Understanding literature reviews: Implications for music therapy

Exploring Music Therapy Research in Preschool Settings that Include Children with Disabilities: A Scoping Review

With an increasing number of developed nations adopting elements of the social model of disability, early childhood intervention practice has evolved to place greater emphasis on an inclusive, ecological, and strength-based framework. Recent music therapy literature seems to align with this shift in policy and demonstrates how family-centered strategies can be promoted in homes. Although music therapy researchers have conducted studies in kindergartens and childcares, which are also fundamental naturalistic settings for children with disabilities, the overall breadth and nature of practice in these settings is unclear and has not been collated. This scoping review aims to identify the key characteristics of music therapy research in preschool settings that include children with disabilities, subsequently identifying key publication details, participants, therapeutic aims, outcome measures, study designs, preschool settings, delivery models, and choice of music therapy methods. A total of 19 peer-reviewed journal articles from 1988 to 2020 met inclusion and exclusion criteria, with more than half of the studies published during the last 15 years. Evaluation of these 19 studies reveals how funding policies and educational systems seem to inherently inform the application of music therapy research in early learning centers. Developmental perspectives and objectivist study designs underpin many of the included sources, with majority of the outcomes demonstrating music therapy's positive impact upon a child's development. Researchers outside of the United States should give greater focus to early childhood and collect data from preschools within their respective countries to broaden awareness on how music therapy can support children with disabilities in naturalistic settings.

A Knowledge Framework for the Philosophical Underpinnings of Research: Implications for Music Therapy

Current music therapy studies suggest great diversity and complexity in research approaches. Authors note the importance of increased clarity in many facets of research reporting. Some authors have also encouraged increased understanding and reporting of the philosophical underpinnings of knowledge generation in research. However, like other social science fields, we appear to have struggled to provide clear frameworks that can address such diverse and complex approaches to research. In this article, I offer one way to resolve such struggles by presenting a re-envisioned version of Michael Crotty's knowledge framework. I seek to meet this purpose through the following objectives: (a) discuss philosophy and its role in research; (b) detail challenges related to understanding and reporting epistemological underpinnings; and (c) present a modified version of Crotty's knowledge framework to promote understanding and reporting, including visuals, brief examples, and resources. I also re-envision the framework to address potential challenges to typologies and to maintain the spirit of Michael Crotty's work. Modifications promote the dynamic and interactive relationship between and within epistemological positions, theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and methods, while also integrating surrounding factors: research question, researcher, context, and participant. I dialogue with related literature on knowledge generation, show how some recent music therapy research engages with the knowledge framework, discuss methodologies and approaches that may not align with the knowledge framework, offer resources for further reference and learning, and describe implications for researchers, research consumers, and the ongoing body of knowledge.