Music Research Resources

On the library website, you can search all of the library's materials at one time by using Mardigian Search. Look up a specific title, or search the keywords for your topic to find books, ebooks, journal articles, and more.

While Mardigian Search can provide you with millions of possible resources, a well-crafted search will help you narrow down to resources that are related to your topic. 

Start with Keywords

• Identify a few words to describe who, what, where, when, why, and how. You don't need to answer all of these every time, just use them to get started
• Start your search with general keywords, then gradually get more specific to narrow your search results.
• Skip generic words like "affect," "effect," "impact," "connection," and "role." Stick to the words that are unique to your topic.
• If you need more ideas, try including synonyms for your keywords

Example:

Research interest: How does listening to different music genres affect a person's mood?

Keywords: "music," "genre," "mood," "emotion"

Build Your Search

• Put key phrases in quotation marks
• Link your keywords using boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT.
  • Use AND to return results with both keywords (fewer results)
  • Use OR to return results with one of the two keywords (more results)
  • Use NOT to eliminate results that are not relevant to your search (fewer results)
• Use parentheses to group keywords together

Example:

Search #1 (50,600+ results): music AND mood 

Search #2 (160+ results): "music genre" AND mood

Search #3 (1,100+ results): "music genre" AND (mood OR emotion)

Refine Your Search

Use the checkboxes to narrow your search results to the types of resources that you are looking for. Looking for scholarly or peer-reviewed resources? Check the boxes to limit your search results. You can also limit your search results to only items with full text online, or to the library catalog to view our books and e-books more easily. Need more search results? Use add results from beyond your library's collection to see other materials, then use our other borrowing options to request materials from other libraries.

Other refinement options include:

• Content type -- limit to specific types of resources, such as newspaper articles, books, journal articles, streaming audio, and more.
• Publication date -- limit your results to items published in the last 1 year, 3 years, 10 years, or your own custom range.
• Discipline -- limit your results to publications in a particular field, such as music, pscyhology, biology, engineering, or history.
• Subject terms -- limit your results to specific topics. These are even more specific than disciplines. You can also look at the subject terms list of one search to get ideas for a new search.

Not sure where to start? Break your research topic down into three or four words. Consider the specific time or place that you might be interested in. For example:

• Interested in music from a particular place? Try using city names, countries, regions, or even a category of places.
  • Music in Detroit
  • Music in the Middle East
  • Music in Urban Schools
• Want to learn about a specific style or genre? Consider different locations or time periods.
  • Gospel music in the 1960s
  • New Orleans jazz
  • Women in 19th-century music
• Curious about how music interacts with other parts of our lives? Mix and match different subjects together.
  • Music in advertising
  • Protest music in the United States
  • Music's influence on emotions

Still need help? Reach out to the library, visit the Library Research Center (located on the first floor of the library), or set up an appointment to get help from a librarian.