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Media Studies

This guide is an introduction to conducting research related to media studies.

Getting Started: Music Research

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Suggested Search Terms:

  • music
  • name of the artist
  • name of the record label
  • name of the work (song, album, EP, etc.)
  • genre (pop, rock, R&B, country, rap, folk, alternative, jazz, etc.)
  • words that describe an issue/theme (e.g. gender, women, power, race, racism, stereotypes, culture, diversity, etc).
  • formats (vinyl, streaming, digital, CD, etc.) 
  • history
  • criticism
  • interpretation
  • music industry
  • sound recordings
  • production
  • music technology

Call Numbers:

  • Books beginning with the call number M have to do with Music and Books on Music.

Online Resources

Selection of Books on Music

The Oxford Companion to Music
The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture
A Little History of Music
50 Years of Rolling Stone: The Music, Politics and People That Shaped Our Culture
The Digital Evolution of Live Music
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
Modern Records, Maverick Methods: Technology and Process in Popular Music Record Production 1978-2000
Recording Analysis: How the Record Shapes the Song