A Guide to Designing Research Questions for Beginning Music Therapy Researchers

This book has been written for music therapy students approaching their first research project. It takes the reader on a journey through a series of hidden influences that shape their decisions about what research question to ask. Beginning with the reader's own interest in research topics, each chapter then systematically delves deeper into the reasons behind that choice and the beliefs and values that should be embedded in the research question in order for the researcher's attention, motivation, and commitment to be sustained. Chapters examine personal experiences with music, health, and well-being; assumptions about why music, health, and well-being fit together in the first place; beliefs about what kinds of research are most powerful; and contextual influences, such as organizational culture, policies, and emerging social movements. In the final chapter, readers have the opportunity to synthesize their reflections on each of these topics in a way that leads directly to their own unique research question.