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Music Education

Resources for undergraduates and graduate students pursuing degrees in Music Education

Find Articles

Scholarly articles, like books, are textual sources which help you interpret the scores and performances you are studying. They often contain the newest research and presume an expert knowledge which can demand that you consult and compare other perspectives to gain full context. Most articles initially appear within journals, but we tend to access them through online databases. On this page, learn how to find articles and evaluate their authority.

Searching Online Databases

University Libraries provides access to nearly 300 online databases which you can use to find scholarly articles and research studies. Different databases are geared toward different disciplines. Find a complete list at the A-Z Databases page at the Libraries website. There are also databases specific to Fine and Performing Arts, Education, and Psychology which can be selected through the subject filter.

Recommended Databases for Music Education:

Many journals can be found in multiple online databases while others are in-print at Bracken Library. Click here for an extensive list of journals about music education, including online and physical locations. You can also download the browser extension LibKey Nomad to eliminate paywalls you might encounter, if you find an article on Google, Wikipedia, or a publisher's website.

Coming soon

Similar to RILM Abstracts, Music Index is another database specific to music and designed to provide citations and abstracts versus full text. Its coverage is somewhat different from RILM Abstracts, so be sure to search both databases when doing intensive research. In fact, because both databases are provided by EBSCOhost, you can search RILM Abstracts and Music Index simultaneously by clicking the name of the database above the search bar.

Music Index began as a print publication, and, to find articles published before 1970, you must consult the print copies (call number: ML118 .M8) held in Music Reference at Bracken Library. Music Index, unlike RILM, does not index books, but it does include many non-scholarly publications like music magazines and trade publications, which are excluded from RILM. This makes Music Index ideal for finding concert reviews, interviews, and composer obituaries. It is also a great resource when researching music education, music performance, and jazz.

In addition to specialized databases like RILM Abstracts and Music Index, you can also use OneSearch to find scholarly articles. OneSearch returns results in all formats and across many disciplines, so be sure to use filters to narrow your results. To search specifically for articles, select the filter "Journal Article" under Content Type on the Refine Pane to the left side of your screen. You can also select the filter "music" under Discipline, if your results are still too broad or too numerous. Or, consider using Advanced Search and multiple keywords to strengthen your search.

The list of results offers citation information as well as access options. The article title and author name appear first followed by the title of the journal in which the article appears, such as Journal of the American Musicological Society, Popular Music, or Perspectives of New Music. The date of publication, volume number, and issue number are also included here. You can click on buttons like "Article Page," "Full Text Online," or "PDF" to access the text of articles. Meanwhile, options like "Browse Journal," "Cited by," and "Cites" can be useful in locating related works.

Other filters toward the top of the Refine Pane can also be useful. Select "Full Text Online" and/or "Open Access" to narrow results to those you can access immediately. Select "Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed" to eliminate non-scholarly results, although—be careful—you might inadvertently eliminate scholarly results that are not tagged as such. For more information about OneSearch, see the research guide https://bsu.libguides.com/onesearch, or feel free to ask any Libraries staff member for help.

Search Tips and Tricks

The following are some tips and tricks you may wish to keep in mind when using databases:

>> Search a Specific Publication Often it is desirable to search within a specific publication, such as the Music Educators Journal (MEJ). On EBSCOhost databases, this can be accomplished by finding the journal itself and clicking "search within this publication." On JSTOR, you can launch an Advanced Search and then find the specific journal under "Journal Filter" to narrow results by discipline or publication.

>> Journal Browse  Browse lets you see every article published in a particular journal volume or issue, almost as if you were looking at the print journal from the stacks. Again, find the specific publication, such as the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), and click on "All Issues and Articles" (EBSCO) or "All Issues" (JSTOR). Then simply select the year, volume, or issue of interest.

>> Multiple Databases  Databases that are subscribed through EBSCOhost may be searched simultaneously. Just start with one database and then click on its title to select more databases. EBSCO databases include RILM Abstracts, Music Index, Academic Search Elite, ERIC, APA PsycInfo, and others.

>> Plan Ahead  After finding an article, plan to download a PDF or add a citation to a folder within the database in case your next search does not yield the same results. On EBSCO databases, citations can be added to a folder by creating a personal login and clicking the folder icon to the right of the article title. You can also setup email alerts for new items that match your search criteria by clicking the Share button.

>> Permalinks  Finally, it's always best practice to use a permalink within citations. A permalink, also called a DOI or PURL, is different from the regular URL in the search bar. It is a "permanent link" in that every time anyone clicks that link, it should take them back to the same page. A regular URL might change depending on your search criteria. Find the permalink by clicking on the chain icon on EBSCO or OneSearch. On JSTOR, it is the link which includes jstor.org/stable and a set of numbers.

How to Tell if a Journal is Scholarly

Scholarly or peer-reviewed journals share these characteristics:

Scholars write the articles:

  • The author has a PhD or another graduate-level degree.
  • The author is an expert in the field.
  • The author is usually a university professor.

Scholars decide which articles are published:

  • The main editor is a scholar in the same field.
  • There is a panel of editors (the "peers" who review the articles). They are usually called an "editorial board." They are also experts in the same field.
  • Authors submit their articles to the editorial board, which decides if the articles are appropriate for the journal.

Scholars are cited in the articles:

  • The article has a bibliography and footnotes or end-notes
  • Authors of the articles and books in the bibliography are scholars.
  • The article may refer to the fellow researchers' theories or findings in the body of the article.

Other features:

  • The journal is published by an association.
  • The word "journal" is in the title.
  • Advertising is minimal, usually book publishers or upcoming scholarly events.
  • Book reviews are lengthy, often with footnotes or end-notes.

For examples and a comparative chart, see Popular Literature vs. Scholarly Articles from Rutgers University. Also see the guide Evaluating Information Sources by Ball State University Libraries for further considerations.

Interlibrary Loan

Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.