Database Search Tips
Use an asterisk to substitute for letters at the end of a word (e.g. crit* finds critic, criticism, critique etc.).
Use quotes to search multiple words as a phrase (e.g. "new age" finds these terms in exact order).
Search authors as a subject to eliminate works written by the author instead of about them.
Limit to peer-reviewed (or at least scholarly) articles to find those most desirable for work at the college level. (Peer-review explained: Some journals require articles to be reviewed by other professionals in a particular field before they can be published. These are considered the cream of the crop in scholarly articles.)
Recommended Databases
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowScholarly, multidisciplinary database containing more than 6,100 full-text journals, and indexing/abstracts for more than 10,100 journals.
- Fine Arts and Music Collection This link opens in a new windowFine Arts and Music Collection provides access to scholarly journals and magazines that support research in areas including drama, music, art history, and filmmaking. The database emphasizes full-text content for publications included in the Wilson Art Index and RILM bibliography.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowContains almost 1,000 full-text journals spanning multiple disciplines. Some journals go to back to the mid-1800's. There is a gap, typically from 1 to 5 years, between the most recently published journal issues and the issues available in JSTOR.
- Music Index This link opens in a new windowComprehensive coverage of the music field and every aspect of the classical and popular worlds of music. Content from 1970 to the present, the Music Index contains cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts of articles about music, musicians and the music industry for nearly 500 journals.
- Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new windowOxford Music Online provides the full text with ongoing updates of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed.
Related Resources
- ARIA DatabaseA collection of information about opera and operatic arias. Besides providing basic information about each aria, the Database includes translations for many arias and aria texts for those that are not affected by copyright restrictions.
- Music Theory Online (MTO) Dissertation IndexMaintained by the Society for Music Theory--includes all dissertation listings published in Music Theory Online.
