Historical Research in Music Education

Class 8aHistorical research - a systematic process of

describing, analyzing, and interpreting the past based on information from selected sources as

they relate to the topic under study.

Value• Provides basis for understanding the past• Provides perspective for decision making and policy formulation

(e.g., marches at band contest)• Provides context for understanding why things are as they are (e.g.,

extracurricular nature of ensembles)• Provides information to avoid repeating previous

mistakes(Correspondence school and Online learning)• Assists in identifying past trends and applying these to current and

future trends (e.g., future status of educational repertoire)• Essential to understanding and judging current events and trends

(e.g., standardized testing, schools as businesses)• Assists in predicting the future (what would happen if we moved to

block scheduling?)• Storehouse of great ideas (T.P. Giddings & Maddy readings)

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

• Primary sources - original or first-hand account of events or experiences

• Secondary sources - accounts that are at least once removed from the event (such as reports about first-hand sources)

Music Education Histories• Mark & Gary (2007) – A History of American Music Education

(2nd ed.)• James A. Keen (2009) – A History of American Music

Education in the United States (2nd ed.)• Sunderman (1971) – Historical Foundations of Music

Education in the United States• Birge (1928/rev. & aug. 1937) – History of Public School

Music in the United States (online in internet archives or through NAfME/Rowman & Littlefield)

• Tellstrom (1971) – Music in American Education: Past and Present

Research Process

• Historical research—to me—involves putting together very small pieces to a very large puzzle

• We are like detectives looking for as much evidence as we can find to tell the story or make our case

• Sources will depend on type of research (e.g., chronological narrative, biography, or content analysis)

Primary Sources I Often Use

• Newspaper articles• School yearbooks and periodicals• School Board minutes & Supt. annual reports• Publications related to music, education, or

Music Ed.• Textbooks & other instructional materials• Recordings, artifacts, photographs

Newspaper Articles• Very useful for a chronological narrative and may be the only historical record left.• Available on microfilm in local public libraries• Newspaper archives

– Univ. of IL archives– State Library of Michigan, or Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library – Springfield IL)– Good for looking a papers from many different locations

• Online – find articles by keyword rather than hours of combing through microfilm– Proquest Historical Newspapers (NY Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.) – Must be accessed

through a Univ. or public library that pays for the service– Pay sites available to the public – GeneologyBank.com is the best. Newspaperarchive.com

is not as good.– Free sites

• Chronicling America – Library of Congress• Some individual newspapers now digitizing past issues

• For links to digital newspapers, see University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or Cornell University Library web site

School Yearbooks & Periodicals• Periodicals– Early 20th century– Monthly– May often a special issue called the “annual”. What we

think of as a yearbook• Often included a daily calendar of events– Find event and search local newspaper for details

• Excellent source for photos, personnel, instrumentation, director, repertoire, etc.

• Check at the local school or public library• Local antique or vintage bookstores, or online $

School Records/ReportsBoard Minutes

• Tedious to comb through• Good source if you have the date

of a particular event• May be light on details

Supt. Annual Reports• Available for larger public school

districts and private institutions in the 19th & early 20th centuries– See Google Books– Univ. & State Libraries

• Schools almost always open to a historian visiting the school. Often very helpful in finding materials, allowing photocopying, etc.– Make sure you send a copy of

your research when it is finished!

Music/Ed./Music Ed. Publications• School Music

– Available on Google Books (1904-1920)– Available on Hathi Trust Digital Library (1900-1908)

• Etude, Metronome, Jacobs Band Monthly – Univ. Libraries• Music Supervisors/Educators Journal

– Now available on JSTOR and SAGE from vol. 1 (1914)• Proceedings of Music Supervisors’ National Conference and

Music Teachers National Association– A limited number are available on Google Books

• Proceedings of National Education Association and various state associations– Several editions available on Internet Archive & Google Books

Textbook & Instructional Materials• Important for Content Analysis• School song books• Instrumental method books• College methods textbooks• Sources

– Some available on inter library loan– Many available on Google Books. Can be printed from PDF files

• Normal Music Course (Tufts/Holt), National Music Course (LW Mason)• Grade School Music Teaching & High School Music Teaching by T. P.

