Month: February 2013

Read All About It: Communicating Brain and Behaviour in Newspaper Style

Post author By coen_sharon
Post date February 26, 2013
2 Comments on Read All About It: Communicating Brain and Behaviour in Newspaper Style

The “newspaper style” report is an assignment that forms part of the Brain and Behaviour module offered to undergraduate Psychology students in their final year. Students are asked to write a report on a current ‘hot’ topic within the field of field of neuroscience, the topic being chosen from a list of options, that is appropriate for publication in a newspaper or online magazine.

The assignment allows students the opportunity to demonstrate literature research skills and their ability to translate a complex set of ideas into a readily understandable form aimed at the non-specialist reader. In addition to providing accurate information, students are encouraged to be creative in their presentation. Below are two great articles written in very different styles and addressing two very different topics:

Image courtesy of Flicker User NS Newsflash via Creative Commons Licence Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

1. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome: the Ladette Legacy? – Joanne Pritchard

Brain and Behaviour Newspaper Article – Joanne Pritchard from SalfordPsych

2. Are we biologically pre-disposed to believe in God? – Clayton Clough

Brain and Behaviour Newspaper Article: Clayton Clough from SalfordPsych

3. Bankers behaving badly? – Robert Smith

Brain and behaviour newspaper article: Robert Smith from SalfordPsych

4. The Jewels of Fatherhood – Ethar Bashir

Brain and behaviour newspaper article: Ethar Bashir from SalfordPsych

For further information about the Brain and Behaviour module, you can contact Lynne on l.marrow@salford.ac.uk

applied psychology depression mental health postgraduate

Ten Years On: Improving Access to Psychological Therapies; The Case of Depression

Post author By coen_sharon
Post date February 19, 2013
1 Comment on Ten Years On: Improving Access to Psychological Therapies; The Case of Depression

By Dr Liz Smith

Over ten years ago, after finishing my degree in Psychology, I secured funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to do a PhD investigating why clinical guidelines (which at the time had become an increasingly familiar component of health care) were not always implemented. I knew that there was a massive gap between evidence and practice and that this was particularly true for depression. At this time antidepressant prescribing had increased for all age and sex groups over the previous 20 years. GPs regularly handed out anti-depressant drugs but very rarely referred patients for therapy even though this may have been the preferred treatment. So my PhD focused on how clinicians used clinical guidelines in depression.

The first couple of quantitative studies I carried out confirmed that (1) a gap existed between clinical guidelines and practice; (2) the GPs in my study tended to overprescribe relative to recommendations and (3) prescribing no drugs at all was extremely rare. This led me to the question of why. The next study I undertook was one of the most enjoyable research studies I have ever carried out. It was a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of GPs. Here I aimed to elicit GPs’ views about the depression guidelines, how they used them in their practice and any barriers they thought there were that prevented them from implementing them. The GPs who took part in the study were from general practices across the Scottish Grampian region and North East England.

The main findings were that (1) the GPs did not always agree with recommendations of the depression guidelines current at that time; (2) they thought the guidelines were insufficiently flexible to use with the variety of patients they see; and (3) lack of resources, particularly mental health professionals for referrals, were seen as the main barriers to guideline use.

For these GPs lack of resources emerged as a major barrier to following guideline recommendations. They had problems in referring patients to mental health specialists. They reported having no specialist to refer them to, patients being misled about specialists’ qualifications, and problems with patient confidentiality issues. Several GPs reported that they had tried their best to follow the guidelines and refer patients for some form of talking therapy but by the time patients received appointments from mental health specialists, the patients reported that their depression problems had disappeared and they no longer wanted appointments. Waiting times reported were between 2 to 26 weeks for psychiatrists or community psychiatric nurses and 9 to 12 months for psychologists. These delays partially explained GPs’ tendency to over prescribe relative to recommendations. In sum, these GPs saw the lack of mental health professionals as a main barrier to following depression guidelines. When this study was published we recommended that those involved in guideline production should be demonstrating the case for more mental health professionals.

Since this time I have not given the issue much thought as I changed my career track and worked on research within a business school for 8 years. However, last year I returned back to the realms of psychology, here at the University of Salford. On checking out the courses which ran from here I discovered that there is a postgraduate course in Applied Psychology (Therapies). The University advertises these courses as providing great opportunities for students to prepare to undertake a role in therapeutic interventions and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) which is high on the government agenda “Improving Access to Psychological Therapies” (IAPT).

