MUEP350 : General Music Methods II
Your assignment is to create a research presentation on a topic related to a current trend, issue or research in elementary music education.Choosing a Topic
The first place to consult is your syllabus. Any of the weekly topics outlined in the course syllabus may qualify.Also consult your class lecture notes and examine your own personal interests.
Explore current "hot" topics in Music Education. What have you read about, heard about, experienced? A good way to get an overview of current topics is to browse recent issues of print music education journals, found on Level A of the Mudd Library. Some examples are:
- Journal of Research in Music Education, most recent issuse vol.53, no.2 (Summer, 2005)
- Music Educators Journal, most recent issue vol.92, no.3 (January, 2006)
- American String Teacher, most recent issue vol.55, no.4(November, 2005)
Music education periodicals can be found in LUCIA, the library's online catalog by selecting Journal titles from the pull-down "Search..." menu at the top of the page and using the Subject Keywords music instruction.
LUCIA can also be used to explore books. Try:
- early childhood music as Subject Keywords
- Subject begins with... music study and teaching early childhood
- Subject begins with... school music study and teaching
- other terms combine as Keyword anywhere: music, pedagogy, children, teaching, multiculturalism (or multicultur? or cross-cultural) in any combination or as an exact phrase in quotes: "music pedagogy"
As you consult these sources, be sure to keep track of the journals, books and web sites you have looked at. They may come in handy when you begin your research.
The MENC web site has a page titled: "Where We Stand",
including a section on "Current Issues in Music Education."
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Background Reading
Once you have chosen a preliminary topic, you need to do some background reading. This is to familiarize yourself with the topic and terminology associated with it. This will allow you to compile a list of search terms to use when doing you research. Encyclopedias and books on your subject are good places to gather this information. Note: encyclopedias themselves are not valid sources for your bibliography. Use them as a jumping-off point.Go back to LUCIA. Begin with terms you think describe your topic and use those as a Keyword anywhere search. If you find books that seem to be helpful, look at the description of those books in LUCIA and see what subject terms are used. Try another LUCIA search using those terms.
Grove Music Online has full-text searching capability. Find an article that
contains your search terms, such as computers and music and education. Or you can browse the paper Grove, looking for
entries on Music Education, Kodály, etc.
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Narrow or Refine a Topic
Consult with your professor who will have good ideas on how to proceed next.Search the journal literature using electronic periodical indexes, databases and indexes:
- ERIC, accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. The Educational Resource Information Center, provides access to education literature and resources
- RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. The first source for finding scholarly articles in music periodicals
- Music Therapy Today, a quarterly journal examining music as therapy
- EbscoHost, accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. Several databases, some of which include full text, through which ERIC and RILM can be accessed
- The Music Index Online, accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. Indexes both scholarly and popular music related periodicals from 1979-2006
- The Music Index (paper), in the Reference area, vol. 1-49 (1949-1997)
- Update: The Applications of Research in Music Education, searchable electronic journal, accessible via LUCIA
- PsychInfo,accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. searches all PsycINFO journal, book and chapter records from 1887 to present
- PsychArticles,accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. Searches the full text of journals published by the American Psychological Association
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Identify Sources
Now that you've settled on a topic and have surveyed the literature to make sure enough has been written on your subject, you can begin identifying sources to use for your research. In preceding steps you will have encountered some good sources and will have recorded them (!!) Using your notes, revisit those sources. Locate and read the articles, books and web sites you found.LUCIA will lead you to reference books, circulating books, scores, and sound recordings. and will tell you if the library owns the periodical titles which contain the articles you need.
Periodical indexes (see above) will lead you to citations of articles in periodicals, and sometimes full text. If the index does not deliver the full text to you electronically, follow these steps to find and read the articles:
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Make a note of the article's complete citation:
- author
- title
- source (journal name)
- volume, number and date
- pages
The Web may be used as a resource, but be very particular in evaluating the authors of the sites you find. See Evaluating Internet Resources.
Use the Google Advanced Search to limit your results to an .edu or .org site. Google Uncle Sam will limit you search to all government sites.
Other sites for current news, although not always scholarly:
- Lexis Nexis Academic Universe news search. Accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. Can be limited by date, region and publication, and includes today's news.
- Newspapers from ProQuest. Accessed via the Library Research page and the pull-down menu. National, regional and international English-language newspapers. Citations and come full-text. Most date back to the mid-early '90's and some to the mid-early '80's. All are current as of today.
Compile Bibliography
Your bibliography (list of sources used in your presentation) will consist of at least:- 2 periodicals, one print and one electronic
- 2 electronic sources
- 2 books (not dictionaries or encyclopedias)
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Links to Library Services and Information:
- Circulation: The Circulation desk is where you check out materials from the library. Remember to bring your Lawrence ID; you can't check out anything without it.
- Electronic reserves: Contain digital copies of course reserves, both text and audio, placed on reserve by the faculty. These may be viewed or listened to only on campus.
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Reserves:
A portal for locating both digital reserves and items on the shelves in the Reserve area next to the Circulation desk.
Other links of interest:
- Lawrentian Library Lingo: learn to speak Muddish in one hour
- Glossary of Library Terms: general definitions as well as information specific to the Lawrence library.
- Online Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary: with pronunciations.
- Reference Conference Request Form: you can use this to make an appointment to meet with a reference librarian.
- Virtual Library Tour: a list of important locations in the library with maps and pictures.
As always, if you have any questions be sure to ask a Reference Librarian.
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Definitions of terms and abbreviations:
Ref. = Reference collection, first floor
RRef.= Ready reference, shelves behind the reference desk
Periodicals = Current issues; Level A
Periodical Back Files = Level A
GovDoc = U.S. Government Documents, second floor
Reference Indexes = Alphabetically arranged at the end of the reference collection
Microform Area = Reading room east of the reference desk, near microform drawers
q. = Oversized books and performance size scores: interfiled in reference and scores; at end of classes in other collections
[CD] = Displays before the call number: a compact disc, first floor Media Center
[LP] = Displays before the call number: an LP, or long-playing recording, a 33 1/3 rpm, 12" vinyl disc, first floor, Media Center
[DVD] = Displays before the call number: a DVD, first floor, Media Center
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