Techniques & Research in Music Education

Techniques & Research in Music Education Class 1 Introduction Types of Research Project Overview Ethics in Research

Introductions • Introductions • Call me Phil • Millikin, NU, UofI • Calvin 13 yrs. • Moving to ISU in the fall • School Bands 14 yrs. • Who are You? • Syllabus – please read • Changes as needed • Laptops? • www.pmhmusic.weebly.com

Research - Course Intro • Personal experience w/ research • No one went into music ed. b/c they love research! • As a young teacher, I was not interested • Your prior experience? • Best way to learn it is to read it and do it! • No readings on statistics or methodology • We use stats to study music education • At this point research is my focus (historical and quantitative) • Course moves fast! PLEASE ask questions, esp. when something is unclear. [May be something I don’t know. I will find out].

Hypothetical Situation • You take a new HS position. The retention rate from the MS program has steadily declined over the past 10 years. You have decided to research the problem and determine possible solutions. • Come up with a research plan that will yield as much information as possible.

Research: What it is… • Systematic mode of inquiry based on the scientific method: • Define the question • Gather information and resources (observe – Lit rev.) • Form hypothesis (theory about what will happen) • Perform experiment/study and collect data • Analyze data • Interpret data and draw conclusions. Accept or reject hypothesis & perhaps form new hypotheses • Publish results (dissemination) • Retest (frequently done by other scientists-replication) • BEST PRACTICE

Definition (Phelps, et. al, 2005) • The identification and isolation of a problem into a workable plan; the implementation of that plan to collect the data needed; and the synthesis, interpretation, and presentation of the collected information into some format which readily can be made available to others.

Collective Research (Consensus) • A gradual accumulation and synthesis of knowledge that leads to the discovery of truth • Nothing is really proven • Research is ongoing • Many studies seem irrelevant until connected w/ other research. Examples: [next slide]

Examples of “Abstract” Topics? • Burnsed, V. (2001). Differences in preference for subtle dynamic nuance between conductors, middle school students, and elementary school students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 49, 49-56. • Darrow, A., Haack, P., & Kuribayashi, F. (1987). Descriptors and preferences for Eastern and Western musics by Japanese and American nonmusic majors. Journal of Research in Music Education, 35, 237-48. • Furman, C. E., & Duke, R. A. (1988). Effect of majority consensus on preferences for recorded orchestral and popular music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 36, 220-31. • LeBlanc, A., & Sherrill, C. (1986). Effect of vocal vibrato and performers sex on children's music preference. Journal of Research in Music Education, 34, 222-37. • Morrison, S. J. (1998). A comparison of preference responses of white and African-American students to musical versus musical/visual stimuli. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 208-22.

Deductive Mode (top-down) • Deductive mode (general to specific/broad theory to a specific hypothesis) • General Theory: Elementary students’ perception of dynamic contrast increases as they get older • Hypothesis: Students in 4th grade will be able to hear volume differences in music to a greater extent than 1st graders. • Observe & Collect data (how?) • Draw Conclusions

Inductive Mode (bottom-up) • Inductive mode (specific to general/specific observations lead to patterns and general conclusions) • Observation – Many males in my 9th gr. choir do not sing confidently • Look for Patterns – In individual auditions, I notice that many do not match pitch • Tentative Hypothesis – MS Choir directors in our district are not familiar w/ strategies for adolescent voice • Theory – [we have MS choir directors from many institutions] Undergraduate institutions are not preparing teachers to teach male changing voice • Test my theory – Survey or observation • Inductive-Deductive (specific to general to specific…/research involves combinations of both modes)

Types of Research • Experimental - intervening to determine cause and effect (treatment vs. control grs./manipulation of variables) • Correlational - determine relationships among two or more variables (explores cause and effect but doesn’t determine cause & effect) • Causal-comparative - determining differences among groups, after the fact - exploring cause and effect – post hoc research [e.g., smoking and singing range] • Descriptive - determine characteristics of a group or phenomenon (survey, psychological inventory, observation)

Types of Descriptive Research • Qualitative/Ethnographic - naturalistic portrayal of people or groups in their environment, sociology or anthropology • Content-Analyses – examining content of periodicals, conferences, concert/contest programs, textbooks, curricula, etc. to determine trends & gaps. • Historical - studying the past through primary sources

