Research Methodology

Database Checklist
Name of Database:
Students Name:

Oxford Music Online

Boguslawa Cwikla

Access:
Where and how can I find it?
- Do I need to log in with my personal

- via the university database library

(MetaLib)
- no
- VPN login needed

account?
- Do I need to use VPN from home?

The online version of Colin Larkin's

critically acclaimed 10-volume The
What contents does the database cover?
Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th Edition
(e.g. list of journals, date range of journals, which is available by annual subscription through
Oxford Music Online.
periods/topics/authors are covered? etc.)
Featuring a broad musical scope covering
popular music of all genres and periods from
1900 to the present day, including jazz,
country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals,
In what form are the contents offered? (e.g.
and world music, the Encyclopedia also
bibliographical records, abstracts, full text, etc.)
offers thousands of additional entries
covering popular music genres, trends, styles,
record labels, venues, and music festivals.
Key dates, biographies, and further reading
are provided for artists covered, along with
complete discographies that include record
labels, release dates, and a 5-star album
rating system.
Full text
- yes: help tab
User Support:
Contents:

Does the database provide information about how

it should be used? (e.g. help pages, tutorials,
other help features)

Planning a search:

no

Does the database help you to plan your

research? (e.g. by offering a thesaurus)

Searches:

Are advanced searches possible?

Can you use field search (e.g. author,

Yes, e.g. search on biography using details

such as occupation, nationality, dates of birth
or death; bibliography search: finds
publications by author/editor and/or year of
publication

Research Methodology

title, full text, etc.)

Can you use:

Boolean operators (and/or/not)

truncation (symbol?)

wildcards (symbol?)

Does the database offer further

Discographies and Compilations Search:

searches on such details as label, year of
release, or star rating; videographies search:
searches on such details as artist, label, and/or
year of release
-Boolean operators: AND, OR,NOT, NEAR;
nesting queries using parentheses, e.g.
(sea OR ocean) AND land

Yes: advanced research, searching for specific

title or topic
suggestions on narrowing down your *look for info around the topic: "see
also/group"
results?

After your search:

What can you do with your results? Are the following features available:
Search History

Yes

x No

combine searches

x Yes

No

e-mail and/or save

x Yes

No

Yes

x No

individual records

use SFX to locate

How?
You can email a link to the search results for the
particular phrase, or you can print the page

items in libraries or in
other e-resources

Personal response and comments:

Is the database useful for literature/cultural
studies? Why? Why not?

Is it useful for your own topic?

Would you recommend the database to your

colleagues? Why? Why not?

- it provides general information; sometimes

too general; it could be useful to look for
related data, e.g. bands playing similar music
etc.
- it could be useful as far as planning the
scope of the research for the project is
concerned; still some entries are too brief
Yes: too look for some general biographies,
discography, compilations etc; many
hyperlinks can redirect you to other entries
no use for the visual, e.g. photos, and audio
material (music files, music videos), thus if
you're looking for some field specific terms,
e.g., you'll get the description but you won't
be able to listen to it. This, then, maybe quite
problematic when you research a music
related topic.

Research Methodology
Further comments:
it could be used as a resource to either supplement or corroborate previous research.