Methodological Issues and Strategies in Clinical Research

by Kazdin, Alan E.

• ISBN13: 9781433820915
• ISBN10: 1433820919
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-12-14
• Publisher: American Psychological Association

Summary

This fourth edition of Alan E. Kazdin’s classic text is, like its predecessors, intended to help students and professionals alike master a wide range of methodological approaches to examining clinical issues and phenomena. The goal is to help the reader design, conduct, recognize, and appreciate high quality research, and recognize the implications of crucial decisions about methodology and design. Articles cover a comprehensive array of topics, including experimental design; the principles, procedures, and practices that govern research; assessment of study constructs and their interrelationships; potential sources of artifact and bias; methods of data analysis and interpretation; ethical issues; and the nuts and bolts of writing research articles and getting published.

With 26 new articles and significantly revised and expanded introductory material, this revamped edition features scholarly contributions that explicate core concepts, survey contemporary issues in research, and examine ethical responsibilities toward both research participants and science itself. New additions include articles on translational and qualitative research, advances in data collection methods such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service and obtaining client feedback in psychotherapy, advances in mathematical and statistical modeling including single-case interventions, and new chapters addressing questionable research practices and fraud.

Author Biography

Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, ABPP, received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Northwestern University. He is the Sterling Professor of Psychology and Professor of Child Psychiatry at Yale University and director of the Yale Parenting Center, a service for children and families. Before coming to Yale, he was on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At Yale, Dr. Kazdin has been chairman of the psychology department, director and chairman of the Yale Child Study Center at the School of Medicine, and director of Child Psychiatric Services at Yale–New Haven Hospital. Dr. Kazdin's research has focused primarily on the treatment of aggressive and antisocial behavior in children, and parent, child, and contextual influences that contribute to child dysfunction and processes and outcome of child therapy. His work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the William T. Grant Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Rivendell Foundation of America, the Humane Society of America, the Laura J. Niles Foundation, Leon Lowenstein Foundation, the Jack Parker Foundation, and Yale University. His work on parenting and childrearing has been featured on NPR, PBS, BBC, and CNN and he has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, 20/20, and Dr. Phil. Dr. Kazdin has been editor of six professional journals, including Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Behavior Therapy, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice Current Directions in Psychological Science, and Clinical Psychological Science. He has received a number of professional awards, including the Outstanding Research Contribution by an Individual Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards (Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award and Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology (APA), and the James McKeen Cattell Award (Association for Psychological Science). In 2008, he was president of APA. Dr. Kazdin's 700+ publications include 49 books that focus on methodology, interventions for children and adolescents, parenting and child rearing, cognitive–behavioral treatment, and interpersonal violence. Some of his recent books include Single-Case Research Designs: Methods for Clinical and Applied Settings (2nd ed.); Research Design in Clinical Psychology (5th ed.); The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child: With No Pills, No Therapy, No Contest of Wills (with Carlo Rotella); Behavior Modification in Applied Settings (7th ed.); and Violence Against Women and Children: Volume I: Mapping the Terrain and Volume II: Navigating Solutions (with Jacqueline W. White and Mary P. Koss).

Table of Contents

Contributors
Preface

I. Introduction: Overview and Background
Chapter 1. Methodology: What It Is and Why It Is So Important
Alan E. Kazdin

II. Beginning the Research Process
Research Ideas
Chapter 2. Beginning the Research Process: Key Concepts That Can Guide a Study
Alan E. Kazdin
Chapter 3. Getting Out of Our Conceptual Ruts: Strategies for Expanding Conceptual Frameworks
Allan W. Wicker
Chapter 4. Translational Research
Michael T. Bardo and Mary Ann Pentz

Foci of Research
Chapter 5. In Defense of External Invalidity
Douglas G. Mook
Chapter 6. When Small Effects Are Impressive
Deborah A. Prentice and Dale T. Miller

III. Sampling and Assigning Participants to Conditions
Samples and Selection of Participants
Chapter 7. Most People Are Not WEIRD
Joseph Henrich, Steven J. Heine, and Ara Norenzayan
Chapter 8. The Neglected 95%: Why American Psychology Needs to Become Less American
Jeffrey J. Arnett
Chapter 9. Amazon's Mechanical Turk: A New Source of Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Data?
Michael Buhrmester, Tracy Kwang, and Samuel D. Gosling

Randomization and Group Equivalence
Chapter 10. Random Sampling, Randomization, and Equivalence of Contrasted Groups in Psychotherapy Outcome Research
Louis M. Hsu

Research Design Options
Chapter 11. Experimental and Observational Designs: An Overview
Alan E. Kazdin

IV. Assessment
Measurement Development, Reliability, and Validity
Chapter 12. Constructing Validity: Basic Issues in Objective Scale Development
Lee Anna Clark and David Watson
Chapter 13. Selecting Measures for Research Investigations
Alan E. Kazdin
Chapter 14. Measurement and Assessment: An Editorial View
Cecil R. Reynolds

