A note: I divided these into three sections as you will all likely focus on one area. But they also overlap! You could talk about the depiction of violence in art; or how art reflects increased globalization; or how violence was discussed or regulated due to increased globalization. I just wanted to provide a few tips in each area, as they are unique! Overall, you should:

• USE REFERENCES. Find a book that fits your topic, and mine the bibliography for more sources!
• READ BOOK REVIEWS. These give you an overview of the book's main argument, and its strong and weak points. This will help you frame your brain around the book before you try to read it. To find a book review, do a title search and then select Reviews on the left side.
• FIND A THESIS OR DISSERTATION ON YOUR TOPIC. These are not published books and thus do not count as an historical monograph, but they often provide an extensive, easy-to-read historiography, which you can then dissect for your own paper.

Crime and Violence:

I did a basic search for renaissance AND (crime OR violence). This is like doing two searches in one, hitting all the books that focus on crime, and all the books that focus on violence, in the renaissance. Then, I refined to Ebooks and Print Books on the left side under Type. While you are searching, look for other possible keywords you could use (homicide, vengeance, justice, "early modern"), or even add a country name (Italy), and click on the subject headings, which are like tags that categorize books by topic.

Art:

There are numerous books on Renaissance art, particularly in Italy. One thing to be aware of is that in art history, there are numerous types of publications (exhibition catalogs, guides to paintings, retrospectives of artists). Most of these are not historical monographs. If you have any questions about the type of source you have, please ask. You will want to look for works that address the impact OF and ON art - within historical context. As an example, the first book below discusses the impact of the experience of viewing art on political persuasion, and what that says about power and identity in Italy. Your keywords might want to incorporate your more specific topic, for example: renaissance AND art AND religion. Or try a specific type of art: painting, sculpture, fresco

Globalization

Globalization is a little trickier. You can try renaissance AND globalization, but this is almost too broad. Instead, think of specific things that may have led to or increased globalization, or the impacts of globalization. For example, advances in transportation; contact caused by war; the development of goods for trade; or the spread of disease. For example, you could do a search for renaissance AND trade AND plague to understand the impact of trade and globalization on the spread of disease.