Step 1: Finding a CITATION to an Article

Let's say you've chosen a research topic (such as the choral music of Igor Stravinsky), and now you need to find related journal articles. You can start by using an online journal index. (An index contains citations that provide author, title, and subject information, plus a listing of the journal's name and volume.) You are also often given an abstract--a brief summary of the article.

The two primary music index/abstract databases to which we subscribe are IIMP (International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text) and RILM Abstracts.

IIMP (International Index to Music Periodicals Full Text) covers a comprehensive range of subject areas in both scholarly and popular music journals, from 1874 to the present. ***Many of the entries provide direct links to full-text online! If this is the case for you, you're in luck (and you won't need to proceed to Step 2).

RILM Abstracts includes citations (with abstracts) for books, chapters in essay collections, dissertations, and other sources in addition to journal articles. Coverage is 1967-present. Note that this database does NOT provide you with the text of the article itself; it only tells you which journal it's in. (See Step 2 below on finding the journals or full-text databases in which the articles may be found.) Tip: If Texas State subscribes to the journal you seek, you will see "Texas State University" in the search result.

Another suggestion: you can access a topic (like Igor Stravinsky) in Grove Music Online. The article you select will have a bibliography section, usually citing several related journal articles.

Step 2: Finding the JOURNAL (print or online) the Article is In

Once you know which journal contains the article you want, you can use the Periodical List database to see whether Texas State has the journal--either in print or electronic form--and it will provide you with a call number to the print journal or a link for electronic access. (Type in the title of the journal you want, not the article title.) This comprehensive, searchable list of periodical titles includes:

• Printed/bound and microform subscriptions (Note that print music and microform periodicals are located on the 3rd floor of the Alkek library, NOT at the Schneider.)
• Electronic journal subscriptions
• Full-text periodicals that are contained within databases to which the university subscribes (such as JSTOR and Project MUSE). Most of the e-journals and full-text databases can be accessed off-campus by students and employees with their TxState usernames and passwords.  And anyone can access them password-free from the public-use computers at the Schneider and Alkek libraries.