The IAPT programme has its own website where it claims to support the frontline NHS in implementing National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety. The website states that the initiative was developed with the aim of offering patients realistic and routine first-line treatment, combined where appropriate with medication which they say was traditionally the only treatment available. It is amazing that something I found out to be true in my early research days has been addressed by the government and the institute where I carry out my current research actually trains people to prepare them for the IAPT programme. In chatting with the leader of the course, Dr Simon Cassidy, he tells me that a substantial number of students graduating from the Applied Psychology (Therapies) course go on to work in this initiative.

It’s really great to see that someone somewhere has recognized the need for psychological therapies in the treatment of depression. It would be marvelous to obtain funding for a follow up study to investigate how clinicians use clinical guidelines in depression today and to see if the gap has closed between evidence and practice.

Contact Details: Dr Liz Smith, Email: e.smith1@salford.ac.uk

Image courtesy of Jaypeg on Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Tags applied psychology

learning

Getting Published: Research experience as vital work experience

Post author By coen_sharon
Post date February 13, 2013
1 Comment on Getting Published: Research experience as vital work experience

In 2011, Dawn Smail graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and continued on her academic journey to recently complete her MSc in Applied Psychology (Therapies) here at Salford. Dawn’s first publication, written during her time here as a student, originally featured in the North West of England Branch newsletter called “The Update”. In her article, she considers the value of gaining research experience as an undergraduate, and how one opportunity can lead to another such as gaining her first publication. To see the original version of Dawn’s article click here. We would like to thank the British Psychological Society for giving their permission for this post to be republished on our blog.

Research experience as vital work experience: reflections on being an undergraduate psychology student in the field

By Dawn Smail

As an undergraduate student, I was presented with an opportunity to work for an ongoing interdisciplinary research project at the University of Salford. The main aim of the research was to carry out social survey questionnaires with residents living in areas where construction work was being carried out nearby. In the third year of my studies, to say I was a tad anxious before going into the field is perhaps an understatement. However the excitement I felt about getting some much needed work experience soon outweighed any anxieties I had. I knew it would be challenging work but with my background knowledge in psychology waiting to be put into practice, I felt ready to take on this new challenge.

Before commencing the research I attended a mandatory two-day workshop that was designed to inform and teach us, the trainees, how to comprehensively prepare for every stage of the research process. The interactive programme included discussions around the following broad topics: communication skills, ethical issues, project management, and cultural sensitivities. This training prepared me for the challenges of social survey fieldwork, particularly door knocking as a method of recruiting participants in research.

Due to my research methods training on my degree course, I knew that developing rapport and trust between the researcher and the participant was an essential element for good quality research. On the doorstep, I realised how difficult developing a connection with a participant is in such a short space of time. Not being able to develop an instant rapport with the participant made me feel slightly defeated and less motivated. However I did overcome these feelings and realised that ‘real world’ research is very different to what can be known from a lecture or a textbook.

On a daily basis, many hours were spent visiting people at their homes where a substantial amount of doors remained closed and those that opened did so with a ‘no thanks’. When people agreed to be interviewed I felt a great sense of achievement which appeared to have a cascading effect on the rest of the day. I really enjoyed interviewing residents and what I learned from the experience has, without doubt, given me a better understanding of doing research with people. I also found that working in a team of researchers allowed me to share my ‘doorstep’ experiences. Our team meetings were an invaluable source of support which also helped to foster a sense of progress and success.

This experience gave me the opportunity to meet with other researchers, many of whom I have remained in contact with since. My role as an employee, rather than student, was an excellent way for me to expand my knowledge of Psychology as a science by gaining first-hand experience of research in action and gave valuable insight into the day-to-day work carried out by academic researchers.

I would like to see more work experience opportunities for Psychology undergraduate students on offer. The DIUS (2008) argue such skills are undoubtedly beneficial to a fresh graduate and offer an advantage when applying for further clinical training or job applications. Therefore I feel very fortunate that I was given the chance to work on this project. It has opened doors to further opportunities for me such as writing this article.

References

Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (2008) Higher education at work – high skills: high value, London: DIUS, (Available at: www.dius.gov.uk/consultations/con_0408_hlss.html)

Tags applied psychology, british psychological society, masters, publications, research assistant, work experience

learning Level 6 psychology labs research research participant SONA undergraduate

The Benefits of Being a Research Participant

Post author By coen_sharon
Post date February 4, 2013

This post is from Nichola Burns, a third year undergraduate BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology student at Salford. In this post, Nichola reflects on her time as an undergraduate and the benefits of participating in research during her studies.

