MUCT 602: ONLINE SOURCES November 5, 2007

Part 1: Subscription Sources The BGSU Libraries have a number of subscriptions. These resources are carefully reviewed before purchase; you should be able to trust their authority, but read everything with a critical eye.

Part 1: Subscription Sources Full-text: you can access their complete contents via computer. Indexes: you can find citations to articles in periodicals (magazines and journals) or collections of articles. Indexes provide citations only.

Part 1: Subscription Sources Use of all BGSU subscription sources is governed by license agreements. These license agreements determine: Number of simultaneous users On-campus vs. off-campus use Library’s right to archive material. Off-campus use must be authenticated with a user name and password.

Part 1: Subscription Sources The primary subscription services for Music are listed on the Music Library’s page, Search for Articles, Listen Online, and More.Search for Articles, Listen Online, and More Other indexes and databases related to music can be found on the University Libraries’ page for research databases in “Arts & Music.”Arts & Music

Part 2: Free Sources All information is not created equally. The democratic nature of the Internet creates an environment of freedom in which any idea or agenda can be disseminated, but not all of this information is valid for scholarly uses. All information needs to be evaluated for accuracy, but the mutable nature of information on the Internet demands a higher commitment to checking the authority of a work than do most print resources.

Part 2: Free Sources Things to consider when evaluating a work’s authority and accuracy: Author What else has that person written? Does the site provide biographical information and credentials for the author? Do other writers on the topic cite this author? Does the author seem to take a broad view of the topic or is he or she intent on promoting a specific agenda? Publisher Is the work authored and/or hosted by an organization with recognized authority on the topic?

Part 2: Free Sources Things to consider when evaluating a work’s authority and accuracy: Accuracy Are the research methodologies described? Is there a bibliography? Point of View Is the site clearly promoting a product or agenda? Are there multiple viewpoints cited? Does the article refer to other literature on the topic?

Part 2: Free Sources Things to consider when evaluating a work’s authority and accuracy: Currency Is the information current and does it includes references to recent literature. Is the article or site dated? Search engine functionality: How does the search engine index sites? How does the search engine rank results?

Part 2: Free Sources Evaluation tools: BGSU Libraries, Web Wizard: Your Guide to Becoming an Effective Web Searcher: webwizard/evaluate.html webwizard/evaluate.html Johns’ Hopkins University Libraries, Evaluating Information Found on the Internet: evaluating/ evaluating/ Virginia Tech University Libraries, Evaluating Internet Information: ating.html ating.html

Part 2: Free Sources Search Engines: Google Allows searching a wide variety of data. Ranks results by number of links to that document; obscure information stays obscure. Search algorithm is proprietary and changes frequently, so we cannot know exactly how it indexes.

Part 2: Free Sources Google Scholar Allows searching across databases to which BGSU subscribes. Returns results in different order than individual databases will; again, Google’s proprietary nature means this is a mystery to us. Google says, “Google Scholar aims to sort articles the way researchers do, weighing the full text of each article, the author, the publication in which the article appears, and how often the piece has been cited in other scholarly literature. The most relevant results will always appear on the first page.”

Part 2: Free Sources Wikipedia Collaborative wiki. Anybody can create or edit an article, with a few exceptions. Some people adopt topics, meaning they watch them regularly and update them when they see mistakes. Common wisdom is that the group will ferret out mistakes. Authority is constantly changing and thereby questionable. This SHOULD NOT be used as a source in an academic situation unless you are researching herd mentality, the efficiency of social networking for establishing valid information, or something similar.

Part 2: Free Sources Iowa Public Radio’s Pronouncing Dictionary of Music and MusiciansPronouncing Dictionary of Music and Musicians Public Domain Music Washington University’s Necrology SiteNecrology Site Harvard’s Online Resources for Music Scholars: Sheet Music and Multi- Media ResourcesOnline Resources for Music Scholars: Sheet Music and Multi- Media Resources