Impact Factor Stories: Nordic Journal of Music Therapy

Published in collaboration with GAMUT - The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre (Uni Health and University of Bergen), the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy serves the international community of music therapy via publication of scholarly articles, texts on practice, theory and research, dialogues and discussions, reviews and critique. The journal is based on the collaboration between the music therapy communities in the five Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the three Baltic Countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the 2012 Journal Citation Report® (JCR), the journal received an Impact Factor of 1.636 and was ranked 12 out of 67 (Q1) in the Thomson Reuter's JCR Rehabilitation list. This was a substantial increase from the 2011 JCR when its Impact Factor was 0.889 and it was ranked 38 out of 67 (Q3) in the Rehabilitation list.

Why do you think the journal has seen such an improvement in its Impact Factor? Has it resulted from any changes in editorial policy?

First, I would like to emphasise that the most important step for us, that occurred a few years ago, was to be included in the database that produces the Impact Factor, not how high it is. I am very aware that our Impact Factor may go up and down a lot, especially as we are a small journal with few articles per year. I personally do not think it matters too much how high the Impact Factor is, and do not think it directly reflects quality or reputation, but I know that a lot of colleagues and potential authors see it as a confirmation of the journal's quality and reputation.

That being said, there are a few things we have done to improve quality and visibility. We are constantly working on achieving the best quality. The journal has always emphasised that since music therapy is a young field, we need to help authors as much as we can to improve their manuscripts. To be able to handle that workload, and to get a broader area of expertise, I have expanded the group of Associate Editors internationally. Our Associate Editors are very committed, and that is very important. We have regular discussions about the processes and outcomes of the peer review, where we exchange experiences. My role is to be there for advice, but also to trust them that they are making the right decisions. I think they value both aspects.

In terms of visibility, we are actively present at international music therapy conferences, we use social media to notify authors of new content, and our journal is available both online and in print (including early online publication ahead of print). All of these points distinguish us from most other music therapy journals.

What developments in your research area have contributed to the recent Impact Factor growth?

Generally, I think that the field of music therapy has gained more attention. Music therapy researchers are becoming more confident in the quality of their work and more conscious of the importance to publish in an international, peer-reviewed journal. Neighbouring disciplines such as psychiatry, clinical psychology, music psychology, or musicology also seem to have “discovered” music therapy.

More specifically, a recent trend towards diversification of research methods and areas in music therapy may have helped us, because we have always emphasised diversity.1, (2) The days of dogmatic polarisation between quantitative and qualitative methods finally seem to be over, and we see people making more pragmatic choices or even combining both types of research methods. A similar trend can perhaps be seen for different approaches to therapy. Our journal may be seen as more pluralistic than other journals in the field.

Have you seen any change in the geographical profile of authors in recent years?

Traditionally, most of our authors come from Europe (including Scandinavia of course) and North America, as well as Israel and Australia. We continue to get many submissions from those countries, but recently we have also started to receive more submissions from various Asian and Latin American countries. I welcome this broadening, and hope to receive submissions also from African countries in the future. I think that “Nordicness” may be reflected in a particular mindset as much as in the geographic origin of authors.3

Is your journal supported by a learned society or research institution?

In contrast to most journals in music therapy that are supported by professional associations, we take pride in our independence.4 The Nordic Journal is owned by a research institute (GAMUT – The Grieg Academy Music Therapy Research Centre, at Uni Research), and we receive funding from the Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils for the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

Are you currently rolling out initiatives that may improve the Impact Factor in the future?

As I described above, the most important point is that we constantly work on improving the quality of the articles we publish. In addition, we are trying to make sure that articles are also interesting to read, maybe even enjoyable. That should not be a contradiction to doing “serious” research. We try to put articles on the same theme together in “special sections” when possible, in order to further improve the attractiveness and visibility of the research. We have just started to have invited commentaries (or dedicated editorials) accompanying those special sections to further build the bridge between research and clinical practice.

We have also started to organise workshops on scientific writing and peer review. Connected to international music therapy conferences, these workshops may serve both quality and visibility. In addition, they provide another opportunity for communication between the Editors. Our first such workshop (5) was very well attended, and feedback from participants suggested that it served a very real need for them.

What role do you feel your journal plays in the Music Therapy research community?

I think we are leading in terms of diversity and pluralism of research approaches. We also have a broad and inclusive view on music therapy approaches, as well as openness towards neighbouring fields – provided that the relevance to music therapy is clearly shown. We do not publish papers on music psychology, music education or music medicine unless they demonstrate a clear relevance for music therapy practice and research. Perhaps we are seen as a bridge-builder.

What are the exciting areas of research to watch in the field?

In terms of clinical areas, there are some new areas of application, such as neonatal care as well as classical areas such as autism, that now get renewed attention. Also important are new ways of practising, for example, health promotion, inclusion or work with families, but also traditional ways, such as improvisation, that are now being explored more systematically. In terms of research questions and methods, we need more studies that can explain “how” music therapy works, by connecting theory, therapy processes and therapy outcomes. We need research to explain the specifics of music therapy, its specific strengths – what music therapy can do that other therapies cannot. This can include quantitative, qualitative or theoretical research, but most importantly research that connects these methods.

What do you hope the journal will achieve over the next five years?

I hope that the journal can stabilise its role as a leading journal in the field, and retain both a Nordic and an international profile. I hope to increase our readership in new geographical areas, and to increase from three to four issues per year.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christian Gold

Christian Gold is Principal Researcher at Uni Research, Bergen, Norway; Adjunct Professor at the University of Bergen; Honorary Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark; Editor-in-Chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy; and Associate Editor of the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group. He received his music therapy training at Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and his Ph.D. from Aalborg University.