AIM: To elucidate plausible impact of jazz music parameters (improvisation, swing rhythm, blue notes, complex harmony, syncopation) on mood, sleep battery, and nonverbal communication in autism-spectrum children through (1) a large-scale meta-analysis of studies adhering to IA-IIB level of evidence, and (2) semi-structured interviews with thirty neuro-psychologists, musicologists and music therapists for data triangulation.
METHOD: A mixed-method study will (1) extract independent and dependent variables from the autism, mood, and polysomnographic inventories as measurable outcomes to expose as a linear function to jazz parameters; (2) separate confounders, colliders, and process variables for construct and discriminant validity testing; (3) stratify Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel odds for multivariate regression analysis or Pearson correlations where variables are numerical; (4) test Cronbach's alpha for itemized comparisons; and (5) triangulate the findings by interviewing specialists to draft an action plan that will inform the design and setting of a potential prospective study.
SETTINGS: Department of Education | Royal College of Music, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society | Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