Other Types of Research • Meta-Analyses - combining results from many studies to draw a more powerful conclusion • Philosophical - the act of doing philosophy (based on philosophical thought & literature) • Action - inquiring for the sake of a specific situation, active participation/stakeholders (perhaps your project)

Qualitative Post Positivist/postmod. Natural Setting Observation Narrative Human data collector Conclusions = interp. of observations Situational gnrlizability. Value bound Quantitative vs. QualitativePositivism is the philosophy of science that information derived from logical and mathematical treatments and reports of sensory experience is the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge, and that there is valid knowledge (truth) only in this derived knowledge. Quantitative • Positivist/modernism • Designed setting • Experiment/Test • Statistics & numbers • Instrument-non human • Conclusions = based on data • Generalize to pop. • Value free[?]

Standards for Research • Research based vs. non-research based • Opinion vs. conclusions based on data • personal experience vs. designed study • Peer review vs. non-peer review • All research journals are PR • Some non-research periodicals are PR • vs. • and

Research in Music ED • Research journal list in syllabus • Open access journals • Available to all for free online • In print journals • Subscription • Usually also online to subscribers and through college databases • Most if not all are accessible online through DePaul library, NAfME membership, or other sources

Introduction to Proposal Project

Step One – Define a Topic • What do you wonder about music teaching & learning? • What interests you? • Testable? • Important? • How will your study contribute to or change your practice and that of others? • Feasible? • Time? • Money? • Other resources?

Step 2 – Design Study • How will you research your topic? • What genre works best? • Descriptive • Survey, inventories • Content analysis • Action Research • What genre works least? • Experimental • Compare experimental group(s) w/ control group • Qualitative • Masters Projects at DePaul are usually quantitative • APA style – see style guide at http://pmhmusic.weebly.com/depaul---med-492-501.html

Chapter 1 - Introduction • Introductory Paragraphs • In 3-5 paragraphs, provide background for the report. Citing or quoting others who have written of the importance of the issue is especially appropriate. This section should lead up to your purpose statement. • Purpose of Study • In ONE SENTENCE, tell us exactly what your project is (i.e. “The purpose of this project is to compare middle school band student achievement in sight reading after a two week program of daily practice in sight reading with achievement before it.”). • Research Questions (vs. Hypothesis) • Need for Study • Usually, this is a continuation of your introduction. Who will benefit from this study? What implications might your findings have on current and future practice in music education? • Definition of Terms • Define any unusual terms or terms that will have a specific and unusual meaning in your document (if there are any). • Limitations (not obvious)

Dorfman & Lipscomb (2005)Research Questions • What do graduate students know about research in music education when they enter research methods classes? • How do graduate students entering research methods classes feel about research as an area of study during their initial graduate school experiences? • How do the attitudes of these graduate students change after completing an introductory course in research methods? • To what extent does knowledge about research methods change how graduate students teach music?

Chapter 2 – Review of Research • Why a lit review? • Science = Gradual accumulation of knowledge towards truth • To build an ‘evidence’ based argument for your study rationale • To identify promising and not-so-promising trends from previous studies • To delimit the boundaries of the research problem • To avoid repeating mistakes of others • To strengthen your methodology • Do avoid unnecessary duplication of research • Use models (such as lit. review from today) • Synthesize results. Use transitional statements. • See syllabus on abstracts • http://journals.sagepub.com/home/upd • SAGE, JSTOR

HINT!! - “Treeing Back” Find a study that is related to your topic area Retrieve study and examine the reference list Note other studies that may be also be relevant Retrieve the other studies Repeat… …until you start to see that same ‘pool’ of studies recurring over and over This is a good method for evaluating whether you have come close to exhausting the extant research in a given area This is also a good method for determining which studies have had the greatest impact in your topic area (e.g., through number of times cited) Consider studies outside of music education

Chapter 3 - Methodology • Provides a detailed description of how the study will be conducted. • Participants (who, sampling procedures, research setting such as school data from state report card) • Research instrument or data source (e.g., survey, test scores) • Interventions (if any, e.g., action research) • data collection (e.g., how was survey administered?, Assessments?) • data analysis/statistical procedures

