CONSVTY 5593: Introduction to Research and Bibliography in Music

Research Tips

• Keep track of your searches.
  • What was searched, what kind of search (e.g., keyword, subject heading, author), what database was searched.
• Date your information.
  • Databases are updated frequently and searching at a later date may find new results.
• Think creatively.
  • Brainstorm different terms to broaden, narrow, or limit a search
  • Find more terms in citations, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and successful searches to help you find more terms.

Find the Actual "Thing" From a Citation

Once you have a citation for an article or a book, whether you found it in a database, bibliography, or footnote, what do you do next?

• Article citations:
  • Check eJournals to see if the full-text article is available online. In databases, use "Full Text" to automatically search for eJournals.
  • If not found, request the article through Interlibrary Loan.
• Book, score, recording citations:
  • Search the Library Catalog to see if UMKC owns the item.
  • If the item is not owned by UMKC, broaden your search to the MOBIUS catalog and request items held at other Missouri libraries.
  • If the item is still not available, search WorldCat, then request the item through Interlibrary Loan.

Save Reading Time

When you approach a book (or web page, score, etc.), don't just start reading it. Use these strategies and maximize your use of the source:

1. Read the title page carefully, noting the full title, author, publisher, publication date, and any series information.
2. Skim the table of contents to see how the book is organized and arranged.
3. Read the foreward and/or introduction to the book. This tells you what the author set out to prove or disprove. Even more importantly, it can tell you what the author does NOT intend to do! The introduction to reference books often explains how to use the book and includes scope and coverage.
4. Look to see what indexes and appendices the book has -- the indexes save you time by identifying where specific compositions (or people, or places or ...) are addressed in the book.

Then and ONLY then start reading the book -- and now you can choose the relevant parts of the book to use!