CHECKLIST FOR DOING MUSIC RESEARCH

I. Tour the Library.

II. Start a Research Log.

III. Decide on a Citation Manual.

For a list of citation manuals held by the UO, see the Citation Guides and Style Manuals List on the Music Services web site at http://library.uoregon.edu/music/Teachingresources/cit.html

IV. Define your topic.

• Find a Research Guide on your topic:

  Search Duckles' Music Reference and Research Materials [MUSIC REF ML113 .D83 1997] for sources.

• Consult Music Encyclopedias for an Overview of Your Topic.

  • The primary English-language encyclopedia for Music is the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, available in paper form at MUSIC REF. ML100. N48 2001, or on line from the UO Library's web site by searching TITLE.
  • A comprehensive list of music dictionaries and encyclopedias is available on the Music Services website at http://library.uoregon.edu/music/
    Teachingresources/encylist.html

   

V. Research Your Topic

• Locate Books on Your Subject:

  • Make a list of subject headings from the Library of Congress Subject Headings books [found in the Music Services Dept. at the Music Reference Desk.]
  • Search the subjects you've found in the UO Library's Catalog.
  • Browse the shelves under the call numbers found in UO Library's Catalog.

• Find Citations to Journal & Magazine Articles:

  • Make a list of terms they might use- and check to see if the indexes have a thesaurus.
  • Search printed and electronic indexes to music periodicals.
    For a comprehensive list of what indexes are owned by the Library, search the UO Library's web under Articles,Databases & Indexes.
    One basic index that is available on-line especially for the UO music public is the Music Index
    Considered the standard index for music periodicals, this web-based version goes back to 1979, and is preceded by the paper version all the way back to 1949.
  • Search a general periodical index, such as the Academic Search Premier , (which is available from the Library's catalog web site.)
    This source uses full-text searching, and includes a number of music journals.

   

VI. Find the Resources in the UO Library

• Locate the Articles Found in the Indexes:

  • If the index you are using has a FindText button, click on that to see what versions of the journal the UO Library owns.
  • Search the UO Library's web site by the Title of the journal, limiting the search to Journals & Serials with the pull-down screen.
    (This also will allow you to find all the versions of the journal at the UO Library if there is a FindText button.)

• Search for Dissertations & Masters Theses:

  • Search Dissertation Abstracts International on the Library's catalog.
    Search the Library's catalog by the dissertation author's name for our holdings.
  • To see what dissertations our School of Music graduates have produced, search the catalog by the title: University of Oregon. Theses. School of Music. These will be arranged by the year and title of the degree, going back to about 1949.

   

VII. Borrow what we don't have:

• Search SUMMIT (The Orbis/Cascade Alliance catalog) on the Library's web site for holdings in other Oregon and Washington schools.
  If the items are scores or books, they can be borrowed directly online, and will arrive in three working days.
• Prepare an Interlibrary Loan request for books, dissertations, and scores.
• Search WorldCat through UO Library's web catalog, under Other catalogs... for the books and dissertations- and make your requests on-line.
• Prepare ILL requests for journal & magazine articles.
• Verify your citations in indexes searched above.
• Note: Many indexes on-line allow you to make these requests as you view the citation. And, if they have the FindText button, they will also connect you directly to the ILL form for journal articles.

VIII.Consult Other Sources for Research:

• Search Books in Print under Other catalogs- Publisher Directories on the UO Library's catalog, for books on your subject currently in print. Then search the books in the UO Library's Catalog to see if the University owns them.
• Consult a citation index. (The Arts & Humanities Search, a citation-based index located on the Library's web site under Databases & Indexes, is especially good for tracing authors in music and the humanities).
• Consult Ulrich's Periodical Directory to find out where other similar journals might be indexed.
• Search Libraries Worldwide or the specialized music libraries' catalogs in print. [A list of the print versions of those music libraries' catalogs available at the University of Oregon is found by searching the UO Library's catalog by Call Number=ML 136 or browsing that call number in the Music Reference stacks.
• Browse the UO Music Resources Web Site to find research guides and resources throughout the web and the UO Knight Library.
• Consult a librarian about other sources.
  [The music librarian is Ann Shaffer. You can contact her at ashaffer@uoregon.edu- or telephone her at 346-1930.
• Consult "authorities" about your subject.
  [For a list of experts in various fields, search the Directory sections in the Biographical Resource Guide, on the web at http://library.uoregon.edu/music/researchguides/resources.html.
  [Don't forget to use the School of Music faculty as resources!]
• Contact an e-mail list on your subject.
  These are often associated with professional organizations. (See below)
• You may also want to consult the Professional Music Organizations section of the Music Services web site for additional information on professional listservs. This source is at http://library.uoregon.edu/music/professional.html

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