Guides: Music: Finding Journal Articles

Why are journals important?

Journals are important in academic research for a number of reasons:

they are an important forum by which research is published;

they can explore a narrow topic in depth;

they contain current or recent research findings;

they usually go through a process known as peer-review, which means that research findings are checked by other subject experts.

Journals can be found by searching databases with keywords that you have chosen and combined.

Electronic and Print Journal Collections

The library has a large collection of electronic journals which you can search in two ways: our Electronic Journals tab, and Browzine. See below for links and further information. You may also find it helpful to search directly within journal databases. A selection of those recommended for music research are below.

Electronic Journals
Find titles of our electronic journal subscriptions in this list. If you know the name of the journal title, search for it or browse our list of music journal titles by selecting 'Music' from the list in 'Browse Subjects'.
Print Journals
To find our print journal subscriptions, search for them by journal title here, in our catalogue. You can select Journal Title Keyword from the drop-down menu next to the search box to make your search quicker and more precise.

JSTOR Music Enhanced Collection This link opens in a new window
Access to all Music titles from the Arts & Sciences Collections on JSTOR; includes publications from over 15 disciplines and 10 countries.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Indexing and abstracts for more than 200 international periodicals, plus full text for around 160 of the indexed journals.
Coverage: 1864 - current
Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Indexing and abstracts for several hundred international music periodicals from over 20 countries, plus full text for more than 220 of the indexed journals.
Coverage: 1874 - current