Introduction
Handbooks, guides, and bibliographies about specific composers, genres, or instruments can be excellent tools for your research!
What are they?
- Thorough and comprehensive lists of the major scholarship about a specific topic.
Why use them?
- To help direct your reading and research so you know what's already been published about your topic.
- Remember: Although they are a great place to start, it is important to check when they were published because they may not be up to date on the most current research and scholarship.
Finding Handbooks & Guides Through the Library
Oxford Bibliographies (linked below) is a great online tool that collects peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on a variety of topics. Searching here to see what has been written about the topic you're researching is a great way to gather background information and decide what sources to read next.
- Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new windowOffers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. There are at least 50 specific topical bibliographies in each subject area. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable. Contains a My OBO function that allows users to create personalized bibliographies of individual citations from different bibliographies.
You can also find handbooks, guides, and annotated bibliographies on a variety of topics through the library catalog. One particularly good series is Routledge Music Bibliographies (linked below), which has research guides on specific composers, musical styles, and instruments.
You can search for similar materials in the Library catalog by searching Routledge Music Bibliographies or searching for your topic AND "research guide", "bibliography", or "handbook" to find additional materials.