Methodological Issues and Strategies in Clinical Research

Now in its fifth edition, this classic text helps readers learn how to design, conduct, analyze, and report high-quality clinical studies.

Alan E. Kazdin brings together a wide array of authoritative articles with his own expert insights to illustrate fundamental issues research in an accessible manner, including generating ideas, selecting participants, randomization, selecting assessment measures, analyzing data, and evaluating the implications of and publishing the results.

New to this edition are articles emphasizing the importance of diversity in research, not only cultural diversity among study participants but also in methodology (including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods); the role of big data; using technology such as artificial intelligence and apps; and strategies to improve transparency and accessibility, including open science practices, replication, and preregistration.

From generating hypotheses for study and selecting appropriate assessments to interpreting data and presenting findings, readers will come to better understand the whole research process as well as the importance of ethics and scientific integrity.

Preface

Part I. Introduction: Overview and Background

• Chapter 1. Methodology: What It Is and Why It Is So Important
  Alan E. Kazdin

Part II. Beginning the Research Process

Part III. Participants in Research

• Chapter 6. A WEIRD View of Human Nature Skews Psychologists' Studies
  Dan Jones
• Chapter 7. Toward a Psychology of Homo Sapiens: Making Psychological Science More Representative of the Human Population
  Mostafa Salari Rad, Alison Jane Martingano, and Jeremy Ginges

Diversity of Participants

• Chapter 8. On Becoming Multicultural in a Monocultural Research World: A Conceptual Approach to Studying Ethnocultural Diversity
  Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, Tiffany Yip, and Michael A. Zárate
• Chapter 9. Designing Studies for Sex and Gender Analyses: How Research Can Derive Clinically Useful Knowledge for Women's Health
  Ruth Klap and Keith Humphreys

Part IV. Design Options With and Without Randomization

Research Designs Options

• Chapter 10. Experimental and Observational Designs: An Overview
  Alan E. Kazdin
• Chapter 11. Observational Studies and Their Utility for Practice
  Julia F. M. Gilmartin-Thomas, Danny Liew, and Ingrid Hopper

Randomization and Randomized Controlled Trials

• Chapter 12. Random Sampling, Randomization, and Equivalence of Contrasted Groups in Psychotherapy Outcome Research
  Louis M. Hsu
• Chapter 13. Randomized Controlled Trials: Characteristics, Options, and Challenges
  Alan E. Kazdin

Part V. Assessment

Core Concepts and Considerations in Developing and Selecting Measures

• Chapter 14. Constructing Validity: New Developments in Creating Objective Measuring Instruments
  Lee Anna Clark and David Watson
• Chapter 15. Selecting Measures for Research Investigations
  Alan E. Kazdin

Novel Measurement Options

• Chapter 16. Computer-Enhanced Practice: The Benefits of Computer-Assisted Assessment in Applied Clinical Practice
  Stephanie Ruth Young, Danika L. S. Maddocks, and Jacqueline M. Caemmerer
• Chapter 17. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) in Studies of Substance Use
  Saul Shiffman
• Chapter 18. AI in Mental Health
  Simon D’Alfonso

Part VI. Data Analysis, Evaluation, and Presentation

Background and Underpinnings of Data Analyses

• Chapter 19. A Power Primer
  Jacob Cohen
• Chapter 20. Abandon Statistical Significance
  Blakeley B. McShane, David Gal, Andrew Gelman, Christian Robert, and Jennifer L. Tackett
• Chapter 21. Ethical Concerns in Statistical Analyses: Implications for Clinical Research and Practice
  Owen J. Gaasedelen

Data Exploration and Multiple Methods of Data Analyses

• Chapter 22. Exploratory Data Analysis as a Foundation of Inductive Research
  Andrew T. Jebb, Scott Parrigon, and Sang Eun Woo
• Chapter 23. When Should We Use One-Tailed Hypothesis Testing?
  Graeme D. Ruxton and Markus Neuhäuser
• Chapter 24. 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 25. Designing Better Graphs by Including Distributional Information and Integrating Words, Numbers, and Images
  David M. Lane and Anikó Sándor

Part VII. Special Topics: Evaluation in Clinical Practice and Research

Evaluating Clinical Effects of Treatment

• Chapter 26. Routine Outcome Monitoring (ROM) and Feedback: Research Review and Recommendations
  Michael Barkham, Kim De Jong, Jaime Delgadillo, and Wolfgang Lutz
• Chapter 27. Revisiting and Reenvisioning the Outcome Problem in Psychotherapy: An Argument to Include Individualized and Qualitative Measurement
  Clara E. Hill, Harold Chui, and Ellen Baumann

