LibGuides: MUSI4000: BA Capstone: Articles & Databases

Reference Resources

Credo Reference's Academic Core This link opens in a new window
The Credo Reference database is a portal to over 1,030 full-text reference titles from over 120 major publishers. Easy to search and browse, the Credo platform provides access to text, images, maps, statistics, and graphic concept maps to illustrate connections among and between topics.
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Music Online is a full-text portal to high-quality music reference sources, including the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, containing over 50,000 articles on composers, performers, conductors, instruments and notation, forms and genres, and individual works.
IPA Source This link opens in a new window
The IPA Source database, designed for singers, teachers, and all those interested in the correct and knowledgeable performance of vocal literature, contains the largest collection of literal translations and International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions on the web.
Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
The Naxos Music Library is a large online classical music library. It offers streaming audio access to over 100,000 albums and features over 1.4 million tracks covering both standard and rare repertoire. Over 800 new albums are added to the library every month.
Naxos Music Library Jazz This link opens in a new window
Naxos Music Library Jazz is one of the most comprehensive collections of jazz music available online. Naxos Music Library Jazz comprises Naxos Jazz, the catalogue of Blue Note Records, and the 22 labels of Fantasy Jazz along with Prophone and Proprius.

Using Databases to Find Research Articles

Where to find Articles?

When conducting a literature review, it's important to find as much information about previous research and studies as possible. Articles are a great place to find this type of information and can be found through online databases and print indexes.

We have a number of general discipline databases (for interdisciplinary topics), as well as a number of Music-specific databases to choose from. Most offer full-text access to articles online, and can be used from off campus.

You can see a complete list of the databases that the Library subscribes to with the Databases tab on our homepage, or by going directly to the Databases page. I've also supplied a short list of databases for each subset of the Music graduate program, to assist in getting started (see Suggested Databases box).

Keep in mind that many of your topics will cover more than one subject area (Music and Education, Business and Music, etc.), therefore, be sure to use multiple databases when doing your searches! Even among similar databases, information will vary.

Using Databases to Find Research Articles

Where to find Articles?

Listed below are some of the most relevant databases. You can view the full list from the Databases link found on the library homepage.

Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window Bibliographic database containing over 1.3 million citation records for articles from more than 425 international music periodicals, with full-text access for selected titles. The majority of citation records date from 1996 to the present, with approximately 200,000 records covering the period from 1874 to 1995. The database covers a comprehensive range of subject areas in both scholarly and popular music journals. Articles examine the full spectrum of subjects and all aspects of music, including music education, performance, ethnomusicology, musical theater, theory, popular music forms and composition. Articles cover a diverse array of musical genres, from the liturgical chants of medieval monks to the eclectic sounds of contemporary alternative rock musicians. Updated monthly. [1874 - Present]
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new window Produced by Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale, this comprehensive music bibliography features citations, abstracts and subject indexing to the literature of music. Coverage spans 1967 to the present, and the database is updated monthly. RILM covers articles in over 11,000 journals, many of which are not specifically devoted to music. RILM includes over 700,000 records, and over 40,000 new records are added every year. Citations in RILM represent publications in 214 languages, originating in 155 countries. Titles of works are translated into English, and the majority of records have English abstracts. Increasingly, records also feature abstracts in the original language of publication. [1967 - present]
JSTOR Arts and Sciences Collections (I through IX, and XIV) and Life Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window Archive of over 1,650 major journals in the humanities, social sciences, business, education, area studies, mathematics and statistics, life sciences, and much more. Funding for the acquisition of the JSTOR Arts and Sciences V, VI, VIII, and IX Collections was provided by a generous gift from the Student Government Association. [18th Century - Present]

Additional Suggestions

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window Large, interdisciplinary full-text database contains over 4,800 full-text publications, including academic journals, magazines, books, and trade publications. Offers broad subject coverage for a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, area studies, biology, chemistry, ethnic and multicultural studies, food science and technology, general science, geography, law, mathematics, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion and theology, women's studies, and many other fields. Funded by the the New Jersey State Library.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window ProQuest Central is a large multidisciplinary database indexing over 14,000 publications, the majority of them available in full text.
Google Scholar (Full Text @ Cheng Library) This link opens in a new window Access full-text articles from the Library's subscription e-journals using the familiar Google search engine. For access to our subscription journals through Google Scholar, select the link above and then follow these steps: 1. Click on the top-left corner menu on the screen 2. Select "Settings" from the menu 3. On the next page, select "Library links" from the menu on the left side of the screen 4. Type "cheng" in the search field and run the search 5. Select "David and Lorraine Cheng Library - Full Text@Cheng Library" and then click on the "Save" button This will enable you to see the "Full Text@Cheng Library" links displayed with your search results.

Scholarly/Popular/Trade?

What Kind of Publication Should I Use?

Scholarly Journals:		Scholarly journals are generally written by researchers and scholars for other researchers and scholars. Articles are research-based and will often undergo a peer-review process through which other experts in the field review and critique articles prior to publication.
Trade Publications:		Trade publications are often considered to fall between scholarly journals and popular magazines, and often focus on a particular industry. Articles are generally written by practitioners/specialists in the field and discuss industry trends, methods and techiques, benchmark information and relevant news.
Popular Magazines:		Popular magazines are often written by reporters or journalists, with articles focusing on current events or popular topics. References are generally not included.
Newspapers:		Newspapers can cover the most current events on a topic or provide a historical perspective to an issue or event. These are not scholarly sources, but can be valuable for context.

For a more detailed description, watch this short tutorial: Scholarly v. Popular.