Table of Contents
Books and media
Use the SearchWorks library catalog to find books and media related to your topic:
- Enter search terms
- Try different combinations of search terms. Sometimes fewer terms are better than more
- Cast a wide net. General terms may be better than specific terms
- Limit results using choices in the left side column (by format, location, more specific topic terms, etc.)
- Look at individual results and note the call number and which library has the item
- You can select several items and message or email the list to yourself (see choices in the upper right corner)
Formats you can choose from:
Try a subject search using the pulldown menu next to the search box:
Try subject term combinations such as these:
Music political aspects
Popular music social aspects
Rock music political aspects
Jazz political aspects
Music 20th century political aspects
Music social aspects
Musical criticism (book containing critical essays as we as "how to write criticism)
Music and the internet (about digital music and commerce)
Sound recording industry
Music trade (about the music business as a whole)
Political activism
Reference works and databases
These resources are better than Wikipedia (trust me!). Why? Because they are written by experts in the field, and often include reliable lists of important additional resources in the bibliographies and footnotes. Wikipedia may be good for the most current information but authors are anonymous, entries may be incomplete, and bibliographies are scarce.
Some titles below are online and in print; some are in print only. Be sure to note location (online, Music Library, or Green Library)
Databases
Links
Useful websites:
Articles
Find articles in these databases. Keep in mind:
- Articles are not in SearchWorks, but the journal/periodical titles are
- Some database search results will provide full text online access; others have citations only. In these cases you'll then want to searrch for the journal title in SearchWorks.
- Database interfaces may differ but all allow you to srearch by keyword, and then narrow recults by type of article. You may also limit results to peer-reviewed journals
- Use subject headings in article recults to continue exploring your topic