Question

Overview of Clinical Research Methods in Abnormal Psychology

Answer 1

Note: This is a reference for educational/studying purposes, not a question, please save all comments or questions for the end.

Answer 2

\({\bf{Case~Study}}\) is a detailed description of a person's life and history of psychological problems

(+) good source of new ideas, esp. when the condition being studied is rare, tentative support for a theory
(-) usually not generalizable, observer bias, does not establish causality

Answer 3

\({\bf{Correlational~Method}}\) examines the degree to which two characteristics ~correlate~ or vary with each other. Can be strong/weak, positive/negative, or none; the correlation can be caused by a third variable.

(+) more subjects than a case study, more generalizable, repeatable, can help therapists identify characteristics that make one more susceptible to certain disorders
(-) cannot establish causality

Answer 4

\({\bf{Epidemiological~Studies}}\) measures the incidence( # of new cases) + prevalence (# of total cases) of a disorder over a given period of time, often per year; ex. Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study, National Comorbidity Survey

\({\bf{Longitudinal~Studies}}\) observe the same individuals over a long period of time, usually wider in scope than a case study

Answer 5

\({\bf{Experimental~Method}}\) establishes a scenario where one variable is manipulated to test its effect on another variable while keeping other variables as constant as possible

independent variable: variable being manipulated
dependent variable: variable not being manipulated; is being measured
confounding: a variable other than the independent variable is acting upon the dependent variable
control group: subject group not exposed to the experimental condition
experimental group: subject group that receives the treatment/experimental condition
random assignment: placing all participants randomly in the control group/experimental group
blind design: participants do not know which treatment group they belong to
double blind design: neither researchers nor participants know which treatment group they belong to (useful for reducing placebo effect + researcher bias)

Answer 6

\({\bf{Experimental~Sub~Types}}\)

quasi-experiments: use control /experiment groups that already exist instead of making new ones, useful for studying the effects of variables that cannot be deliberately induced, like medical disorders, smoking, etc.
natural experiments: uses control/experiment groups created by nature, ex. observing the effect of natural disasters on a population
analogue experiments: researcher induces abnormal-like behavior in participants to test their behavior
single-subject experimental design: only one participant is subject to the experimental condition (different than a case study)

Answer 7

\({\bf{Protecting~Participant~Rights}}\)

Institutional Review Boards: organizations protecting the rights and safety of research participants

Participant Rights:
1. voluntary participation
2. informed consent (esp. risks)
3. right to end participation at any time
4. benefits of study outweigh costs
5. protection from physical/psychological harm
6. access to information about the study
7. anonymity/privacy of participants

Problems:
1. A lot of people don't read the consent forms before signing
2. The information offered can be hard to understand for the layperson
3. Guidelines about participant rights can be interpreted differently by different committees/research organizations

Answer 8

Anyway, that's all for this topic, I hope it was of use to you! If you have any questions I will address them to the best of my ability (you may have better luck contacting me on my main account, Vocaloid)

Source: Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology, Eighth Edition, Ronald J. Comer