Abbey DvoraksMusic Therapy Support Groups For Cancer...

On average 1 in 2 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime (Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Cancer Statistics 2017). A side effect of a cancer diagnosis is often significant stress. Still, stress is inevitable whether it is a personal or a loved one’s sickness. Stress that is not dealt with or is left to build up can cause many different health problems either with the cancer patients or family members. These health problems include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and more (Mayo Clinic). Music, for many, is a way to cope with these issues because it serves as a relaxation technique that reduces stress levels and anxiety. Abbey L. Dvorak published her peer-reviewed scholarly journal on cancer patients in the†¦show more content†¦In her research, Dvorak also gives the readers a copy of what the participants were going to go through using the â€Å"Music Intervention Protocol† sheet (Abbey L. Dvorak 79-81). The reader is fully aware of the situations the participants were going through and the choice of simple diction by Dvorak further helps the reader easily follow along. The use of the diagrams helps the audience improve their understanding of the research and also builds on Dvorak’s credibility. In her research, the author emphasizes who the experimenter is and their characteristics. She uses various diagrams to show the different details about the participants and what the protocol required for music therapy is. Although Dvorak uses these techniques, she fails to clearly address the questions that were asked to the participants during the three periods which she analyzed their overall mood. Like her diagrams that where easy to follow Dvorak gave limited information on what the participants were asked to determine their mood. This information could have been helpful as the reader could make their own assumptions on the questions and whether or not they are suitable for the experiment. The author explains to the readers what type of questions were asked during the beginning, middle and end point of the experiment (Abbey L. Dvorak 76). However, she neglects to illustrate the exact questions or similar questions that where asked. By adding a few questions that she might have as ked into her paper