Editorial: Research and scholarship in music therapy: a celebration of the 20-year history of the Australian Journal of Music Therapy.

Baker, Felicity

Since its inception in 1990, The Australian Journal of Music Therapy has been the Australian Music Therapy Association's official forum for the dissemination of music therapy research and scholarship. The purpose of research and scholarship is to discover new facts, knowledge and information; develop new interpretations of facts, knowledge or information, or discover new means of applying existing knowledge, and scholarship. It may involve a systematic process of data collection and analysis using predetermined protocols and specified research plans (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), or a scholarly reflection on clinical work taking place during and post client/s' music therapy programs. All contribute to new music therapy knowledge which drives the development and evolution of our profession. This issue aims to celebrate the research and scholarship contained in the previous 20 volumes of The Australian Journal of Music Therapy. At this point, it is important to acknowledge the work of the editors, and the editorial boards that have worked tirelessly over the past 20 years to develop a quality journal now regarded with high esteem in the international music therapy community. In particular, former editors include Sandy Curtis (1990-1992), Helen Efron and Wendy Taylor (1993-1996), Denise Grocke (1997-200l), and Clare O'Callaghan (2002-2005).

To provide an accurate account of the journal's history, I reviewed all of the 85 articles published to date. Each article was analysed according to the categories: authorship; publication genre; and the clinical population/s featured in the article.

A review of articles in AJMT found that a total of 76 different authors had published articles, 20 publishing two or more articles (Table 1). Eleven authors were not music therapists. When examining the clinical populations, the early years were dominated by articles with children with disabilities, adults with disabilities, music medicine and adult psychiatry. More recently, music medicine continues to be of interest but we also have increased reporting on work with aged care, work with healthy adults, child and adolescent oncology/palliative care, neurorehabilitation, and neonates and mother-infant work (Table 2).

The genre of articles over the past 20 years has also been changing. Table 3 shows that perspectives on practice with case vignettes has always been a feature of AJMT articles which is easily explained as Australian clinicians explore and report on new clinical work they are pioneering. More recently, rigorous research designs are increasingly evident including both qualitative and quantitative methods.

This special issue includes articles published by some of the key Australian researchers and clinicians in our field. These authors have contributed significantly to developing research excellence in a specific area and are widely published in AJMT and internationally. First Grocke shares her research history which focuses on mental illness. Grocke is best known for her qualitative research methods, her special interest in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, and her research and clinical experience in mental health. Grocke was responsible for establishing the first recognised music therapy training program in Australia. Grocke is also known to the association from her wearing of several hats including a former editor of AJMT and past president of AMTA and the World Federation of Music Therapy.

O'Callaghan is internationally recognized for her research in the area of oncology and palliative care, also implemented within a qualitative research framework. In this special issue, she outlines her research narrative over her 20 year clinical and research career, but she does this in a very moving way, drawing the reader in to experience her emotional connection to her own research and research participants. O'Callaghan is also known within AMTA as a former editor of AJMT.

Researching the effects of music therapy on neonates has been Shoemark's passion for about as long as I can remember. In her article, she shares her perspectives of reflexive practice and research and illustrates this in her work with neonates. Shoemark has contributed five articles in AJMT since it was first introduced. She has also been an active member of the journal's editorial board. Shoemark is also known to the membership as a former President of AMTA.

Having secured funding of over $300,000 for a music therapy project with spinal patients, Tamplin is fast forging a name for herself as an leading researcher in pioneering clinical field. Originally practicing and researching the voice and verbal output of patients with traumatic brain injury, Tamplin has shifted her focus to examine the verbal output of spinal patients. In her contribution to this special issue, Tamplin details the methodology of this research. Tamplin is a member of the AJMT editorial board and has served a term as AMTA's national treasurer and secretary.

"Sing & Grow" is undoubtedly one of Australian music therapy's greatest success stories, a truly national project employing music therapists in every state. Abad and Williams, supported by a large team of music therapy practitioners, have gained experience in writing grants, lobbying Government, managing a project across states, and researching and publishing on their work. Addressing the needs of at parent-infant dyads, their work has covered different cultural communities (eg. including indigenous and refugee). Their article reflects on the challenges involved in managing a large organization and on the critical issues that lie ahead for future programs.

This celebratory issue of AJMT marks an important milestone for Australian music therapy research and practice.

Felicity Baker, Editor, AJMT

Felicity Baker, PhD RMT

The University of Queensland, Brisbane

Table 1.
List of authors who have published two or more articles
in AJMT 2000-2009.

Author n

Alison Short (Australia/USA) 6
Katrina Skewes/McFerran 5
Helen Shoemark 5
Denise Grocke/Erdonmez 5
Barbara Daveson (Australia/UK) 4
Felicity Baker 4
Vicky Abad 3
Melina Roberts 3
Jane Edwards (Australia/Ireland) 3
Jeanette Kennelly 3

Author n

Simon Gilbertson (Germany/Ireland) 2
Elizabeth Ely 2
Susan Hadley (Australia/USA) 2
Bridgit Hogan 2
Robert Krout 2
Alison Ledger 2
Tony Meadows (USA) 2
Clare O'Callaghan 2
Jeanette Tamplin 2
Tony Wigram (UK) 2

Table 2.
List of clinical populations featured in the articles
in AJMT 2000-2009.

 1990- 1994- 1998-
 1993 1997 2001

adult oncology/palliative care 2 2
adults with disability 2 1
children with disability 4 2 1
music medicine 1 3 1
adult psychiatry 3 1
aged care 1 1
neurorehabilitation/ 1
 neurodisability
healthy adults 2
child/adolescent 2
 oncology/palliative care
neonates
pregnancy, mother-infant 1 1
 interaction

 2002- 2006- Total
 2005 2009

adult oncology/palliative care 2 6
adults with disability 3
children with disability 3 10
music medicine 4 9
adult psychiatry 4
aged care 2 3 7
neurorehabilitation/ 4 5
 /neurodisability
healthy adults 3 2 7
child/adolescent 3 1 6
 oncology/palliative care
neonates 1 1 2
pregnancy, mother-infant 3 5
 interaction

Note: None specified = 12

Music medicine includes references to children in hospital
Children with disability includes emotional difficulties and ASD

Table 3.
Genres of articles in AJMT 1990-2009.

 1990- 1994- 1998- 2002- 2006-
 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009

literature review 4 1 1
perspectives on 6 8 8 5 6
 practice with case
 vignettes
survey research 2 2 2
essay 4 1 3 6 2
case study 3 2
experimental 2 1 1 2 3
phemonological 2
historical 1
content analysis 3 1
Grounded theory 1 2
Mixed methods 1