Analyses of titles and authors from 50 years of ISME Research Commission manuscripts 1968 to 2018

Abstract

This descriptive study reports analyses of titles ( N = 636) and authors (N = 1,012) of published research papers presented at the 1st through 27th International Society for Music Education (ISME) Research Commission (RC) seminars from 1968 through 2018. We considered global impact based on manuscript citations, times countries or specific global regions appear in titles, country affiliation of authors, and sole or collaborative authorship. We further examined 7,348 individual words contained in the published paper titles. Data showed a chronological shift from sole to collaboratively authored manuscripts and an increase in the number of words used in titles (ranging from 2 to 31). Citations ( N = 9,713), different countries ( N = 158), and global regions ( N = 40) in titles, and country affiliation of authors ( N = 47) represent a strong global impact. Substantive keywords used in two or more titles align well with the founding principles and purposes of the commission. Perhaps the most salient finding is the manner in which collective data in this study supports and reinforces the extraordinary aspirations and intent of the ISME RC from 1968 to 2018 showing the past, present, and continued necessity of this unique organization of the ISME.