they cite? What words or phrases did they use?
Search the Library Catalog
Use our catalog to find books, videos, and other resources in our collections.
Call Number Ranges
Use these call number ranges to browse the General Collection and the Reference Collection.
| GT 2340 / TT 950 - TT 958 | Beauty Culture |
| TT 958 | Beauty Operators |
| GT 2290 - GT 2310 / TT 950 - TT979 | Hair Styles |
| GT 2340 / RA 776 - RA 778 / TP 983 | Cosmetics |
Databases
Databases are collections of articles that were published in all different magazines, trade and academic journals, newspapers, and online. Each one has a different focus. Here are some that might be helpful for researching Beauty and Culture. If you're not sure where to start, always feel free to Ask a Librarian! (We know a lot of tips and tricks for databases).
- Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete provides both popular and scholarly journal coverage and video clips for nearly all academic areas of study including: social sciences, humanities, education, technology, engineering, physics, chemistry, language & linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences and ethnic studies. Academic Search Complete is a great starting point for most general research.
- Associates Programs Source Plus
Associates Programs Source Plus contains popular and scholarly articles and videos for areas such as accounting, agriculture, childcare, computer science, cosmetology, criminal justice, culinary arts, fashion, fire science, forestry, graphic arts, hospitality, interior design, massage therapy, plumbing, veterinary technology, and welding.
- Credo Reference
Credo Reference provides access to a broad selection of dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations, and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific titles. Includes a built-in mind map to help students brainstorm search terms. Credo is a great place to start your research.
- JSTOR
JSTOR provides electronic access to major journal titles, eBooks, and images. Subjects covered by this database include art, biology, business, ecology, botany, general science, language, literature, mathematics, sustainability, security, music, and more. JSTOR is a great resource for general research. A personal account can be created to store and organize resources.
- New York Times Digital Edition
The New York Times Digital Edition includes access to the Newspaper, the Magazine, the Book Review, the Learning Network for Educators, and a variety of newsletter selections, as well as a variety of images and videos created for the newspaper.
Create an account with your COD email to access this resource. - PubMed - National Library of Medicine
The PubMed database, freely available via the Internet, provides citations and abstracts to articles in medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, allied health, and the pre-clinical sciences; it also indexes articles from the Index to Dental Literature and the International Nursing Index. PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine. Citations may include links to full-text articles from PubMed Central or publisher websites.
- Science Direct
Science Direct provides indexing and full-text journal articles in the sciences and social sciences, including chemistry, medicine, computer science, earth science, economics, business, engineering, energy, environmental science, life science, materials science, mathematics, physics, and astronomy. This is a good source for scholarly research in those subjects.
Web resources
If you are using web searching, remember to double check your sources. Your website selections must be credible. See COD Library's Evaluating Sources Guide.
