Using Vignettes to Change Music Therapists' Attitudes Toward Research

Abstract

This study used a three-condition experimental design to determine which was more effective in changing music therapists’ attitudes toward research: a vignette demonstrating positive outcomes of using research to inform clinical work (PO), a vignette showing negative outcomes of not using it to inform clinical work (NO), or a research summary (RS). The outcome measure had three subscales, focused on perceptions of usefulness, anxiety, and positive predispositions.

Respondents (N = 656) included students and professionals. Findings indicated that anxiety decreased more for the RS than the NO condition, F(2, 653) = 4.0, p = .02, η² = 0.01. Perceptions of usefulness increased more for the NO than the RS condition, F(2, 653) = 5.83, p = .003, η² = 0.02. Those with undergraduate or master’s degrees had greater overall increases in positive attitudes than did those with doctorates, F(2, 607) = 8.13, p < .001, η² = 0.26. There was an interaction effect on predispositions based on years in the field and experimental condition p = .009, those with 10 or fewer years in the field had more improvement in the RS than the PO condition (p = .047), while those with 11 or more years in the field had more improvement in the NO than the RS condition (p = .040). Recommendations focus on applications in education and in continuing education.