Extending Treatments

• Chapter 28. Beyond Efficacy and Effectiveness: A Multifaceted Approach to Treatment Evaluation
  Timothy D. Nelson and Ric G. Steele
• Chapter 29. Testing Psychosocial Interventions in the Contexts They Are Meant to be Delivered
  Rinad S. Beidas, Lisa Saldana, and Rachel C. Shelton

Part VIII. Multiple Methodologies and Levels of Data Analysis

Beyond Quantitative Methods

• Chapter 30. What Can Qualitative Psychology Contribute to Psychological Knowledge?
  Carla Willig
• Chapter 31. Mixed Methods Research in Psychology
  Timothy C. Guetterman and Analay Perez
• Chapter 32. Single-Case Experimental Research Designs
  Alan E. Kazdin

Big Data, Secondary Data Sets, and Collaborative Science

• Chapter 33. Big Data in Psychology: A Framework for Research Advancement
  Idris Adjerid and Ken Kelley
• Chapter 34. Getting Started: Working With Secondary Data
  Amy M. Pienta, JoAnne McFarland O'Rourke, and Melissa M. Franks
• Chapter 35. How to Build Up Big Team Science: A Practical Guide for Large-Scale Collaborations
  Heidi A. Baumgartner, Nicolás Alessandroni, Krista Byers-Heinlein, Michael C. Frank, J. Kiley Hamlin, Melanie Soderstrom, Jan G. Voelkel, Robb Willer, Francis Yuen, and Nicholas A. Coles

Part IX. Ethics and Scientific Integrity

Guidelines and Codes

• Chapter 36. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
  American Psychological Association
• Chapter 37. Research Ethics: How to Treat People Who Participate in Research
  Ezekiel Emanuel, Emily Abdoler, and Leanne Stunkel

Professional Responsibilities for the Conduct of Research

• Chapter 38. International Recommendations to Guide Multiple Facets of the Research and Publication Process
  Alan E. Kazdin
• Chapter 39. 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 40. Best Practices for Allocating Appropriate Credit and Responsibility to Authors of Multi-Authored Articles
  Lucas D. Eggert

Part X. Open Science, Replication, and Research Practices

Open Science

• Chapter 41. A Manifesto for Reproducible Science
  Marcus R. Munafò, Brian A. Nosek, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, Katherine S. Button, Christopher D. Chambers, Nathalie Percie du Sert, Uri Simonsohn, Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, Jennifer J. Ware, and John P. A. Ioannidis
• Chapter 42. Replicate Others as You Would Like to Be Replicated Yourself
  Nicole Janz and Jeremy Freese

Practices to Improve Research

• Chapter 43. A Template for Preregistration of Quantitative Research in Psychology: Report of the Joint Psychological Societies Preregistration Task Force
  Michael Bosnjak, Christian J. Fiebach, David Mellor, Stefanie Mueller, Daryl B. O’Connor, Frederick L. Oswald, and Rosemarie I. Sokol
• Chapter 44. Responsible Practices for Data Sharing
  George Alter and Richard Gonzalez

Part XI. Publication and Communication of Research

Reporting Standards: What to Cover and Include in an Article

• Chapter 45. Journal Article Reporting Standards for Quantitative Research in Psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board Task Force Report
  Mark Appelbaum, Harris Cooper, Rex B. Kline, Evan Mayo-Wilson, Arthur M. Nezu, and Stephen M. Rao

Communicating Research Findings

• Chapter 46. Publication and Communication of Research Findings
  Alan E. Kazdin

Part XII. Perspectives on Methodology

• Chapter 47. Methodology: Perspectives and General Lessons to Guide Research
  Alan E. Kazdin

Index

About the Editor

Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, is a research scientist and sterling professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University where he also served as chairman of the psychology department, director of the Child Study Center, director of child psychiatric services, and chair of the publications committee.

He has published 50 books on methodology, parenting and child-rearing, psychosocial interventions, interpersonal violence, and novel treatment delivery models.

His awards include the Research Scientist and MERIT Awards from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation.

This book is a must-read for all students and trainees in clinical and counseling psychology and the go-to resource for everyone interested in clinical science. It is an updated classic from the foremost leader in clinical psychological science. Kazdin assembled the best works in psychological methods to walk us through all stages of the research process emphasizing the importance of using science to understand and treat clinical disorders while at the same time addressing the challenges and pitfalls head-on. This updated masterpiece will be required reading in the training of the next generation of clinical scientists.
—Jutta Joormann, PhD, Richard Ely Professor and Chair of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Once again, Alan E. Kazdin has interwoven his own research design and methodological contributions with those of leading scholars across a variety of relevant areas to describe and clarify research and methodological issues in scientific inquiry. The result—an expanded and updated contemporary fifth edition of a book that will continue to serve as the model for informing and addressing methodological issues. It simply sets the standard in this arena for both academic and clinical readers.
—W. Edward Craighead, PhD, ABPP, J. Rex Fuqua Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA