Update: Applications of Research in Music Education

Update: Applications of Research in Music Education is a peer-reviewed journal that brings research in music teaching and learning close to everyday practice, enabling teachers to apply the results of research readily in music classrooms and rehearsal halls.

Unless specifically noted, articles in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education do not necessarily represent the official policy of the National Association for Music Education.

Authors submitting manuscripts should refer to the following guidelines:

1. Manuscripts must be research-based.
2. Manuscripts may present a single research study or a review of the literature.
3. Manuscripts must be comprehensible to music teachers untrained in research methodology and statistics. Thus, writing should be as free of research jargon and statistical terminology as possible. A quantitative manuscript that eliminates specialized jargon associated with statistics must be accompanied by a not-to-be-published addendum that provides complete statistical information. Reviewers must have access to all relevant data and analyses in order to assess appropriateness, accuracy, and interpretation.
4. Manuscripts must emphasize the interpretation of research and the application of research results in the music classroom or rehearsal hall. Bringing the usefulness of research into the foreground for the reader must be a high priority of the author. This applies also to reviews of literature, in which authors should make every attempt to synthesize research results and avoid presenting simple study-by-study reports.
5. Articles should be unique and not published elsewhere. In accordance with the Code of Ethics, submitting a manuscript indicates that it has not been published previously and is not currently submitted for publication elsewhere, either in its entirety or in part.
6. Authors should comply with APA ethical standards (http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx) and institutional and federal regulations in the treatment of human subjects.
7. Manuscripts must conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010).
8. Authors should briefly review the NAfME Strategic Plan at http://www.nafme.org/wp-content/files/2014/06/Strategic-Plan_revised-2016.pdf to include information in their submissions on one or more of the following topics: Research, Serving the Profession and the Music Educator, Advocacy, and NAfME Organizational Vitality.
9. All manuscripts must be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/update. Authors should submit manuscripts of no more than 20 pages, which includes a 150-word abstract, followed by a 100-word set of bulleted implications statements, the body of the text, references, and any tables/figures. Authors should also submit key words relating to their article's content. Type size should be no smaller than 12 points (double-spacing should include 28 points total for a line of text and the following line). Figures and drawings should be camera-ready. We encourage the submission of short-form articles (4–10 pages) in addition to full-length reports. The short form is appropriate for research involving multiple investigations of a continuing line of research and for replications. Short-form articles must be labeled as such in the cover letter, on the abstract, and on the first page of the manuscript.
10. To preserve the author's anonymity in the review process, the manuscript should include no clues as to his or her identity or institutional affiliation. The author's name, address (including e-mail, if available), and institutional affiliation should appear only on a separate cover sheet. Manuscripts not conforming to this stipulation will be returned.

When submitting an article, the author will be asked to confirm that the submission has (a) appropriate use of APA style, and (b) a clear use of classroom applications. In addition, for research studies (not reviews of literature), the author will be asked to confirm that the submission has (a) documented IRB protocols, (b) documented the validity and reliability for measurement instruments used in the study, and (c) used statistics parsimoniously and simply so that a reader without a statistical background could understand the study.

Authors are encouraged to read the Most Common Reviewer Comments concerning APA Style in order to avoid APA errors in their submissions.

Music examples, figures, photographs, and other illustrations must be checked for accuracy before submission. If any copyrighted materials are used, documentation verifying that the author has permission to use the material must be included. Please complete a Request for Permission to Reprint Material form.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any author-submitted photographs or illustrations, and written permission to SAGE of a parent or guardian of any minor pictured is needed before such images are published. Please complete an Audio/Visual Likeness Release form.

Supplemental material (e.g., tables, figures, appendices, full-length surveys, teaching tools, videos) may be submitted with manuscripts.

For more information, please refer to the SAGE Manuscript Submission Guidelines.