Reference Sources

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

This chapter will introduce some reference sources and terms that are specific to music research. “Reference sources” are books (or online resources) that are not meant to be read cover-to-cover, but for consultation on specific details or facts. They generally do not present new research or analysis; instead, they compile or summarize existing information and scholarship. For this reason, most reference sources, like dictionaries and encyclopedias, are considered “tertiary sources,” to differentiate them from “secondary sources,” which provide an original scholarly analysis or commentary. Reference sources can also include bibliographies, atlases, language dictionaries, and online collections of data. Although reference sources can seem basic or dry, they can be important starting places for exploring a new topic, identifying potential areas for research, and locating primary and secondary sources.

While reference sources are tertiary sources, it’s important to remember that they are works of scholarship produced by people: they can be very labor intensive, and they also have the potential to misrepresent information, reveal biases of their creators, include errors, or just disagree on information. Compilers of reference sources decide what entries are significant enough to include, how to represent scholarly debates, and how users will navigate the information. Wikipedia is also a reference source– hence their rule against including original research– but the ability of anyone with a computer to create and change entries with only informal oversight means the potential for these issues is even greater, so it should be used only with caution. On the other hand, the same democratic characteristics that make Wikipedia sometimes inaccurate can help offset biases inherent in academic sources.

There are many general reference sources that are useful for music research. The library (and the internet generally) includes many types of reference sources of various levels and areas of focus. One good starting point is the Reference Universe search, which searches across many online reference sources the UWM Libraries have access to. Because it allows you to search many books simultaneously, you’ll get multiple results for a topic. Make sure to pay attention to what source you’re actually using. Most non-specialist resources will be most useful in checking basic dates or facts. For more in-depth but still reference-level research, you’ll want to look for other resources such as Grove Music Online.