Designing Research

TOPICS

1 The Purpose of Research Design I&II

2 Problems With Case Studies

3 Types Of Confounds

4 Examples Of Research Designs

 1 DESIGN I

The purpose of the DESIGN is to

rule out all alternative explanations
 DESIGN II

The purpose of the DESIGN is to arrange the

study so that you can be SURE that what you
intended caused any change.
It avoids someone asking "Might X have caused
the change ?", and you having to reply "Maybe"
or "Possibly".
If so, you don't know what caused the change and
the study hasn't explained anything. It has been
"confounded" by X.
 Case Studies

A very common way of reporting the effect

of treatments on patients.

But why might case study reports NOT be

acceptable evidence that a treatment
works?
 2 Problems With Case Studies

1 The patient might be getting better already

2 Illness might be in remission
3 Another factor might cause improvement
4 Patient might feel obliged to report improvement
5 Therapist expectation might bias measurement

Summary: Improvements cannot be attributed to

treatments with certainty. Clinical evaluations are
designed to avoid these problems.
 3 Types of Confounds

1 FACTORS OUTSIDE THE STUDY

1.1 Were they getting better anyway?

1.2 Something else could have caused the change

2 FACTORS INSIDE THE STUDY

2.1 Changing several things at once

2.2 Patients' expectations

2.3 Clinicians' expectations and measurement bias

 1 FACTORS OUTSIDE THE STUDY

1.1 Were they getting better anyway?

Solution: Have a baseline period

Improvement shown,
but they might have
being getting better
already.
There’s a baseline here,
but something else could
have caused the change
 1 FACTORS OUTSIDE THE STUDY

1.2 Something else could have caused the

change

Solution 1: Introduce intervention at different

times
 1 FACTORS OUTSIDE THE STUDY

1.2 Something else could have caused the

change

Solution 2: (many patients) Have a

comparison control group.
measure
 2 FACTORS INSIDE THE STUDY

2.1 Changing several things at the same

time

Solution: Avoid or divide patients into

different groups
 2 FACTORS INSIDE THE STUDY

2.2 Patients' expectations

Solution: Have comparison groups with a

"sham" treatment; have a cover story or "blind”.
 2 FACTORS INSIDE THE STUDY

2.3 Clinicians' expectations

Solution: Have a similar "blind" to stop

unconscious influences.
 2 FACTORS INSIDE THE STUDY

2.4 Clinicians' measurement bias

Solution: Ensure that the therapist does not

take the measures by using an objective
measure or an independent “blinded”
observer
5 Examples Of Research Designs
CONDITIONED PHARMACOTHERAPY
 Averting
Epileptic Aura

Example
Design
RULE NUMBER ONE (Yet Again)

If you fail to plan,

you are planning to fail
 GROUP TASK

1. Select a condition and treatment

you’d like to evaluate
2. Sketch out an Introduction (with mock
references) and Aims
3. Select a design
4. Prepare the Procedure (what each
patient will go through)