Music History I: Assignment : Videos!

These are videos for you to view prior to coming to the class in the library on Sept. 17th.  They go through the beginning stages of research with:

• how to choose a good topic
• selecting search terms
• talking to databases
• refining your topic

Then we look at how to use some of the research tools available in the library:

• Oxford Music Online
• the catalog
• article databases

We finish with how to evaluate resources, including websites:

• the CRAAP test
• the CRAAP test in action

When we meet at the library, you will already have your topic, but not much else.  I want you to be familiar with the methods and resources we will be using during class, which is why you need to view the videos ahead of time!  During class time, we will go through the all the steps together with an live example, so you can see what your research might look like.  Read any notes above the videos before viewing them.

Go back to these at any point in your research to get a refresher!

Total time for all videos:  a little over 30 min.

• Using the right words to find information on your topic is key!  Watch this tutorial before you begin your research.
• Be sure to turn your audio on (or choose the CC icon below).
• To begin simply click on the play icon.

This is a great place to start to find general information on a topic of interest.  It is an encyclopedia.  Here you *can* search broadly (i.e. Stravinsky, or Baroque Opera) to:  read a scholarly, in depth overview article; get ideas for more specific topics; and to find some good resources from the bibliographies.  Remember, you need to actually look at the sources you'll be listing, so you can't just cite a source you see here - you have to track it down!

Since the creation of this database, the New Grove Encyclopedia of Popular Music has also been added to the Grove Music Online product. 

Click here to learn how to find books:

Finding books in the UA catalog

Please note that you get to the University of Akron's catalog by going to the library homepage and clicking on "UAL Catalog" in the big green box marked "Search" 

I will show you how to make it easier to search for books on music during class.

Two notes on this video:

1 - The first part discusses finding books via ZipSearch.  I do not recommend this because using music terms pull up all of the audio as well.  Just pay attention to the part about articles.

2 - The sample topic that they are looking for articles for is not a good topic.  As you just learned, "Global Economics" is way too broad.  As you see, they get thousands of results.  Don't worry about the number of results - look at how they use ZipSearch.  With a better topic, you'll get better results.

He's wrong.  It's *exactly* like "crap" with a short a.  That's what makes it brilliant!