Innovation and Empowerment: SNU-Tulsa Research Journal

Background Music: Tim Jones 87
this hypothesis. Although it showed a trend in support of the
hypothesis, it was not statistically significant. The positive
trend in test scores of the background music students, presented
a good possibility that with some modifications and further
experimentation, a significant increase in test scores could be
achieved. Other variables similar to those of the researchers in
the literature review, could possibly have an effect on
achieving higher test scores.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study
The study had two main strengths. First, the physical
environment was very tightly controlled, thus providing a stable
and consistent set of external stimuli that remained the same
for each class. Second, the wide range of ages and years of
experience assured a broad spectrum of knowledge with which to
gather data.
The overriding weakness of the study was the time limit of
the classes as well as the duration of the study as a whole. A
longer time would have allowed for a more comprehensive
collection of different types of music, tempos, and timbres,
from which to gather data. As noted in the review of the
literature, these other variables could possibly have had a
significant effect on the outcome of the study. Another weakness
was the lack of control in being able to randomly assign
participants to groups.
Innovation and Empowerment: SNU-Tulsa Research Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1