Browsing by Person "Cripps, Charlotte"

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A Systematic Review of Outcome Measures in Music Therapy
(OUP, 2017-11-11) Spiro, Neta; Tsiris, Giorgos; Cripps, Charlotte
Assessment, in its different guises and forms, has been a core consideration of music therapy work since the early stages of the discipline. Practitioners have devised assessment tools for different purposes such as outcome measurement. Although an increased number of tools have been published, many do not seem to be used widely in either practice or research. This situation might be connected to limited accessibility to such tools and/or the lack of centralized sources of information about them. This systematic review focuses on 26 music-therapy-specific outcome measures and identifies trends and gaps in their characteristics. The results show that most measures concern work with people with autism, developmental and learning disabilities, and special needs. Most measures have been designed using pilot studies, and most original sources introducing the measures have been published since 2000 and in journal publications. Validation processes are reported in less than half of the original sources. Most measures employ observational ratings and checklists as their data collection method and have five main categories of focus: musical engagement, functioning, communication and/or interaction, relationship, and music therapy process.
“Sounds good, but... what is it?” An introduction to outcome measurement from a music therapy perspective
(2018-06-27) Spiro, Neta; Tsiris, Giorgos; Cripps, Charlotte
“Sounds good, but... what is it?” This is a common reaction to outcome measurement by music therapy practitioners and researchers who are less familiar with its meanings and practices. Given the prevailing evidence-based practice movement, outcome measurement does ‘sound good’. Some practitioners and researchers, however, have a limited or unclear understanding of what outcome measurement includes; particularly with respect to outcome measures and related terminology around their use. Responding to the “what is it?” question, this article provides an introduction to such terminology. It explores what outcome measures are and outlines characteristics related to their forms, uses and selection criteria. While pointing to some debates regarding outcome measurement, including its philosophical underpinnings, this introduction seeks to offer a useful platform for a critical and contextual understanding of the potential use of outcome measures in music therapy.