suggestedguidelinesforconductingmusictherapy.docVIP

Suggested Guidelines for Conducting Music Therapy Literature Reviews an Introduction to Systematic Reviews in Music Therapy This paper describes the kinds of literature reviews found in music therapy writings and offers ideas for authors preparing literature reviews related to their clinical practice and research. It includes a description of systematic review and lists samples of literature reviews and systematic reviews conducted in music therapy. What is a Literature Review? A literature review is an “explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesising the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and practitioners” (Fink, 2005, p. 3) related to a specified area of inquiry. In music therapy a literature review can be found in: (a) a section within a research paper which informs the research conducted; (b) a stand-alone narrative summary of relevant research and/or theory (see Table 1); or (c) a systematic synthesis of research findings (also called a systematic review) to explain a music therapy phenomenon, including the effects of music therapy interventions, and to inform future research. Table 1. Sample of Narrative Summary Literature Reviews in Music Therapy Accordino, R., Comer, R., Heller, W. B. (2007). Searching for musics potential: A critical examination of research on music therapy with individuals with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 1(1), 101-115. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2006.08.002 Brotons, M., Koger, S. M., Pickett-Cooper, P. (1997). Music and dementias: A review of literature. Journal of Music Therapy, 34(4), 204-245. Hilliard, R. E. (2005). Music therapy in hospice and palliative care: a review of the empirical data. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2(2), 173-178. doi: 10.1093/ecam/neh076 Lipe, A. W. (2002). Beyond therapy: Music, spirituality, and health in human experience: A review of literature. Journal of Music Therapy, 39(3), 209