Good to hear your questions about research. This is from my notes, so feel free to add to or correct:
Many of the resources Nedda mentioned, including ARTBibliographies Modern and
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography, are at
Art & Art History: Background Info
Also of use:
Art and Art History: Background Info
Nedda noted that Art Index (for articles pre-1974) is available as hard copy in Pullen Library. If you go to "Databases A - Z" and choose "WorldCat" you get to a search window for all the databases. Here, search for DOGS IN ART or MANIFESTOS IN ART, etc. A keyword search looks for each word independently, whereas a subject search looks for the whole string in order.
Nedda recommends Mashable for articles on popular memes and other news about social media, and mentioned the book by Henry Jenkins, Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture.
She encourages using Zotero for free, because you can keep using it after you graduate. Zotero is good for configuring citations.
She also recommended Mendeley, a free reference manager.
Books from other libraries will be delivered via interlibrary loan, whereas articles not available from GSU libraries will be "lent" as downloads.