Descriptive analysis of academic journals in the context of the development of music studies in Turkiye

Abstract

Platforms for academic publishing are very important in the development of music research. These are the platforms where publications such as books, papers and articles are made, and in this research, academic journals in which music researches are published were examined qualitatively. It is seen that the number of academic journals has increased in the development of music research in Turkey. However, qualitative development should also be given importance. It is very important to examine the qualitative features of academic journals in more detail in terms of raising awareness of music researchers. This research was carried out to reveal the qualitative situation of academic journals publishing in the field of music in Turkey. The research is also suitable for the discourse analysis technique in terms of document analysis technique, which is one of the qualitative research types, and in terms of determining the background in the purpose and scope statements of academic journals and the reflection in publication policies. Within the scope of the research, three groups were examined in the selection of the journals: those directly related to music research (six), those related to music and art research (5 five), and those related to indirect music research (art) (15 fifteen). Journals directly related to music research; Rast Musicology Journal, Turkish Music Journal, Musicologist, Online Music Sciences Journal, Ethnomusicology Journal, AKU Academic Music Research Journal. Journals on music and art studies; Stage and Music, Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance, Conservatory, Balkan Music and Art Journal, Yegah Musicology Journal. Among the journals related to art, there are 16 academic journals in total, in addition to the Journal for the Interdisciplinary Art and Education, which has only music research in its latest issues. In the qualitative examinations, three of them are public university support, one is association support, two are personal support and only two are published by a publishing house. Only two of these journals, Scopus and Web of Science, which are among the most important indexes in the world, are indexed. It was observed that most of the “purpose and scope” statements of the journals related to music research were missing. Rast Musicology Journal, Turkish Music Journal, Journal for the Interdisciplinary Art and Education, AKU Academic Music Research Journal have "purpose and scope statements". It was observed that the purpose and scope statements were not included in other journals. In addition, there were contradictions with the titles of music journals and their publishing policies. For example, it was seen that the articles published in the Balkan Music and Art Journal were insufficient in terms of being from the Balkan region and being related to Balkan music. It is recommended to receive support for editorial and publishing education related to the selection of the titles of the journals related to music research, writing the purpose and scope statements.