DESCRIPTION& OBJECTIVES

This course provides a foundation in knowledge and skills necessary for scholars to perform investigator-initiated clinical research. Techniques of literature searching and critical review of the scientific literature will serve as a skill foundation for evaluating the current state of research questions. The concept of clinical research, including its scope and fundamental research designs will be covered in detail. Main objectives of this course are to:

• Learn to choose the most appropriate study design for various types of research questions,
• Learn to design appropriate clinical research methodology, including appropriate sample size, power, variables, outcome measures and potential pitfalls, proper interpretation of findings and applicability (external validity) will be emphasized, ethical issues in the design and conduct of clinical research including informed consent, and protection of human subjects will be addressed.

Learning Outcomes: Successful completion of this Course students will enable students to :

• Understand and correctly apply qualitative and quantitative methods in clinical settings
• Discuss and explain the philosophical and practical differences between the qualitative and quantitative methods
• Examine and discuss strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.

Contents

1. Introduction to the Scientific Process.
2. Perspectives on Research (Classification and Process; Theory and research link)
3. Foundations of Quantitative Measurement
4. Foundations of Qualitative Methods
5. The Participants: Sampling and Ethical issues involved in clinical research
6. The Participants: Sample and Sampling Issues
7. Experimental designs in clinical research
8. Self-report methods (questionnaires) & Survey research design
9. The survey interview and field research
10. Observational research
11. Use of secondary data and non-reactive research
12. Evaluation Research & historical Comparative design
13. Focus group discussion & Case Study
14. Analysis, Interpretation, Dissemination and report writing as per APA 7th edition

Note:

Recommended Books & Suggested Readings

1. Barker, C., Pistrang, N., & Elliott, R. (2016). Research Methods in Clinical Psychology: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners, Third Edition. John Willey and Sons, UK

1. American Psychological Association (2010). Publication Mannual of APA (6th ed.). Washington DC: APA
2. Neuman, W. L. (2012). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. 7th edition, Princeton university Press.
3. Smith, J. A. (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods.(3rd ed.) London: SAGE Publications.
4. Coolican, H., Coolican, H. (2014). Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology. London: Psychology Press.
5. Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L.-A. B. (2012). Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Australia: Wadsworth.
6. Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
7. Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 3-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000191
8. Scott O Lilienfeld, Dean McKay & Steven D Hollon (2018). Why randomised controlled trials of psychological treatments are still essential. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(7), 536-538.

WEEK PLAN

RESEARCH PROJECT

Every student has to submit the following assignment

Assignment 1: Research Proposal

Students  will write a research proposal on a topic of their interest from field of clinical psychology. The research proposal is an important process in providing a clear statement of the problem, a review of literature, how the literature relates to your study, formal research questions and hypotheses, a full methods section, and the data analysis they intend to conduct.

Assignment 2: Research Report Submission

Students will collect the data and submit research report in APA format

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

In class discussions and on assignments and exams, students will be asked to describe and discuss the key concepts and designs of research methods. Student will be asked to not only submit written assignment but present and discuss their findings in the class

Sessional: 20

Project: (Assignment 1= 10 + Assignment 2= 10)

Midterms: 30

Final exam: 50

CLASS WILL BE AS PER TIME TABLE: MONDAY TO TUESDAY (12:30-2:00PM)

MID AND FINAL TERM WILL BE HELD AS PER ACADMIC CALENDER