FCC Research Guides: Music: Find Scholarly & News Articles

Suggested Library Databases

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Covers multiple subject including music. TO LIMIT TO SCHOLARLY ARTICLES CHECK THE "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" BOX.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Includes scholarly journals in history, political science, sociology, math, statistics,and other arts, humanities, and social science fields. NOTICE: If this image, , is displayed next to an article, that article is not available to read for free.
New York Times Historical Edition This link opens in a new window
Look up reviews and articles on musicians written in the New York Times from 1851 - 2003.
National Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Look up newspaper articles about music and musicians from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and Christina Science Monitor.

Google Scholar is a discovery tool that helps you find scholarly literature related to your topic.

PROS:

Easy to search
Shows you the impact of an article (how many times it has been cited by other published articles).

CONS:

Not full text (with some exceptions). Unless the article/book is free to the public, you will be asked to pay to view the full text. NEVER PAY FOR AN ARTICLE/BOOK! Ask a librarian for help in locating a full-text copy for you.
Has a limited search scope. You can miss out on other available articles on a topic if you only use Google Scholar.

Interlibrary Loan
If you can't find the article or book you need in FCC's Library, you can request an Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows us to ask other libraries to send specific books or articles found in their collections for you to use.

Scholarly Sources

Picture of the cover of the American Journal of Psychology, which is blue with some yellow lines.

Popular Sources

Picture of the cover of Psychology Today which is a sheep in glasses.

Author: Written by experts (scientists, professors, scholars) in a particular field.
Audience: Written for other experts in a particular field.
Language: Very technical and scholarly. Not easily understood.
Citations: Provide complete and formal citations for sources.
Review Process: Often reviewed by a panel of scholars in the field being studied. (Peer-Reviewed)

Author: Written by professional writers, journalists, or members of the general public.
Audience: Written for the general public.
Language: Basic and clear. Easily understood.
Citations: Provide informal or no citations for sources.
Review Process: Reviewed by an editor or self-published with no formal review process.

REMEMBER: Popular DOES NOT equal bad. Check with your professors to find out which popular sources they accept.