Psychological Therapies Small-Scale Research Project and Viva

Module title	Psychological Therapies Small-Scale Research Project and Viva
Module code	PYCM116
Academic year	2023/4
Credits	60
Module staff	Mr Richard Mizen (Lecturer) Dr Janet Smithson (Lecturer)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	All	All	All

Number students taking module (anticipated)	12

Module description

This module allows you to put the research knowledge and skills you are learning into practice by undertaking a small project. The project will be a research proposal, aligned to your area of practice. You will make links between clinical practice, understanding of theory, and a research approach to both. You will complete your assignments including a mini viva where you will present your case work and the links that you have made with this to theory and to research.

All other stage one modules are a co-requisite to this module. This module is taught in the second year of your study.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the knowledge and skills required to conduct applied clinical research in general and psychoanalytic/psychodynamic in particular. On completion of the first two years of the programme, members should have acquired a basic understanding of research design, data gathering, analysis and the presentation of results, and the links that may be made with this to clinical practice and to theory. They will be familiar with related questions of context, feasibility, and ethics. You will also learn how to present research projects and clinical findings.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Design and plan innovative clinical research projects competently and independently, taking into account questions of ethics and feasibility, and demonstrating originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of established techniques.
2. Formulate and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of psychoanalytically-informed and ethical clinical practice and techniques, founded on experience of and knowledge of clinical method, theory and relevant research and demonstrate knowledge of appropriate organisational structures for delivering research in clinical practice.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

3. Evidence great depth and systematic understanding of a substantial body of knowledge in clinical research practice and produce a research proposal suitable for peer review.
4. Develop new approaches to understanding clinically relevant problems and contribute to the development and evaluation of methodologies and critiques of clinical research practice.
5. Demonstrate your systematic understanding and critical awareness of research in your professional area

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

6. Analyse and manage the implications of ethical dilemmas and work proactively with others to formulate solutions, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the techniques appliable to your proposed research.
7. Function independently and self-critically as a learner, using a wide range of learning resources to guide and support the learning and development of others.

Syllabus plan

Introduction to empirical clinical research methods, qualitative and quantitative.
Introduction to research processes, including questions of feasibility.
Introduction to conceptual research methods in psychoanalysis.
The relevance of research to clinical practice.
Research ethics.
Research and Psychoanalysis.
Research reflexivity and analytic reflexivity.

Lectures, workshops and tutorials on research design and practice.

One to one research supervision with supervisor.

Designing a research project, including planning appropriate research design, data collection, (or textual or conceptual analysis) analysis and writing up.

Mini Viva discussing the proposed research project and the relevance and application to clinical practice, linking research, theory and clinical work during the course.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
50	550	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	18	Lectures research methodologies, ethics and research applied to clinical practice (12 x 1.5 hours)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	12	Group tutorials (12 x 1 hour)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	12	Workshops facilitated by staff including presentations by students who are advanced in their project planning (12 x 1 hour)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	8	Supervision and individual research tutorials (8 x 1 hour)
Guided Independent Study	550	550 hours of reading, project design, and writing up

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Research diary/notes field notes	Throughout the module. Notes consistent with and adequate to the project.	1-7	Review with research tutor/research supervisors

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Research proposal	80	5,000 words max	1-7	Written response from markers that will be received after the mini Viva.
Mini Viva (Oral assessment of the research proposal)	20	40 minutes including discussion time	1-7	Oral and edit of written response from markers to the thesis, feedback will be combined on the same feedback sheet.
*Summative assessments must be passed individually to pass the module; failure in this assessment will lead to failure in the module and the programme.

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Research proposal	5,000 words max	1-7	Minor amendments 4 weeks; Major amendments 8 weeks
Mini Viva (Oral assessment of the research proposal)	40 minutes including discussion time	1-7	Minor Amendments 4 weeks Major amendments 8 weeks

Re-assessment notes

The research proposal and the mini-viva must be passed in order to pass the module. Feedback from these is combined into a single feedback document.

1) If, on submitting the proposal and completing the Viva, major or minor amendments are required, these are required to the thesis proposal only. A second viva is not required.

2) If the student receives a fail for this module they will be asked to re-submit a new piece of work, and this will be reassessed in the same format as the original, with a proposal and then a mini viva, and the same possible outcomes.

More information regarding assessment of pre-dissertation modules can be found here: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/pgr/professionaldoctoratepgr/#assess including the Flowchart of professional doctorate assessment process.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Core Reading:

Altimir, C. Jimenez, J.P. (2020). Walking the middle ground between hermeneutics and science: A research proposal on psychoanalytic process. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 101(3):496-522.
American Psychological Association. (2020) Publication manual (7th ed). American Psychological Association. Or online APA7 guidance at https://apastyle.apa.org/
Beebe, B. (2005). Mother-Infant Research Informs Mother-Infant Treatment. Psychoanal. St. Child, 60:7-46.
Bryman, A. (2015). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.
Field, A. (2017). Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage.
Fonagy, P. (2013). There is Room for Even More Doublethink: The Perilous Status of Psychoanalytic Research. Psychoanal. Dial., 23(1):116-122.
Fonagy, P., Rost, F., Carlyle, J.A., McPherson, S., Thomas, R., Pasco Fearon, R.M., et al. (2015) Pragmatic randomized controlled trial of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression: The Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS). World Psychiatry 14(3): 312–21.
Harper, D., & Thompson, A. R. (Eds.). (2011). Qualitative research methods in mental health and psychotherapy: A guide for students and practitioners. John Wiley & Sons.
Hinshelwood, R. (2013).Research on the couch. London: Routledge.
Holmes, J. (2018). A practical guide to reflexive research. London: Routledge.
Leichsenring, F. & Rabung, S. (2008) Effectiveness of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. JAMA 300(13): 1551–65.
Lepper, G, and Riding, N. (2006). Researching the Psychotherapy Process. A practical guide to transcript-based methods. Palgrave.
Rohleder, P. and Lyons, A.C. (2015). Qualitative research in clinical and health psychology. Palgrave.
Robson, C. (2002)Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner researchers (2nded). Blackwell.
Rustin, M. (2010). Varieties of psychoanalytic research. Psychoanal. Psychother., 24(4):380-397.
Rustin, M. (2019). Researching the unconscious. London: Routledge.
Shedler, J. (2010) The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist 65
(2): 98–109.
Stamenova, K. & Hinshelwood, R. (2018). Methods of research into the unconscious. London: Routledge
Taylor, D. (2010). Psychoanalytic approaches and outcome research: Negative capability or irritable reaching after fact and reason? Psychoanal. Psychotherapy.

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

ELE – you can find methodology references, lecture PowerPoints (usually with references on the final slide) and guides to research.

Key words search

Advanced skills Clinical Research

Credit value	60
Module ECTS	30
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	All other stage one modules are a co-requisite to this module.
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	27/08/2021
Last revision date	13/11/2024