A descriptive analysis of research productivity in the Journal of Music Therapy as measured by authorship and affiliations: 2000-2015

Abstract

To date, the authors are not aware of any researcher who has studied research productivity solely specific to the Journal of Music Therapy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine research productivity within the Journal of Music Therapy by descriptively analysing the first authors and their respective institutional affiliations of refereed articles within the journal from 2000-2015. We hand-searched all refereed articles in the Journal of Music Therapy from 2000-2015 and created a database of first authors and their affiliations. From 2000-2015, 181 different first authors published articles in the Journal of Music Therapy. The most frequently publishing author had 15 articles (Silverman), while five authors published six articles (Cevasco, Gregory, Lim, VanWeeldon, and Walworth), and four authors published four articles (Gooding, Hilliard, Register, and Waldon). From 2000-2015, authors from 91 different universities or colleges and 26 non-university institutions published articles in the Journal of Music Therapy. Authors affiliated with Florida State University (42 articles), the University of Kansas (24 articles), and the University of Minnesota (13 articles) published the most articles. The long lists of contributing first authors and their respective affiliations highlight the selectivity and diversity of the Journal of Music Therapy. However, there are other ways – including citations and journal impact factors – to measure research eminence and the authors caution against generalisations. Suggestions for future research, limitations and implications are provided.