Measurement Among Diverse Samples

Chapter 15. Methodological Issues in Assessment Research With Ethnic Minorities
Sumie Okazaki and Stanley Sue

V. Data Analysis, Evaluation, and Presentation
Background and Underpinnings of Data Analyses
Chapter 16. On the Origins of the .05 Level of Statistical Significance
Michael Cowles and Caroline Davis
Chapter 17. Things I Have Learned (So Far)
Jacob Cohen

Null Hypotheses Testing, Meta-Analysis, and Bayesian Statistics
Chapter 18. A Power Primer
Jacob Cohen
Chapter 19. Statistical Significance Testing and Cumulative Knowledge in Psychology: Implications for Training of Researchers
Frank L. Schmidt
Chapter 20. An Effect Size Primer: A Guide for Clinicians and Researchers
Christopher J. Ferguson
Chapter 21. The Proof of the Pudding: An Illustration of the Relative Strengths of Null Hypothesis, Meta-Analysis, and Bayesian Analysis
George S. Howard, Scott E. Maxwell, and Kevin J. Fleming

Data Presentation
Chapter 22. Designing Better Graphs by Including Distributional Information and Integrating Words, Numbers, and Images
David M. Lane and Anikó Sándor

VI. Special Topics: Evaluation in Clinical Practice and Research
Assessment and Evaluation in Clinical Work
Chapter 23. Collecting Client Feedback
Michael J. Lambert and Kenichi Shimokawa
Chapter 24. Revisiting and Reenvisioning the Outcome Problem in Psychotherapy: An Argument to Include Individualized and Qualitative Measurement
Clara E. Hill, Harold Chui, and Ellen Baumann

Evaluating Interventions
Chapter 25. Beyond Efficacy and Effectiveness: A Multifaceted Approach to Treatment Evaluation
Timothy D. Nelson and Ric G. Steele
Chapter 26. Methodological Challenges in Treatment Outcome Research With Ethnic Minorities
Anna S. Lau, Doris F. Chang, and Sumie Okazaki

VII. Multiple Methodologies
Chapter 27. The Epistemology of Mathematical and Statistical Modeling: A Quiet Methodological Revolution
Joseph Lee Rodgers
Chapter 28. Qualitative Research and Its Place in Psychological Science
Anna Madill and Brendan Gouge
Chapter 29. Single-Case Experimental Research Designs
Alan E. Kazdin

VIII. Ethical Issues and Scientific Integrity
Guidelines and Codes
Chapter 30. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
American Psychological Association
Chapter 31. Research Ethics: How to Treat People Who Participate in Research
Ezekiel Emanuel, Emily Abdoler, and Leanne Stunkel
Chapter 32. Research Ethics for Mental Health Science Involving Ethnic Minority Children and Youths
Celia B. Fisher, Kimberly Hoagwood,Cheryl Boyce, Troy Duster, Deborah A. Frank, Thomas Grisso, Robert J. Levine, Ruth Macklin, Margaret Beale Spencer, Ruby Takanishi, Joseph E. Trimble, and Luis H. Zayas

Questionable Research Practices, Fraud, and Professional Responsibilities
Chapter 33. False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant
Joseph P. Simmons, Leif D. Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn
Chapter 34. Why Has the Number of Scientific Retractions Increased?
R. Grant Steen, Arturo Casadevall, and Ferric C. Fang
Chapter 35. Best Practices for Allocating Appropriate Credit and Responsibility to Authors of Multi-Authored Articles
Lucas D. Eggert

IX. Reproducibility of Findings: Replication and Improving Research Practices
Chapter 36. Shall We Really Do It Again? The Powerful Concept of Replication is Neglected in the Social Sciences
Stefan Schmidt
Chapter 37. The Empirical March: Making Science Better at Self-Correction
Matthew C. Makel
Chapter 38. Recommendations for Increasing Replicability in Psychology
Jens B. Asendorpf, Mark Conner, Filip de Fruyt, Jan De Houwer, Jaap J. A. Denissen, Klaus Fiedler, Susann Fiedler, David C. Funder, Reinhold Kliegl, Brian A. Nosek, Marco Perugini, Brent W. Roberts, Manfred Schmitt, Marcel A. G. van Aken, Hannelore Weber, and Jelte M. Wicherts

X. Publication and Communication of Research
Reporting Standards: What to Cover and Include in an Article
Chapter 39. Reporting Standards for Research in Psychology: Why Do We Need Them? What Might They Be?
APA Publications and Communications Board Working Group on Journal Article Reporting Standards

Preparing Articles for Publication
Chapter 40. Publication and Communication of Research Findings
Alan E. Kazdin
Chapter 41. Writing a Review Article for Psychological Bulletin
Daryl J. Bem

XI. Perspectives on Methodology
Chapter 42. Methodology: Perspectives and General Lessons to Guide Research
Alan E. Kazdin

Index
About the Editor