Research Methods in Clinical Psychology

• Represents the most accessible, user-friendly introduction to conducting and evaluating research for clinical psychologists and related professionals
• Ideal for students and practitioners who wish to conduct their own research or gain a better understanding of published research
• Addresses important issues such as philosophical underpinnings of various methodologies, along with socio-political issues that arise in clinical and community settings

• Step-by-step guidance through all phases of a clinical psychology research project—from initial concept and groundwork, through to measurement, design, analysis, and interpretation
• Updates to this edition include new or expanded coverage of such topics as  systematic review and literature searching methods, modern psychometric methods, guidance on choosing between different qualitative approaches, and conducting psychological research via the Internet

Preface to the Third Edition x

1 Introduction: The Research Process 1

The Research Process 3

2 Perspectives on Research 5

Philosophical Issues 6

What is Research? 6

What is Science? 12

Social and Political Issues 17

Professional Issues 18

The Intuitive Practitioner 19

The Scientist-Practitioner 20

The Applied Scientist 20

The Local Clinical Scientist 21

The Evidence-Based Practitioner 22

The Clinical Scientist 22

The Practice-Based Evidence Model 23

Comparison of Models 23

Implications for Clinical Training 24

Personal Issues 24

Why Do Clinical Psychologists Do Research? 25

Why Don’t Clinical Psychologists Do Research? 26

Weighing up the Pros and Cons of Doing Research 27

Chapter Summary 27

Further Reading 28

Questions for Reflection 28

3 Doing the Groundwork 29

Formulating the Research Questions 30

Choosing the Topic 31

Developing the Questions 32

Hypothesis-testing versus Exploratory Research Questions 33

Some Types of Research Question 34

Literature Review 37

The Proposal 41

Funding 44

The Politics of Research in Applied Settings 45

Access 45

Responding to Doubts 46

Authorship 48

Chapter Summary 48

Further Reading 49

Questions for Reflection 49

4 Foundations of Quantitative Measurement 50

The Process of Measurement 52

Domains of Variables 52

Measuring Psychological Constructs 52

Measurement Sources and Approaches 54

Foundations of Quantitative Methods 54

Positivism 55

Psychometric Theory 58

Definitions 58

Reliability 60

Reliability Statistics 62

Validity 64

Generalizability Theory 67

Item Response Theory 68

Utility 69

Standards for Reliability and Validity 70

Chapter Summary and Conclusions 71

Further Reading 71

Questions for Reflection 72

5 Foundations of Qualitative Methods 73

Historical Background 75

Philosophical Background 76

Phenomenology 77

Social Constructionism 79

Families of Qualitative Approaches 84

Thematic Analysis Approaches 84

Narrative Approaches 87

Language-Based Approaches 88

Ethnographic Approaches 90

Ways of Evaluating Qualitative Studies 91

Conclusion: Choosing and Combining Methods 92

Chapter Summary 94

Further Reading 94

Questions for Reflection 95

6 Self-Report Methods 96

Mode of Administration 99

Open-ended and Closed-ended Questions 100

Qualitative Self-report Methods 101

Types of Qualitative Interview 102

Interview Schedule 103

Interviewing Style 105

Quantitative Self-report Methods 109

Questionnaire Design 110

Chapter Summary 118

Further Reading 119

Questions for Reflection 119

7 Observation 120

Qualitative Observation 122

Participant Observation 122

Text-based Research 126

Quantitative Observation 128

Background 129

Procedures for Conducting Observations 130

Reliability and Validity Issues 134

Chapter Summary 135

Further Reading 136

Questions for Reflection 136

8 Foundations of Design 137

Nonexperimental Designs 138

Descriptive Designs 138

Correlational Designs 139

Experimental Designs 142

Cook and Campbell’s Validity Analysis 144

Nonrandomized Designs 146

Randomized Designs 152

Conclusion: Choosing a Research Design 159

Chapter Summary 159

Further Reading 160

Questions for Reflection 161

9 Small�]N Designs 162

Historical Background 163

Single-case Experimental Designs 165

Procedure 165

AB Design 166

Reversal (or ABAB) Design 167

Multiple-baseline Design 168

Changing-Criterion Design 169

Data Analysis 169

Generalization 169

Naturalistic Case-study Designs 170

Narrative Case Studies 170

Systematic Case Studies 171

Time-Series Designs 175

Conclusion 175

Chapter Summary 176

Further Reading 176

Questions for Reflection 177

10 The Participants: Sampling and Ethics 178

Sampling 179

The Target Population 181

Bias and Representativeness 182

Sample Size 183

Alternative Approaches to Sampling and Generalizability 185

Summary and Conclusion 187

Ethical Issues 188

Informed Consent 189

Harms and Benefits 191

Privacy and Confidentiality 192

Ethics Self-study Exercise 193

Ethics Committees 194

Chapter Summary 196

Further Reading 196

Questions for Reflection 197

11 Evaluation Research 198

What is Evaluation? 199

The Sociopolitical Context 201

Preparation for Evaluating a Service 203

Aims and Objectives 204

The Impact Model 205

The Target Population 205

Estimating the Extent of the Target Problem in the Target Population 206

Needs Assessment 207

Delivery System Design 208

Monitoring the Process of Service Delivery 209

Coverage and Bias 210

Service Implementation 211

Outcome Evaluation 212

Client Satisfaction Surveys 213

Patient-focused Research and Outcomes Management 213

Cost-effectiveness 214

Chapter Summary 215

Further Reading 216

Questions for Reflection 216

12 Analysis, Interpretation, and Dissemination 217

Qualitative Data Analysis 218

Within-case and Cross-case Analysis 219

Preliminaries to Qualitative Data Analysis 219

Processes in Qualitative Data Analysis 221

Good Practice in Qualitative Analysis 224

Quantitative Data Analysis 224

Data Entry 224

Data Checking 225

Data Reduction 225

Data Exploration 226

Statistical Significance Testing for Answering the Research Questions 227

Analyzing the Strength and Significance of Quantitative Effects 227

Interpretation 232

Contributions to Knowledge: Understanding the Meaning of the Findings 232

Methodological Issues: Strengths and Limitations of the Study 233

Scientific and Practical Implications 235

Dissemination 236

Writing up 237

Publication 238

Authorship Issues 239

Utilization 240

The End 240

Chapter Summary 241

Further Reading 241

Questions For Reflection 242

13 Epilogue 243

Methodological Pluralism 243

Appraising Research 244

Combining Research with Practice 246

Some Images of Research 247

Questions for Reflection 248

References 249

Author Index 277

Subject Index 287

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