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Step One – Define your topic
Step Two – Determine the type of information needed
Step Three – Search for information
Step One – Define your topic
Getting started can sometimes feel like the most difficult part of the research process. Help define your topic by asking questions:
What is my assignment?
Is it an opinion paper?
Is it an overview of a topic?
Is it a report or analysis?
Is my topic limited in any way by:
A specific time period?
Geographic location?
A segment of the population?
Would background information be helpful?
Encyclopedias help provide perspective on a topic or concept. Subject encyclopedias help define a topic, provide a timeline of events, identify people associated with the topic, and supply good keywords to use later when searching for books or articles.
What words or terms best describe my topic? Are there synonyms for these words?
Step Two – Define the type of information needed
1. What types of resources are required?
Books
Articles on a topic
Articles from a specific journal
2. If articles are needed, how do I know if a publication is a scholarly journal or a popular magazine?
Journal articles
Are written by experts in the field
Are peer-reviewed
Include reports of original research, or in-depth analysis of
issues related to the field
Use terminology and language specific to that field of study
Are written for other researchers in the field
Include bibliographies and extensive documentation
Magazine articles:
Are written by journalists and free-lance writers
Are not peer-reviewed
Cover current events, hot topics, popular culture
Use non-technical language
Are written for a broad and popular audience
Rarely cite any sources
Step Three – Search for information
Finding Books:
CONSULS is the shared online library catalog for all 4 of the CSU libraries – SCSU, CCSU, ECSU, and WCSU, as well as the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. CONSULS will show you what is owned by each library, where it is located in the building, the call number of the book, and whether it is available on the shelf or checked out. You can search for books by Author , Title , or Keyword (topic).
To find a book about a Composer , use a Keyword search in CONSULS, and type in the name of the composer, such as: Mahler, Gustav.
To find musical scores by a Composer , use an Author search in CONSULS, and type in the name of the composer, such as: Mahler, Gustav.
To find a book on a specific music topic , use a Keyword search in CONSULS, and type in the words that describe your topic, such as: Mahler and romanticism.
The two major book locations in Buley Library are the Circulating Collection, and the Reference Collection .
Circulating Books – Buley Library uses the Library of Congress Classification System; each call number begins with a letter that designates a major subject area. The call number serves as a specific address for where the book belongs on the shelf. The call number also groups books together by subject. When you find your book on the shelf, notice that there may be others located near it that relate to the same topic. Circulating books can be checked out for 28 days. The Music book collection is found in the following call number areas:
M - Music scores and sheet music
ML - Literature on music
MT - Musical instruction and study
Reference Books - Excellent background information can be found in reference books such as subject encyclopedias . Subject encyclopedias help define a topic, provide a timeline of events, identify people associated with the topic, and supply good keywords to use later when searching for books or articles. These books do not circulate, but you are free to use them within the building, and to make photocopies.
You can find subject encyclopedias in the Reference Collection by using a Keyword search in CONSULS.
Type in “encyclopedia” followed by your general topic.
