Whether you have decided to work on the Option A paper or the Option B paper, you will need to incorporate information from a minimum of three (3) sources.  In reality, this means you will probably review many more than three sources to find the best information to support your thesis statement.  You keep track of the sources you have reviewed by using Noodlebib, an online software program, to create a Working Bibliography.

Here are some hints to keep you organized as you gather your sources:

• Every source you review whether it is a book, article or web site, should be included in your Working Bibliography

• If you find a source with what might be useful information--print it off or copy it. You will then have the information readily available for inclusion in your paper or for instructor review if necessary.

• If you are searching for sources on the library's web page off-campus (home, work, etc.) you will need to supply a username and password in most cases in order to access the databases.  The list of these are available on "My WebCt Page" under Announcements.

Even before You Start Searching...

It's a good idea to set up your Noodlebib account.  In this way you will be ready to start making your Working Bibliography.  Also, it will give you an idea of what information is required for each source.

Noodlebib is an online software product that allows you to produce a Working Bibliography of sources as you collect information for your paper. This assignment must be formatted in MLA (Modern Language Association), an option in Noodlebib.

1. Click on Noodlebib from Electronic databases page

2. Select Noodlebib6 until it asks you for your login information

If you have used Noodlebib before enter your name and password; if not click on "New User? Create a new folder."

3. Fill in boxes with information to create your own folder. Give it a name so you can access it at a later date. This information is saved  on a database for you. You should add each source as you find it.

4. Here is what the Noodlebib page looks like when you start to enter your sources. It will ask you your preferred format (MLA Advanced) and then click on Start a New List.  Enter a name for this list, such as Music 101.  Noodlebib allows you to have many lists--one or more for each class.  These lists will be maintained for one year.

 6. Click on “Start adding citations”  then you  will see  a drop down menu asking what type of citation you wish to use. ex- journal, book, electronic sources, etc. Fill in the information as you are prompted (author, title, etc.)and when you reach the bottom click on "Check for errors" . After changing or amending the necessary information click on "Generate citation".   After adding all the citations click on "Open in Word" on the left margin. Follow prompts to save as an RTF document and then open. This page is what should appear as the last page of your paper. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PRINT THIS PAGE SO THAT YOU WILL HAVE THE DIRECTIONS AT HAND TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING EXERCISE.

Go through the six steps above and create your folder.  Close out Noodlebib and then practice accessing your folder and list again.  You are now ready to begin retrieving sources and adding them to your list or Working Bibliography.

A good place to start your searching.....

To start your search for information on your research topic begin with general and background information by using the Gale Virtual Reference Library of Reference E-Books.

1. Go to Library homepage http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/
2. Click on Electronic databases
3. Click on General Reference Databases.
4. Click on Gale Virtual Reference Library.

This is what you should see:

Numerous articles dealing with Beethoven will be retrieved from various sources included in this electronic book database.  As you peruse the articles on your composer, you will note that some will be more relevant to this assignment than others.  Those that seem to have relevant information should be included on your Working Bibliography.

 Two other biographical databases may assist you in gathering information:

• Biography Resource Center

• American National Biography (if your composer is an American)

To access these databases:

1.  Go to library homepage  http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/
2.  Click on Electronic Databases
3.  Click on General Reference Databases 
4.  Click on specific database to be searched
5.  Type in appropriate username and password (if searching off-campus)

You can also try Grove Music Online

For Your Listening Pleasure...

Chescat, the library's online catalog, indexes books, CDs and DVDs that  are owned by the library.  Resources on many of the composers and their works studied in Music 101 can be borrowed.  If you are unable to come to campus you can complete a Request for Materials form and submit it to the library.  Materials will either be sent to you directly or picked up at your local library or the Cambridge Center.

Classical Music Library is also available through the Library's Electronic Databases page.  This very large database has over 50,000 recordings of music written from the earliest times to fairly contemporary times. 

Other Useful Databases...

Academic Search Premier  on EbscoHost and Proquest , both very large periodical databases, will provide background information for musical genres, composers, musicians, etc. Use search strategies such as AND to combine terms and quotations to find an exact name or phrase in order to narrow your search and retrieve the most relevant articles.

Newspaper Database for information on performances, etc.

To find information about your composers, their works, or specific performances you should search the New York Times Historical Newspapers database. It will give reviews and help you to see how the person or composition was received by the music world.

This is what you should see when you want to perform a Basic Search in this database.

 

1. From the Basic Search click on More Search options.

2. Drop down menu for Document Type and select Article.

3. From this screen place search terms in search box and link them with AND

 

Click on Search button and your results should appear in chronological order. After reading the articles you decide which have information you may want to include in your paper. You must find information in these articles which support your research topic and ultimately demonstrates your thesis statement.  PRINT each article so you can refer to it if you decide to include the information in your paper. 

Next use Google to find websites. Google's Advanced Search Screen supports all the search techniques except truncation: BOOLEAN OPERATORS and PHRASE SEARCHING Find results with all of the words = AND with the exact phrase = "quotation marks" with at least one of the words = OR without the words = NOT LIMIT Language since you probably can't read anything but English. Date to web pages updated in the past year so you'll get current information. Domain to exclude all .com sites, so that the documents you retrieve will come from educational institutions, government, or organizations, all tending to be more trustworthy than companies trying to sell you something. FIELD SPECIFICATION Occurrences specifies that your search term appears in the article's Title Text URL Links Anywhere in the page   Not only is the Advanced Search results number smaller than the Simple Search,  the results are better. Smart Searching techniques will retrieve documents more closely aligned with your subject and, if you've limited by Date and Domain--eliminating .coms-- your documents will tend to be of higher quality as well.

 

Search several databases discussed above and retrieve several articles on your topic/composition.  Add the required bibliographical information to your list on Noodlebib.