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MUS 160 -- Desert Vista -- Popular Music in America: Find Articles

Top Article Databases

Special Search Strategy

Truncation: *

  • The asterisk * is a common symbol used to represent any number of letters at the ends of words

  • Helps find singulars, plurals, and variant endings of words

  • Example: docu* finds documents, document, documentation, documented

Limiters:

  • Most databases let you limit search results. Some limiters include:

    • Language  

    • Publication type..such as Peer-Reviewed or Scholarly Journals.

    • Date of Publication

Phrases: " "

  • Enclose phrases in quotation marks when searching the Web or most databases

  • Phrase searching in individual databases may vary. 

  • Example: "African music"

  • Example: "rock and roll music"

Print Journals

Keyword Searching

State Your Topic as a Question:

  • For example, if you are interested in finding out about popular music in another country, phrase your question: "What music is popular in London today?"
  • Identify the Keywords in your question. Here they are "popular music" and "London."

Too Much Information? 

  • If you are finding too many sources, narrow your topic by using the "and" operator.

For example: "popular music" and London

Too Little Information?

  • You may need to broaden your topic or perhaps select a different one. Broaden your topic by linking similar words with the "or" operator.