Assignment Task
In this assignment, you have the opportunity to critically analyse research and theory in a particular area of Music Psychology that is interesting to you. You are required to review three research studies, describing the research method used and the findings. You should then critically appraise the approach taken by the authors by considering why they used a particular method and comparing the findings with your lived experiences with music.
Using the first person is acceptable in this assignment when discussing your analysis of the articles and your own lived experience. Your critical analysis should focus on one topic area within music psychology, and you should choose three studies related to this topic. Your focus might be as broad as the lecture topics, such as Music and Emotions or Music and Ageing.
However, we recommend being more specific in your focus on a sub-topic, for example, ‘music and distress’ or ‘music therapy and dementia’. Please draw on literature from the recommended readings on the Readings Online page. Still, you cannot use any readings we analyse in class or on Perusall or that have been analysed in the sample assignments. So please check the list of articles that cannot be used before you include them in your assignment.
Introduction
Outline your interest in the chosen topic and explain what you had expected to find out in this specific field of research. Describe who you have identified as the research experts in that field by including approximately 3- 5 references to their articles/chapters and explain what they contributed in that field
1. Describe how the literature is used in each study to make an argument for the importance of the research. Provide a commentary on how similar or different the selection of literature is and any apparent biases
2. Compare the research methods used by the investigators in three studies and reflect on the similarities and differences in their research questions, research design, approach to data collection and analysis