LibGuides: Music Research Guide: Articles

Discover@UMSL

The library's main search tool for books, articles, and more. It searches UMSL's materials and many of our online databases at the same time.

Option 1: Basic Keyword Search

Type in your search terms.
If relevant, select the Peer Reviewed articles only box.
Click Search.
Under "Limit By Source Type" (on the left side of the screen), select Academic Journals (for scholarly articles), News, or Magazines (you can select more than one).

Option 2: Advanced Search

Select Advanced Search.
Type your terms into the search bar(s).
Select your search fields from the drop-down menus (e.g., Title or Author).
Adjust any relevant limiters below the search bars (e.g., Peer Reviewed or Publication Date).
Click Search.
Under "Limit By Source Type" (on the left side of the screen), select Academic Journals (for scholarly articles), News, or Magazines (you can select more than one).

Databases

UMSL subscribes to many databases that offer scholarly, news, and magazine articles. These databases allow you to do more advanced searches and/or target collections in your subject area.

We subscribe to multiple databases that offer music research and related resources. Get started with the list below or visit our A-Z Database List.

JSTOR
Articles, books, and primary sources in many disciplines including Music. Articles are usually 3-5 years old.

Journal Collections
Arts & Sciences I – XV
Life Sciences
Business IV
Hebrew Journals
Ireland
Public Health
Lives of Literature

Reports & Research
Security Studies
Sustainability

Primary Sources
19th Century British Pamphlets (Bristol Selected Pamphlets, Cowen Tracts, Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection, Hume Tracts, Knowsley Pamphlet Collection, LSE Selected Pamphlets, Manchester Selected Pamphlets, Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection)
World Heritage Sites: Africa (Reference)
Struggle for Freedom: Southern Africa (Reference)
Global Plants (Reference)
Music Index
Cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts of articles about music, musicians, and the music industry for more than 475 periodicals, as well as book reviews, obituaries, news, and selective coverage for more than 230 periodicals.
Academic Search Complete
Full-text articles in addition to indexing and abstracts for journals, monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. in many disciplines including Music.

The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full-text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.

This resource is partially funded by MOREnet, the Missouri Research and Education Network.

Open Music Library
Curated by a community of music scholars, students, teachers and librarians, the Open Music Library
brings together peer-reviewed journal articles, books and music scores from the world’s digital collections.

Google Scholar

Can I use Google Scholar for academic research?

The short answer is yes! You can use Google Scholar to conduct scholarly research. However, there are situations in which a library database will be more efficient and useful for you.

How does Google Scholar compare to a library database?

May or may not provide you access to the full text. Look on the right side of the screen for an UMSL Libraries link or try the title in Discover@UMSL.
Does not search materials in a particular discipline.
No easy way to sort results.
Fewer options to narrow your search with limiters.
Misses out on print materials.

Google Scholar may still provide you with valuable results, but we recommend also utilizing the library's resources to support your research.