Database Resources & Guidelines

Database Resources & Guidelines

SYNTHESIS Database Training Presentation by Dr. Pavlos Fafalios

Bibliography Entry Style

For the bibliography and citation style please follow the guidelines given by the  The Chicago Manual of Style and the Dumbarton Oaks – Byzantine Publications – Style Guide. A useful guide with many examples can also be found here.

Please transliterate the authors / editors and all the other information regarding the publication with the exception of the title, which remains in the language it is written.

Bibliography Entry (in alphabetical order) examples:

Books (monographies, collective works, edited volumes, etc):
Boycheva, Yuliana, and Anastasia Drandaki (eds.). Θρησκευτική Τέχνη από τη Ρωσία στην Ελλάδα, 16ος-19ος αιώνας. Athens: Benaki Museum and Institute for Mediterranean Studies – FORTH, 2017.

Editor(s) in addition to author(s) in books:
Cane, Lawrence. Fighting Fascism in Europe: The World War II Letters of an American Veteranof the Spanish Civil War. Edited by David E. Cane, Judy Barrett Litoff, and David C. Smith. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 2003. 

Chapter or other part of an edited book:
Boycheva, Yuliana. “Συλλογές Ρωσικών Εικόνων στην Ελλάδα.” In Θρησκευτική Τέχνη από τη Ρωσία στην Ελλάδα, 16ος-19ος αιώνας, edited by Yuliana Boycheva and Anastasia Drandaki, 34-55. Athens: Benaki Museum and Institute for Mediterranean Studies – FORTH, 2017.

Multi-volume works:
Sumption, Jonathan. The Hundred Years War. 4 vols. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990-2015.

Chapter or article in multi-volume works:
Holloway, David. “Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War, 1945–1962.” In Origins, edited by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad, 376-397. Vol. 1 of The Cambridge History of the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

One Volume in multi-volume works:
Lefebvre, Georges. The French Revolution. Vol. 1, From Its Origins to 1793. Translated by Elizabeth Moss Evanson. London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1962-64.

E-Book:
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. http://mel.hofstra.edu/moby-dick-the-whale-proofs.html.

Translated book:
Lahiri, Jhumpa. In Other Words. Translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

Journal article:
Gergova, Ivanka. “Russian Orthodox Art in the Bulgarian Lands from the 16th until the Late 19th Century: The Current State of Investigation and Avenues for Further Research.”  Museikon 4 (2020): 237-246.

Journal article accessed online:
Seraïdari, Katerina. “Saint Jean le Russe : Pèlerinage et Territorialité.” La Revue de géographie historique, n.16 (May 2020), http://rgh.univlorraine.fr/articles/view/125/Saint_Jean_le_Russe_pelerinage_et_territorialite

Talk / Paper published in Conference Proceedings collective volume:
Pissis, Nikolas. “Η Ανατολική Εκκλησία και η Ρωσία στα Μέσα του 17ου Αιώνα: Πολιτικές Πρωτοβουλίες και τα Όριά τους.” In Ρωσία και Μεσόγειος. Πρακτικά Α’ Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου (Αθήνα, 19-22 Μαΐου 2005), edited by O. Katsiardi-Hering, A. Kolia-Dermitzaki, and K. Gardikas, vol. 1, 283-302. Athens, 2011.

Thesis or Dissertation:
Spachidou, Phane K. “Η Bυζαντινή Tέχνη στον Eλληνικό Tύπο του 19ου αι. μ.Χ..” PhD diss., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2010
(or: Spachidou, Phane K. “Η Bυζαντινή Tέχνη στον Eλληνικό Tύπο του 19ου αι. μ.Χ..” PhD diss., Aristoteleio Panepistemio Thessalonikes, 2010).

Website Content:
Yale University. “About Yale: Yale Facts.” Accessed May 1, 2017. https://www.yale.edu/about-yale/yale-facts.

Transliterations

Whenever transliteration is necessary please follow the Transliteration Guidelines by The Library of Congress.

Regarding the romanization of the Greek characters please follow a simpler romanization without diacritics (diacritical marks and accents).

Example: Ησίοδος / Hēsiodos (romanization according to The Library of Congress System)
Hesiodos (the version we prefer)

A simpler romanization without diacritics is preferred for the Russian as well.
Example: Красноярск / Krasnoi͡arsk (romanization according to The Library of Congress System)
Krasnoiarsk (simpler romanization – the version we prefer)

Names of Historical Figures & Persons

In the relevant “name” fields of a historical figure or contemporary person (including the authors and editors, etc) please prefer to write the surname first and then the name as in the examples: Boycheva, Yuliana; Drandaki, Anastasia; Arsenios, Archbishop of Elassona.

Locations Coordinates

Whenever entering a “new Location” in the system please enter the exact coordinates. Read instructions:

here &here

Vocabularies & Thesauruses

We advise you to use the vocabularies that are linked with the various Database fields and appear as drop-down lists. Please choose the most relevant term/terms from these controlled vocabularies.

Besides the above mentioned vocabularies, we have created a Thesaurus Vocabulary for the “Object” entity in the database, linked with the “Object Kind” and the “Components Categories”. Access to THEMAS Thesaurus is currently limited to team members only (login is required – please contact us).

Both Synthesis Information System and Themas Thesaurus Management System are developed by CCIICS-FORTH.

A useful vocabulary resource is The Art and Architecture Thesaurus by The Getty Research Institute

You may also find useful the ICOM guidelines (check also the CIDOC-ICOM model) and standards on documenting Art Objects and creating an Object’s ID. The Getty center also offers many resources on how to document art (check the Introduction to Object ID), helping to understanding the standards and rules of art documentation.