The Benefits of being a Research Participant

“When you enter your psychology degree, research designs and methods will not be as familiar to you as they are when you leave. One sure fire way to gain an in-depth knowledge of research is to participate in research that is being carried out in the university. The psychology department uses a system called SONA, which is software that enables you to create experiments and take part in research. On SONA, you are given some information before you apply to participate. SONA also means that you can experience a range of different studies in order to gain a deeper understanding of psychology. You can also choose to take part in experiments from one area of psychology. We all have a dissertation to think about and prepare for, and participating in studies in your chosen area can fill you with ideas. Also in psychology, you can take part in research that is going on in the psychology department whether this is quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods.

For me, participating in research offers the following advantages:

You get to keep information sheets which you can use to inform your future research assignments.
You get to see the questions typically asked on consent forms and possible variables.
Participating in experiments helps bring to life the journal papers you will be reading, and adds strength to all your assignments.
When filling out other people’s questionnaires, electronic or hard copy, you really get a sense of how much you are willing to complete them.
You can gain an understanding of how to compile surveys for testing new concepts and bringing together two or more concepts.
You can gain knowledge of the strengths and limitations of research methods.
Being tested on offers insight into your thoughts as a participant. This means you may be more able to anticipate what participants will be thinking when running your own experiments.
When you get to the 3^rd year, you will be better prepared to keep participants’ attention and attain quality data.
The Psychology labs are full of equipment that can be used for testing. You can get a feel for what is really possible when participating in the lab.
You can get to see how researchers are adding new equipment or adapting older pieces to current studies. You can see what others are testing and the innovations they perform in testing.
Again you get to see the limitations, adaptations and complexities of lab testing first hand.
When using this equipment in your dissertation you will be able to understand what it feels like, how it affects performance and if it is compatible with your dissertation study.
You can gain a better understanding of participant bias.

Your aim is to have the best knowledge you can gain for your dissertation and one of the best ways to achieve this goal is to become a participant. Afterwards, you can ask the researcher questions be it methodology, the effect they are testing for, or other papers in the subject area. I am sure they will not mind, everyone answered my questions! This knowledge adds to your ability to carry out research that is interesting, fun and worthwhile.”

If you have any questions about this post, you can contact Nichola by email: n.burns@edu.salford.ac.uk

conferences Hong Kong OUHK student exchanges

From Salford to Seoul and Hong Kong

Post author By coen_sharon
Post date February 1, 2013

Peter on a previous visit to OUHK. Flickr: @jayneandd — Peter on a previous visit to OUHK.

This post is from Dr Peter Eachus, Director of Psychology and Public Health, on his recent visit to Seoul for a conference and then on to visit our partners at the Open University of Hong Kong.

In early December I attended ICCIT 2012, the 7^th International Conference on Computer Sciences and Convergence Information Technology. This is a premium international conference on all areas related to the Theory, Development, Applications, Experiences, and Evaluation of Networked/Ubiquitous Computing and Advanced Information Management.

This year, over 400 scholars/researchers from more than 40 countries participated in 3 workshops and 4 invited sessions touching the various aspects of Networked/Ubiquitous Computing, Content and Multi Media, and Advanced Information Management. ICCIT2012 was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The paper that I presented was titled ‘Development of a Hybrid Decision Support System for Intelligence Analysis’ and this described our research aimed at improving the way intelligence analysts work. The conference was excellent and South Korea is a fascinating place, apart from the weather which was the worst in 30 years, -15 degrees and deep snow!

Hong Kong is only a three hour flight from Seoul so I decided to call in on our partners at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). Although I was only there for two days, I met the new staff, and students from all three years. The final year students will graduate in July this year along with their UK colleagues and it was good to find that some of the OUHK students were planning on attending our graduation ceremony in the UK. We also discussed the possibility of staff and student exchanges. It is possible for students from OUHK to visit the UK for a semester and of course vice versa.

Andrew Tang, my counterpart in OUHK, and I are presenting a paper at The Asian Conference on Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences 2013 that is being held in Osaka in Japan in March. This will be our first joint research presentation but I hope not our last!

If you would like to contact Peter about anything in his post, please email p.eachus@salford.ac.uk.

Image: Flickr: @jayneandd

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