Ethics in Research

Basic Question… Will any psychological or physical harm come to anyone as a result of my research? The protection of participants from harm Ensuring confidentiality of research data Deception of subjects only when integral to the study, yet must still be consistent with the statements above

Protecting from Harm Physical “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” (1932-1972) Treatment withheld for syphilis patients, even after 1947 when penicillin had become standard effective treatment Psychological How similar are the conditions of the research to ‘normal operating procedures?’ Sensitive information Full disclosure of possible risks Option to not participate or withdraw Informed Consent/assent (minors)

Ensuring Confidentiality Names removed from forms Coding – observation or narrative analysis who has access?, where is it stored? Anonymity Destroying data No identifying information in print (write in generalities and in aggregate terms when possible) [Exceptions-locations or institutional names]

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Neutral committee that weighs risk Determine if informed consent is in place (parents of children) Ensure plans for debriefing subjects Review Types: Exempt – no review needed Expedited – quick review possible Full – thorough review/discussion of procedures

Broader Ethical Issues… Falsification of data Corruption of the review process (non-blind-journals) Multiple submission Duplicate submission Piece-meal publication Authorship Principal vs. Secondary Profs. and students Cowriter vs. research assistant Plagiarism - paraphrasing vs. lifting Presentations and audiences (state to national, not other way around) Money - conflict of interest

Resources/Review • Research books • American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association (6th ed.). Washington DC: Author. • Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., Borg, W. R. (2006). Educational research: An introduction (8th ed.). Allyn & Bacon • Phelps, R. P., Sadoff, R. H., Warburton, E. C., & Ferrara, L. (2005). A guide to research in music Education (5th ed.). Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press. • Phillips, K. H. (2008). Exploring research in music education & music therapy. New York: Oxford University Press. • Salkind, N. J. (Ed.). (2007). Encyclopedia of measurement and statistics (Vols. 1-3). Thousand Oaks, CA: Gale Reference.

Writing an Abstract • Include an APA citation • Accurate & dense w/ information • Nonevaluative (not a review) • Coherent, concise, readable. Use active voice • Highlight most important aspects • 150-200 words. (Use word count tool) • Purpose of the study • Participants (subjects) & their important characteristics • Methodology (what the researcher[s] did) • Basic findings • Conclusions & Implications

Sample 1(159 words) • This study examined performance anxiety (PA) among middle school vocal soloists. /Participants included male (n = 63) and female (n = 221) middle school students (N = 284) participating in an all-district solo and ensemble festival. /Students completed the Smith Performance Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) immediately following their performance. This survey consisted of 15-closed response questions measuring various physical and emotional phenomena on a seven-step Likert scale. /Total SPAI scores indicate that 72% (n = 204) of participants reported moderate to high levels of anxiety and that these students experienced trembling, sweaty palms, and difficulty concentrating at significantly higher levels (p < .01) than other responses measured by the SPAI. Data also indicated that among students that experienced moderate to high levels of PA (n = 204), 86% (n = 175) were female. /Recommendations for managing PA include 1) openly discussing PA among students, 2) videotaping performance for self-assessment, and 2) simulating the performance environment many times before the event.

Hash, P. M. (2011). Effect of pullout lessons on the academic achievement of eighth grade band students (2011). Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 30(1), 16-22. (166 words) • The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pullout instrumental lessons on the academic achievement of eighth-grade band students. /Participants (N = 353) included 292 nonband students and 61 band students pulled once per week for music lessons in a single suburban K–8 school district in Midwestern United States. /Data indicated that eighth-grade band students achieved significantly higher mean scores on the ACT Explore test than students who dropped band prior to eighth grade (n = 58) or never enrolled in the program (n = 234). In addition, no significant differences existed between all band students and the highest achieving nonband students, or between students who discontinued band after at least 1 year and those who never enrolled. /Although band students in this study tended to be more academically successful than nonband students at the outset, these results support the assertion that pullout lessons had no negative effect on academic achievement, regardless of the number of years students participated in the program.