Examples: encyclopedia and music
encyclopedia and jazz
encyclopedia and rap
Music Resources in the Reference Collection
Music Encyclopedias
The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians (20 vol.) Ref ML100.N48 2000
The Garland encyclopedia of world music (10 vol.) Ref ML100.G16 1998
Encyclopedia of recorded sound (2 vol.) Ref ML102.S67 E5 2005
Music Dictionaries
The Harvard concise dictionary of music and musicians Ref ML100.H36 1999
Baker's dictionary of music Ref ML100.S635 1997
The Oxford companion to music Ref ML100.S37 2002
Musical Instruments
The New Grove dictionary of musical instruments (3 vol.) Ref ML102.I5N48 1984
The illustrated encyclopedia of musical instruments Ref ML102.I5 I5 1996
Music Biographical Sources
Baker's biographical dictionary of musicians (6 vol.) Ref ML105.B16 2001
Dictionary of American classical composers Ref ML106.U3 B87 2005
Latin American classical composers: a biographical dictionary Ref ML105 .F53 2002
Popular musicians (4 vol.) Ref ML105 .P66 1999
International encyclopedia of women composers (2 vol.) Ref ML105 .C7 1987
The encyclopedia of record producers Ref ML105 .E53 1999
International dictionary of black composers (2 vol.) Ref ML105.I5 1999
Opera
The New Grove dictionary of opera (4 vol.) Ref ML102.O6 N5 1998
Baker's dictionary of opera Ref ML102.O6 B26 2000
Opera: composers, works, performers Ref ML102.06 .O6213x 2000
Musical Theatre
The encyclopedia of the musical theatre (3 vol.) Ref ML102.M88 G3 2001
American song: the complete musical theatre companion (2 vol.) Ref ML128.M78 B6 1996
A chronology of American musical theater (3 vol.) Ref ML1711.8.N3 N67 2002
Song
The Green book of songs by subject: the thematic guide to popular music Ref ML156.4.P6 G73 2002
Popular songs of the twentieth century: a charted history Ref ML128.S3 G3 2000
The rock song index: the 7500 most important songs of the Rock and Roll era, 1944-2000 Ref ML128.R6 P65 2005
Popular song index Ref ML128.S3 H4
Popular Music
The Marshall Cavendish illustrated history of popular music (21 vol.)
Ref ML3470.M36 1989
The encyclopedia of popular music (8 vol.) Ref ML102.P66 G84 1998
Continuum encyclopedia of popular music of the world (7 vol.)
The Greenwood encyclopedia of rock history (6 vol.) Ref ML3534 .G754 2006
Encyclopedia of rap and hip-hop culture Ref ML102.R27 B96 2006
Encyclopedia of punk music and culture Ref ML102.R6 C64 2006
Jazz
The biographical encyclopedia of jazz Ref ML102.J3 F39 1999
The new Grove dictionary of jazz (3 vol.) Ref ML102.J3 N48 2002
Finding Articles:
To search for scholarly articles within journals, go to the Buley Library home page, and under Find Articles , click on Search Databases . This takes you to a long alphabetical list of all databases subscribed to by Buley Library, including databases that provide full text journal articles and newspaper articles. You can either go directly to a database (if you know the one you want), or use the “My Research is In” pull-down menu to find which databases would be the best for you to search for your topic. Listed below are the major music research databases, as well as the databases that include music research as part of the scope of the database.
Music Databases
Other Databases useful for Music research:
How do I determine if Buley Library owns or has access to a particular journal?
Click on: Journal Locator (under Find Articles)
Type in the title of the journal (not the title of an article within a journal). The Journal Locator will tell you if Buley Library has access to the journal, and if it is available electronically, in print, in microfilm, or in microfiche. If you are working from a bibliography, or have a specific article citation, starting with the Journal Locator is a good approach.
Selected Music web sites:
Meta-sites
allmusic http://www.allmusic.com/
Yahoo! Entertainment – Music http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/
Music Theory
Musictheory.net http://www.musictheory.net/index.html
Musical Instruments
Virtual Instrument Museum http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/vim/
American Music and Sheet Music
American Memory from the Library of Congress (select Performing Arts – Music) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
American Memory – Southern Mosaic http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lohtml/lohome.html
Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/
Lift Every Voice – Music in American Life http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/music/
Popular American Music http://digital.library.ucla.edu/apam/
Public Domain Music http://www.pdinfo.com/
Sheet Music Consortium http://digital.library.ucla.edu/sheetmusic/
Classical
Baroque Music Homepage http://www.baroquemusic.org/
Classical Net http://www.classical.net/
Essentials of Music http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/
Mozart Institute http://dme.mozarteum.at/mambo/index.php
Jazz
A Jazz Improvisation Primer http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/
A Passion for Jazz! http://www.apassion4jazz.net/
Opera and Musicals
Aria Database http://www.aria-database.com/ Musicals101.com: the Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
Where do I go for help with my music research?
Contact the Buley Library Reference Desk, at 392-5732, or by email at: eref@southernct.edu
You can also ask for help in person at the Reference Desk, on the First Floor of the Library.
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