MUSL 1670, "Rap and Hip Hop Culture"

This research guide will help you with your research and when writing your Album Analysis: Old School - Golden Era paper on one Hip Hop album released between 1979-1993. I will take you through the research process: gathering information, interpreting materials, and citing your work.

• You will learn to develop a search strategy and keywords for searching.
• You will familiarize yourself with encyclopedias, dictionaries, online databases, and print resources that may help you when writing your research paper.
• And if you need research help at any time, contact me, Kate Linton, Music Librarian for Instruction and Outreach by clicking on the "email me" or "schedule appointment" button on the left-hand side of the page. 

Remember the research process is presented here in steps but should never be considered rigid as you may return to steps along the way.

Select an artist/album or a few that you are considering for this paper and start to gather background information on not just the artist and album but also a brief overview of any socioeconomic, political, cultural, or historical landscapes.

Gathering background information at the beginning of the research can be important. While you can consult Wikipedia and use the footnotes at the bottom of the article to inform where you can search next, you also have access to authoritative encyclopedias, dictionaries, discographies, and representations of those including in our online databases and electronic resources. 

Once you feel you have an understanding of your artist/album as well as the political, cultural, or historical landscapes around the album, narrow down your topic and choose your artist and hip hop album from 1979-1993. 

Use your artists/albums and consider looking at the the following texts:

Online Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Print Encyclopedias & Dictionaries (Wilson Music Library): The Wilson Music Library has print encyclopedias in the reference resources section and the stacks. Our reference materials are in-house use only, and the stacks are available for checkout. Always double check the call number for the location. Use these call number ranges to browse the reference section and stacks for encyclopedias and an example.