Research methodologies and thematic analysis of Masters’ theses statements of Music Composition in Iran from 2011 to 2021

Graduate theses have consistently held paramount significance as pivotal reference sources within academic and scientific spheres. This article adopts the methodology of thematic analysis to delve comprehensively into 215 Master's theses encompassing the domain of Music Composition. These theses were conducted during the period spanning from 2011 to 2021 in two Iranian state universities: the Faculty of Music at the University of Art and the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. This research aims to address the following questions: 1) In what thematic categories are the theses in the field of composition classified? 2) Which types of research methodology have been utilized in this field? 3) What are the most and least researched topics in the field of Music Composition? and 4) Which keywords have been predominantly employed in the theses? Similar prior research has critically analyzed thematic content in theses and articles within Iranian universities, primarily focusing on humanities, arts, and engineering sciences. The required information for the present study including titles, abstracts, and keywords, has been collected through a library-based approach. Using a descriptive-analytical method and based on the content of the theses, thematic categorization and methodology classification have been undertaken. By examining titles, abstracts, and content analysis, the theses have been categorized into six main groups, which are as follows: "Analysis of Compositional Works", "Interdisciplinary Studies", "Musicology", "Composition Sciences", "Music Pedagogy", and " Miscellaneous Topics”. The outcomes of the analysis indicate that topics such as "Analysis of Compositional Works" and "Historical and Comparative Music Studies" have garnered the most attention. On the other hand, subjects like " Interdisciplinary Studies in Sociology and Music" and "Interdisciplinary Studies in Fine Arts and Music" encompass the least represented titles. Thesis research methods leading to five categorized methods: Descriptive, Historical, Experimental, Casual Comparative and Correlation. The descriptive method was the most commonly used. Keywords such as "Harmony" and "Form" are prominently repeated over 20 times, indicating that harmonic and formal analysis are of particular interest to students in the field of music composition research topics.