750 words review of two peer-reviewed article

EDUC 100

Review of two primary research articles

Introduction

Music as a way of therapy, according to Kathleen M. Howland on her TED talk How Music Can Heal Our Brain and Heart (2015), has been implemented for centuries. It is an ancient and modern practice and recently, thanks to many technological advancement, music therapy has been conjoined with neuroscience. K. M. Howland explains how this advancement allows, for example, scientists at a university in Boston to use music to asses and potentially provide interventions for dyslexia in children. This paper will discuss two articles related to music therapy; one quantitative and one qualitative.

Summary

Quantitative

The name of the quantitative research article regarding music therapy chosen for the purpose of this assignment is Immediate quantitative effects of recreational music therapy on mood and perceived helpfulness in acute psychiatric inpatients: An exploratory investigation, conducted by Michael J. Silverman and Sara Rosenow (2013). The first assumption made by the authors is that mental illnesses affect the moods of acute care psychiatric inpatients in negative ways and recreational music therapy can treat this issue by affecting the mood of participants positively. One of the arguments presented is that “improved mood could lead to patients being more apt to attend psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic programming, interact with peers and staff, and actively engage in treatment” (2013). Additionally, the authors argue that there is not enough literature regarding this specific concept. The data analyzed was the immediate changes of mood on inpatients after various recreational music therapy interventions. The procedure consisted of a pre- and posttest group-based design with volunteer inpatients, which participated in multiple sessions of ten different intervention models, which were developed in tandem with psychiatrists with the purpose of addressing “social integration and the development and utilization of healthy leisure and coping skills” (2013). The instrument used by the researchers to measure the mood of the inpatients was the Quick Mood Scale, which was primarily developed for the purpose of assessing the side effects of medicine. The results showed positive changes in four of the six mood factors. The largest change from pre- to posttest groups was in relaxed/anxious and friendly/aggressive, and the “only subscale that did not show improvement was clear-headed/confused” (2013).

Qualitative

The name of the qualitative research article regarding music therapy chosen for the purpose of this assignment is Community music therapy in schools: Realigning with the needs of contemporary students, staff and systems, conducted by Katrina Skewes McFerran and Daphne Rickson (2014). At the beginning of the experiment, the researchers make a note about the role of community music therapy (CoMT) for inclusion in education. The purpose of the research article is to provide a framework for contemporary music therapy practice in schools. They explain that community music therapy provides an emphasis in equality and collaboration on school communities comprising of staff and students who have considerably diverse backgrounds and abilities. The article then presents a model of CoMT practiced in New Zealand and Australia. The purpose of this model is, first, to get a feel for the whole school system (not only in the music therapy room). Then, to provide examples of music therapies and experiment with potential programs. Finally, CoMT seeks to establish music in the school culture. The researchers acknowledge that to implement this model, the music therapist should be allowed to respond to emerging needs during the treatment (give the model flexibility). Additionally, action research is also crucial for this model, because reflexive practice allows the correct adaptation of the model to the specific systems in diverse contexts. Moreover, the researchers explain that the model must have an ecological emphasis, and agree that active engagement with school and community systems has required considerable time, effort and fortitude. . The researchers understand that “adopting an ecological perspective requires time out of sessions to focus on collaborating with representatives of the system in order to establish shared agendas and possibilities for action” (2014). This is the biggest limitation that the CoMT approach faces, according to the article. The results of the research article show a successful implementation of the model of CoMT as a means of tackling the subject of collaboration and anti-oppression in the school context.

Review

Quantitative

In my opinion, the limitations of the quantitative are that, because the way of measuring the mood of the patients was through personal reflection, it is hard to be completely certain of the accuracy of the inpatients reports. This is because narrative data can be affected by the inpatients want of making a good impression, commonly influenced by the researchers’ expectations. Additionally, the study measures only immediate change, but not long term change. Fortunately, I do understand that long term change could be hard to measure because of the many factors that could be affecting the mood besides the music therapy interventions. The extensions could include replicas of the experiment in different culture, with other types of inpatients, in different settings and using a broader variety of interventions, in order to address secondary factors that could be affecting the change in mood of the inpatients. Future research may consider using various methods of measuring mood to compare the accuracy of the reports. In my opinion, the importance of this research experiment relies on the value of considering music therapy as an alternative to treatment for psychiatric problems, because of its holistic approach.

Qualitative

In my opinion, one of the bigger limitations of the qualitative research article, which was mentioned by the authors, though briefly explained, is that the CoMT does not focus on individual students. The model has a broader approach to the system, which could be considered too superficial for the specific target they are trying to tackle, which is to develop an inclusive, collaborative environment on schools. Additionally, the researchers also acknowledge that “collaborative projects in schools, particularly those led by students, can have a profound impact on the school system, and have been reported by school teachers as both the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of our recent projects in schools” (2014). Nonetheless, the researchers do not mention what exactly are these challenges, nor explain how to solve them. Furthermore, some extensions that could be applied for this research article are applications of this CoMT model on different contexts and cultures, not only New Zealand and Australia. Additionally, the researchers could extend the model to see what other problems in schools can be addressed with the CoMT approach, besides inclusive, anti-oppressive efforts. On the other hand, the constant referencing of different studies that address similar (yet different) models of music therapy gives the article reliability because it shows that the authors have done sufficient research on the literature already existent on the topic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both articles make good arguments for their specific purposes, however to increase their external validity they could apply the concepts to different cultures in different context to test their hypothesis’ generalizability. On the other hand, both articles provide sufficient arguments for their motivations of conducting their research projects, and then present possible applications of music therapy in different situations, along with the positive outcomes.

Works Cited