Analysis of Poster and Publication Trends in the American Music Therapy Association

Conferences can be a forum for professions to support, educate, and provide opportunities for collegiality among their members. Although factor and content analyses of conferences would be interesting from a historical viewpoint, researchers have not extensively studied conferences. In fact, Jacobs and McFarlane (2005) noted that research concerning conferences is under-developed and suggested, "developing a theoretically informed understanding of conference practice" (p. 317). Specific to the study of music conferences, researchers examined papers presented at the International Society for Music Education Research. The investigators found that presenters primarily cited sources within their own geographic region and that the Journal of Research in Music Education was the most frequently referenced journal (Price, Madsen, Cornacchio, & Webb, 2010). While researchers have performed factor analyses of music education conferences (Orman & Price, 2007; Price & Orman, 1999, 2001), these studies do not exist in the music therapy literature. These types of studies would be valuable to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement in clinical practice, research, and areas of membership interest.Research poster sessions at professional conferences may also constitute a forum for research dissemination. While professional publications are often considered the paramount method for sharing results, research does not necessarily have to be presented in journal or manuscript form. Research poster presentations at conferences can be an informal and effective mode of disseminating research findings. Particularly, this forum can serve as a venue for clinicians and researchers to interact concerning contemporary clinical practice and collaboration on future projects. Poster sessions have become an integral part of regional, national, and international conferences (Moore, Augspurger, King, & Proffitt, 2001). Perhaps due to the more informal structure and ability to expediently share a plethora of qualitative and quantitative research (Duchin & Sherwood, 1990), poster sessions at professional conferences have become increasingly popular (Moore et al., 2001). Additionally, scholars have noted that research poster sessions may allow interaction with researchers, attract a participant base interested in a specific topic, and facilitate networking and collaboration (McCann, Sramac, & Rudy, 1994; Sherbinski & Stroup, 1992). Given that research - and its connection to reimbursement - is a stated priority by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), it would seem important to investigate poster presentation trends and the extent to which these findings are published in the profession's journals.With regard to music therapy, Silverman (2008) analyzed research posters presented at national music therapy conferences by the principal investigator's institutional affiliation and clinical population studied. Results indicated that independent clinicians and scholars presented more posters than any single academic institution. This finding highlighted the relevance of clinicians in contemporary music therapy research poster sessions. However, while Silverman noted that posters may be presented at conferences, posters were not necessarily published and that this could be a potential area for future investigation. In fact, as Standley (1984) found that music therapy clinicians did not publish articles as frequently as academicians did, it seems that this discrepancy deserves present day attention. Hence, what happens to unpublished research findings? These data can be difficult to locate, making it challenging to inform and enhance clinical practice or future research.As noted, professional publications are often considered the paramount method for disseminating research results. By systematically examining publication trends, researchers can better understand how a profession and its research base have evolved over time. …