The Research Procedure

As stated previously^ this document traced the development of

youth choir publications in the CMD of the Southern Baptist
Convention. Therefore, the prim ary method of research was historical.
Resources for this study include Southern Baptist church music
education publications, the periodicals themselves, specifically the
musical and literary analysis, and personal interviews with past editors
of The Youth Musician, Opus One, and Opus Two, as well as interviews
with the editor of the current periodicals. Celebrate Choral Music,
Contemporary Praise, and Exaltation.
Interviews with the editors gave insight into and explanation of
the facts presented through the history of these publications. By
definition, oral history is data collection by means of an interview.
Oral history has developed as a research technique through the
improvement of recording technology. "The procedures include formal
interviewing of an individual, tape-recording of all interview sessions,
transcription and interpretation of all tapes, and preservation of the
tape-recorded and transcribed interviews for posterity."^ ^ In these
interviews, questions are open-ended and can follow any leads that may
seem profitable. Prior to interviewing, it is important to gather as much
information as possible to attain a comprehensive knowledge of the
subject in study. For this study, the researcher established topical
boundaries regarding histories of musical publications through the use

Edward L. Rainbow and Hildegard C. Froehlich. Research in

Music Education. New York: Schirmer Books, 1987, 114.

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