Giddings• Build your own collection

– Antique stores, flea markets, vintage bookstores, Borders Market Place and other online used book sources

– These articles are usually very reasonable b/c of limited market. Don’t pay a lot. (I have sometimes paid more for shipping than for the item itself)

Closing Thoughts• The search for primary sources is ongoing– I usually have studies in mind and keep an eye out for

materials over a long period of time– The search can begin online – see article in recent

History SRIG newsletter or JHRME (Oct. 2009) – BUT…online research will never replace digging

through file cabinets, libraries, and archives• These notes are available on my web site at

www.pmhmusic.weebly.com or I will be happy to email them to you (pmh3@calvin.edu)

• Thank You!!

Links• Chronicling America (newspapers) -

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/• Links to digital newspapers

– Cornell University Library web site http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=8983&sid=58311

– Univ. of IL Newspaper Archives http://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/newspapers/historical.php

• Hathi Trust Digital Library - http://catalog.hathitrust.org/ • Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/)• Google Books - http://books.google.com/

Qualitative Research

Class 8

Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Paradigms…holds implications for method, purpose, and role of the

researcher… (Glesne, 1999)

Quantitative• Positivist Concerns– Reality exists as a

relatively fixed entity that is external to the individual

– Social facts have objective reality

– Discrete variables can be identified and objectively measured

Qualitative• Interpretivist• Constructivist– Reality is socially

constructed by the participants in their settings

– Variables are interwoven, and difficult to measure

Researcher’s Role in Quantitative and Qualitative Paradigms (Glesne, 1999)

• Quantitative– Researcher detached– A non-participant– Strives for objective

interpretation of findings

• Qualitative– Researcher personally

involved– Participation may vary

greatly– Strives for interpretation

and understanding while acknowledging subjectivity – tries to balance credibility with empathic interpretation and personal insight

Other General Characteristics of Qualitative Research

• Holistic Perspective– Study topic is a complex system that is more than the

sum of parts. Interactions of phenomenon• Type of Data– Detailed, thick description, quotations

• Dynamic Systems– Attention to process vs. product, change is constantly

occurring in the individuals and setting• Design Flexibility– Methodology is adapted as the research unfolds, new

participants may be added, new questions may arise

Approaches to Qualitative Research

• Ethnography– Goal is to obtain an holistic picture of a society, group,

institution, setting, situation…– ‘Emic’ perspective – an insider’s perception of reality– Culture – the sum of a group’s social patterns, customs,

ways of life; the ideas, beliefs, and knowledge that characterize a particular group

– Emphasis on social interaction– Many data sources (e.g., interviews, observations/field

notes, key informants, artifacts, are used)

Approaches to Qualitative Research

• Phenomenological Study– Investigating experiences (e.g.,

reactions/perceptions) individuals have when faced with a particular phenomenon

– Focus is on lived experience and subjective/personal meaning

– In-depth interviews are prominent

Approaches to Qualitative Research

• Case Study– Can be of an individual, a class, a school, a program, a

particular event, a particular activity, etc.– Intrinsic case study – interested in understanding a specific

individual/situation– Instrumental case study – interest in studying a particular

case as a means towards a larger goal– Multiple case study – more than one case…

Approaches to Qualitative Research

• Grounded Theory– Purpose is to inductively generate a theory grounded in

data systematically gathered and analyzed– Employs ‘constant comparative method’ – continual

interplay among researcher, data, and theory – continuously revising in light of new evidence

– Categories/themes are created, logically analyzed in light of data and discarded or accepted by the researcher

– Interviews are common for data collection

Approaches to Qualitative Research

• Mixed Methodology– Incorporating both quantitative and qualitative

methodology– Triangulation – collect both quantitative and qualitative to

compare results…– Explanatory – Collect and analyze quantitative data, then

follow up by collecting qualitative data to refine the findings

– Exploratory – Collect and analyze qualitative data, the follow up by collecting quantitative data to extend the findings

Qualitative Data Collection Methods

• Field Notes – describing the context of the research, can keep field notes and journal in same text (use brackets to differentiate one from the other)

• Direct Observation/Transcriptions (video/audio/live/verbal) – script taking that describes specific events, transcribing recordings is perhaps the best way to do this accurately, includes more than simply writing each word spoken, includes actions, inflections, etc.

• Journals (personal reflection) – higher inference, beginning of the analysis phase (starting to draw researcher inferences)

• Proxemics/Mapping (use of social space) – diagrams of people or objects in the field – in the research space being observed

Qualitative Data Collection Methods (continued)

• Interviews – surveys, open-ended interviews• Verbal protocol, Think Alouds – subjects

describing their experience while they are in the moment, while they are doing

• Artifacts/pictures of artifacts• Content analyses of existing documents –

unobtrusive measures