Afternoon

Data Mining • Process of discovering patterns in large data sets. The overall goal is to extract information from a data set and transform it into an understandable structure for further use.

Examples of Data Mining • Elpus, K. (2017). Just ask me: Convergent validity of self-reported measures of music participation. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65, 129-138. • Elpus, K. (2014). Evaluating the effect of no child left behind on U.S. music course enrollments. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62, 215-233. • Elpus, K., & Abril, C. R. (2014). High school music ensemble students in the United States: A demographic profile. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59, 128-145. • Government surveys & statistics vs. school data • Hash, P. M. (2011). Effect of pullout lessons on the academic achievement of eighth grade band students (2011). Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 30(1), 16-22.

Is It the Music or Is It Selection Bias? A Nationwide Analysis of Music and Non-Music Students’ SAT Scores Kenneth Elpus • This study examined the college entrance examination scores of music and non-music students in the United States, drawing data from the restricted-use data set of the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), a nationally representative education study (N = 15,630) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Analyses of high school transcript data from ELS showed that 1.127 million students (36.38% of the U.S. class of 2004) graduated high school having earned at least one course credit in music. Fixed-effects regression procedures were used to compare standardized test scores of these music students to their non-music peers while controlling for variables from the domains of demography, prior academic achievement, time use, and attitudes toward school. Results indicated that music students did not outperform non-music students on the SAT once these systematic differences had been statistically controlled. The obtained pattern of results remained consistent and robust through internal replications with another standardized math test and when disaggregating music students by type of music studied.

Bullying Victimization Among Music Ensemble and Theatre Students in the United States Kenneth Elpus, Bruce Allen Carter • The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of reported school victimization through physical, verbal, social/relational, and cyberbullying aggression among music ensemble and theatre students in the middle and high schools of the United States as compared to their peers involved in other school-based activities. We analyzed nationally representative data from five waves (2005–2013) of the biannual School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, a joint project of the U.S. Bureau for Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics. Logistic regression results showed that music ensemble and theatre students were significantly more likely to be victimized by in-person bullying than their non-arts peers. A significant interaction between sex and arts status showed that male music and theatre students faced the greatest risk of being subjected to physical bullying aggression while female music and theatre students faced the greatest risk of victimization through social/relational aggression. Though incidents of experiencing hate speech were rare, music and theatre students faced a significantly greater risk of hate speech victimization than non-arts students. The overall probability of a music student being victimized by any type of in-person bullying was .34 compared to .25 for non-arts students.

Data Mining at Your School • Pre-existing data at your school • Standardized test scores • Grades • Discipline referrals • IEPs & 504 plans • Free & Reduced Lunch data • Enrollment data • Combine w/ a survey or inventory • Existing from other research or that you constructed

Action Research Definition • Process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research (Ferrance, 2000, p. 1) • Teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves • Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine and assess their own work and then consider ways of working differently • Powerful form of professional development • Can be individual or collaborative, single classroom to districtwide • Teacher is the researcher in her/his own classroom

Action Research Might • Use descriptive techniques • Surveys, test scores, other data • Use experimental techniques • But w/o control group • Be quantitative (numbers) and/or qualitative (interviews, teacher/student journals, video observation) • Disseminate findings (or not)

Models of Action Research • ID problem area • Only 1! – Focused & specific • Gather data • Pretest • School/student data • Related literature • Use data to define plan • Teaching strategy • Intervention

Action Research • Enact the plan • Teaching strategy • Intervention • Systematic change in approach (e.g. scheduling) • Evaluate Results • Determine next steps (further research) • Cyclical, but needs a definite timeline for project. Consider a plan 1 year or less.

Action Research Examples • http://www.practicalteacherresearch.com/ • http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/networks/index

Terms/Concepts from Today

Getting Started • Begin to solidify your research topic • Map out a research process • Search for literature • SAGE • JSTOR • Google Scholar

For Thursday • List of 12 research articles related to your study in APA format. (more is OK!) • Read four research articles related to your study andwrite abstracts for each. If possible, read articles involving surveys and/or content analyses (will go in your lit review – chapter 2) • Examine 1 Thesis proposal from website • Begin writing chapter 1 – introduction (note guidelines below)

Techniques & Research in Music Education