Welcome to Research Methods!
A couple of tips as you proceed through the course.
1) If you wish to access a library near you (and you are not near Messiah), please feel free to touch base with Liz Kielley if you need a referral to that library or in some other way need a liaison with that library.
2) If you wish to use any of the hardcopy materials that Messiah's library has, you can have the library mail (UPS) them to you. Use the link below:
Citing Sources
For this course (and most of your graduate courses in music), you will be using Chicago or Turabian style. (Turabian is basically Chicago Style but in more concise form.)
Music Encyclopedias and Dictionaries (Sampsel, ch. 2)
A number of the resources Sampsel cites are only available in hardcopy. For those, search the Library Catalog by title or do an author search for name of editor.
- Oxford Music Online (Sampsel 2.1)THE major English-language reference source for music. Includes Grove Music Online (New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; New Grove Dictionary of Opera; New Grove Dictionary of Jazz; New Grove Dictionary of American Music; New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments); Oxford Companion to Music; Oxford Dictionary of Music; Encyclopedia of Popular Music.
- Classical Music Reference Library (Alexander Street Press)This resource is not listed in Sampsel. However, it includes Baker 's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (Sampsel 2.18) as well as many other monographs on music.
Library Catalogs (Sampsel, ch. 3)
As you can read in Sampsel, some libraries have opted for "next generation" or "Web-scale" discovery access, which integrates searching for materials from many different sources, including other databases. Messiah has implemented a discovery system so that you can find materials, whether they are physically in the library or available online. You can also choose to search just for items in the library or go to a specific database.
There are 2 different versions of WorldCat available. Users may prefer the functionality or features of one over the other.
Periodical Indexes for Music (Sampsel, ch. 4)
Each library subscribes to those indexes that most meet the needs of their researchers. It is possible that some of the indexes listed in this chapter of Sampsel will be available at a library near you. Be aware that, due to licensing restrictions, unless you are a cardholder at the library, you will probably need to physically go to the library to access the databases to which they subscribe.
- Databases available at MessiahThis is an A-Z list of the databases to which Messiah subscribes. Included in this list are many of the ones Sampsel cites in chapter 4 under "Periodical Indexes in Related Disciplines."
- Academic Search Ultimate (see Sampsel 4.29)This is the latest version of Academic Search Premier. (Since Sampsel (2nd ed.) was published, the publisher has issued two version of the database with more content--Academic Search Complete and then Academic Search Ultimate.)
Thematic catalogs (Sampsel, ch. 6)
Most music libraries or libraries with significant music collections include the thematic catalogs of major composers. These are primarily hardcopy (as opposed to digital). Murray Library, for example, has a number of those listed in Sampsel, such as those of Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, plus others that Sampsel does not include. (The call number for these thematic catalogs is ML134 and they are often shelved in the library's reference section.)
- RISM (Sampsel 6.24)This main RISM site includes a keyboard where searchers can input melodic incipits to search for.
Dissertations and Conference Proceedings (Sampsel ch. 5)
- WorldCat (Sampsel 3.12 plus ch. 5, p. 71, and Sampsel 5.15)NOTE: To limit to dissertations or conference proceedings in WorldCat, when you've completed your search, look to the left at Filters. Choose Format - Books - Thesis/Dissertation
- Center for Research Libraries online catalog (Sampsel 5.3)In the main catalog, there is a tab for just searching dissertations.
Indexes to Music in Complete Works, Historical Sets, and Anthologies (Sampsel, ch. 7)
The majority of the resources in this chapter are in hardcopy. Some are collections of works by major composers, while others are sets of scores for a given time period or place. The finding aids for tracking down specific pieces in the myriad volumes are also, for the most part, in hardcopy rather than digital form. Linked here are the few digital resources Sampsel includes.
- Oxford Music Online (includes Grove Music Online) (Sampsel 7.76)Works lists for major composers are included.
Music Organizations (in lieu of Sampsel, ch. 12)
Online Music Content (Sampsel, ch. 13)
ELECTRONIC BOOKS
(Note, that in addition to those listed by Sampsel, Murray Library has several E-book collections that offer a lot of useful content.)
SCORES ONLINE
DIGITAL STREAMING AUDIO
- Naxos (Sampsel 13.9)NOTE: It is advisable to create a personal account (e.g., for setting up playlists) from this link rather than from the NAXOS app. (If you do access the NAXOS app and it requests an activation/access code, contact a Messiah librarian for the code.)
IMAGES
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (Sampsel 13.17)Enter "musical instruments" (or a particular instrument) in the Search box.
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Sampsel 13.18)When looking for images of instruments that also have sound clips, do a "Collections search", search for the instrument, then refine at left to "Objects with audio/video"
- Oxford Art Online (Sampsel 13.19)Format is similar to Oxford Music Online (aka Grove)
MIXED MEDIA
- British Library (Sampsel 13.21)Under "Catalogues and Collections," select "Sound and Moving Image"
