1. Tracey Snyder
Assistant Music Librarian
tls224@cornell.edu
Music 2303: Library Research

2. About Scholarly Research
Search several different places for sources
Search several different ways for sources
Be prepared to spend time searching for, selecting, and locating sources
Start searching early; allow time for requesting materials that are already checked out or are not yet owned by Cornell
Ask a librarian or your instructor for help if you are getting stuck or feeling unsure about your results
3. Some Types of Research Tools
Subject encyclopedias (Garland, etc.)
Good starting point for getting background information
Bibliographies (pubd separately, or with encyclopedia entry)
Good starting point for choosing sources
Periodical indexes/literature indexes (RILM, etc.)
Good for discovering other scholarly sources on your topic
Library catalogs
Good for locating known items and discovering related items
4. Todays Session: topicdangdut
Please open four Internet tabs:
Google/Wikipedia
Can be a good place to start; definitely a bad place to stop!
Library Guide (from Blackboard)
Links to various useful tools selected for this class
Library Website
Access to two different library catalog interfaces
Research Databases TBA as the session progresses
Links from Blackboard
5. Googleuse sparingly
Search dangdut
Consult Wikipedia article for overview
Look at list of bibliographical referencesare these scholarly sources? (No, they are articles from magazines and newspapers. These can be of value, but they are not scholarly writings.)
A general Google search is all but useless for scholarly research, but tools like Google Books and Google Scholar have value.
6. Garland Encyclopedia
Access through Library Guide
Major scholarly reference source for topics in world musicuse in place of (or in addition to) Wikipedia
Search dangdut
Scan the bibliography, looking for items that are somewhat recent, and on topic (can be dangdut, or more generally Indonesian popular music)
Look for citations of these items in the context of the entrypress Ctrl+F (or Mac equivalent) to find instances of dangdut
7. Library Catalog
Search title of overall work cited in Garland bibliography (not title of article or chapter) to locate it in the Cornell Library system
Advanced Search works well for known-item searching
Do not rely on library catalog for article-level/chapter-level indexingit is only done sporadically
8. RILM and Music Index
Indexes to the scholarly literature in the field of music
Can be searched separately or simultaneously
Why are these useful?
Article-level/chapter-level indexing
Variety of material types, including books, chapters, articles, dissertations
Detailed subject headings
Abstracts
Search dangdut as general keyword; can also specify to search for term in abstract, subject heading, title, etc.
9. Back to the Library Catalog
Search title of overall work cited in RILM or Music Index (not title of article or chapter) to locate it in the Cornell Library system
Advanced Search works well for known-item searching
Do not rely on library catalog for article-level/chapter-level indexingit is only done sporadically
10. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
Access to the full text of dissertations and theses by music scholars (soon-to-be faculty)
Keep in mind that each of these scholars usually publishes a book based on the dissertation several years latersearch the author in the library catalog to find out if the book has been published yet
Title usually differs somewhat
Content is updated, so prefer the book over the dissertation
11. Library Catalog Again
Try different keyword searches to discover more sources
When you find something promising, look at the subject headings, and use them in a new search (by clicking a subject heading, or by entering subject terms in an Advanced Search by Subject) to find similar items
Also look at the call number, and browse the call number area for similar books
This can only be done in the Classic Catalog interface
Try browsing ML3502.I5 (popular music of Indonesia) in the Classic Catalog
12. In Summary
Expect to see some of the same sources turn up in different placesthats a good thing
Embrace serendipitous discoveries
Think of searching for sources as an iterative process
Find out about it
Find it
Find more like it