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Music

Music research guide with resources for finding different materials and conducting music-related research.

Recommended Journal Databases

Pro-Tip: Use the Subject Index & Subject Filters!

Remember that each database has their own limited language it's operating with, and if you're not speaking that language you could have holes in your research.

It's important to be thoughtful with your search terms and can be worth reviewing the list of database subjects when available and even applying subject filters that the databases supply.

 

Many of our databases, like Academic Search Ultimate, have an Advanced Search page where you should be able to access a Subject Terms Index to get a better understanding of the language you can use to search more effectively in the database, though it could be labeled something slightly different (Subject Thesaurus, Subject Headings List, etc).

Here, you can usually browse a subject list or even search within it for relevant topics to plan for what you're going to use as search terms. Often you can directly add them to your next search, if that is easiest for your searching. 

Academic Search Ultimate Subject Terms page shows it is linked in the website's banner, above an example search for Music.

With some databases, such as JSTOR, you may not see a way to include or browse their subject language before hitting the 'search' button. Instead or additionally, you may see a way to add subject limiters on the results page of your search.

Most databases have a form of this subject filter, and some could even allow you to exclude particular subjects if it is impeding your research.

JSTOR search results for a search filtering Music AND Education by subject, listed in alphabetical order with check boxes to add more subjects. JSTOR search results for a search for Music AND Education, showing that with the subject added the results are limited.