Stem cell research in a Catholic institution: yes or no?

Catholic teaching has no moral difficulties with research on stem cells derived from adult stem cells or fetal cord blood. The ethical problem comes with embryonic stem cells since their genesis involves the destruction of a human embryo. However, there seems to be significant promise of health benefits from such research. Although Catholic teaching does not permit any destruction of human embryos, the question remains whether researchers in a Catholic institution, or any researchers opposed to destruction of human embryos, could participate in research on cultured embryonic stem cells, or whether a Catholic institution could use any therapy that ultimately results from such research. This position paper examines how such research could be conducted legitimately in a Catholic institution by using an ethical analysis involving a narrative context, the nature of the moral act, and the principle of material cooperation, along with references to significant ethical assessments. It also offers tentative guidelines that could be used by a Catholic institution in implementing such research.     

Qualitative research in psychology: Could William James get a job?

Considering the case of William James, the author examines the likelihood of a successful career as a qualitative researcher in contemporary U.S. psychology. Fifty-seven journals affiliated with the American Psychological Association or its divisions were analyzed to show the place of qualitative research in U.S. psychology over the past 50 years. Journal abstracts, mission statements, and a short e-mail questionnaire from editors were used to understand patterns and trends in qualitative research in U.S. psychology. Editors are generally accepting of qualitative work, although mission statements do not always signal likely interest in qualitative work. The amount of qualitative work published is comparably low, but patterns of increased publication are found in some journals. Trends in methodologies, topics of research, and ways in which qualitative research enters journals over time are discussed. Suggestions for the publication of qualitative work are provided.     

Gender effects in gaming research: a case for regression residuals?

Numerous recent studies have examined the impact of video gaming on various dependent variables, including the players' affective reactions, positive as well as detrimental cognitive effects, and real-world aggression. These target variables are typically analyzed as a function of game characteristics and player attributes-especially gender. However, findings on the uneven distribution of gaming experience between males and females, on the one hand, and the effect of gaming experience on several target variables, on the other hand, point at a possible confound when gaming experiments are analyzed with a standard analysis of variance. This study uses simulated data to exemplify analysis of regression residuals as a potentially beneficial data analysis strategy for such datasets. As the actual impact of gaming experience on each of the various dependent variables differs, the ultimate benefits of analysis of regression residuals entirely depend on the research question, but it offers a powerful statistical approach to video game research whenever gaming experience is a confounding factor.     

Measuring Intrinsic Religiosity: scales for use in mental health studies in China – a research report

While Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Scale and the Duke University Religion Index have gained popularity in the field of religion and mental health, it remains unknown whether these scales are optimal measures of religiosity in the Chinese culture. This study is to provide some evidence to support the use of the Chinese versions of Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Scale and the Duke University Religion Index. The data were from a community-based sample of 1039 Chinese women, 18–34 years old, in rural China. Reliability tests were performed on the two religiosity scales. Internal consistency analysis showed excellent correlation coefficients for most of the items. In addition, factor analysis produced two factors for the Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Scale, a result consistent with previous findings in the Western, predominantly Christian cultures and societies. Moreover, our findings showed statistically significant correlations between the two religiosity scales and mental health outcomes, even though the strength of correlation between the Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Scale and mental health outcomes appeared to be stronger. In sum, this study suggests that both the Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Scale and the Duke University Religion Index should be appropriate instruments for detecting and measuring religiosity in the Chinese context.     

Computerized encounter registers in primary care research: Is there a gold standard?

Computer technology as well as the need to conduct research in primary care settings, has stimulated the creation in the U.S. of information networks linking private physicians' offices and other primary care practice sights. These networks give rise to several problems which have philosophic interest. One is a “numerator problem” created by the difficulty in primary care of using the more complicated or invasive diagnostic technologies commonly employed in tertiary care research. Another is a “denominator problem” arising from the difficulties in determining which and how many patients constitute the population from which a practice is drawn. Finally, this mode of research raises questions about the social construction of medical reality and how “objective” medical truth is actually based on carefully selected patient experience. All these questions combine to challenge the “gold standard” view on medical research: the idea that some sorts of medical knowledge are epistemologically privileged and can serve as a bench-mark to determine whether new data are valid.     

Voluntary sector counselling: Has inadequate research resulted in a misunderstood and underutilised resource?

Although much counselling already takes place in the voluntary sector, little is known about the nature of the work being done or about its effectiveness or the training and experience of its practitioners. Given the gap between the demand for and supply of psychological therapies in Britain today, lack of research into the effectiveness of this work could mean that a valuable resource is being under‐utilised. This paper describes a study of a large, generic counselling centre and, using the CORE monitoring and evaluation system, makes comparisons between its work and that of a number of NHS psychological therapy services. It shows; that it is of at least as complex or severe a nature; and that it is as effective. It also shows that the therapy carried out in this agency is done by appropriately qualified and experienced practitioners.     

Feedback from research participants: are member checks useful in qualitative research?

It is often assumed that use of so-called “member checks” improves the credibility of qualitative research. Published literature mentioning member checks was reviewed to identify the purposes and procedures for seeking feedback from research participants as well as outcomes reported from member checks. Four themes reflecting underlying assumptions about the purposes of research that have implications for member checks were identified: theory generalisation, representation, participation, and change. Member checks are unlikely to be relevant to research focussed on theory development and generalisation. For other types of research, member checks might be justifiable, but there was little evidence that member checks improved research findings. Member checks can be useful for obtaining participant approval for using quotations or case studies and where anonymity cannot be guaranteed. In evaluation, stakeholder reviews of draft reports can be seen as good research practice. In participatory or collaborative research, ongoing contact might include member checks.     

Positive youth development as a guiding framework in sport research: Is it time to plan for a transition?

Positive youth development is a popular guiding framework for studying the psychosocial development of youth. In sport research, for more than two decades, this framework has enhanced our understanding of the mechanisms involved in successful shifts from youth to adulthood. Nonetheless, scholars have recently taken a more critical stance on the positive youth development framework by elucidating some of its shortcomings. To help determine whether it may be warranted to plan for a transition from the positive youth development framework in sport research, a critical commentary is offered. The purpose of this commentary lies in situating three ontologically distinct arguments that depict the shortcomings of the positive youth development framework, namely the operationalization argument, the social justice argument, and the posthumanist argument. This paper is offered as an open invitation to instigate dialogue on what may come next for youth development in sport research and whether planning for a transition is warranted.     

Family therapy research: Comment on “research as a family therapy intervention technique”

Wright's emphasis on and illustration of the use of family therapy research as a unique intervention technique for therapy is an important contribution to the practice literature. Equally important, however, is the isomorphic shift in focus of the family therapy researcher. Rather than focusing only on process or outcome research, family therapists should become more interested in their clients as research subjects. Though rarely discussed in the family therapy literature, the competencies of family therapists as researchers and the utility of research in a family therapy context is critical to being a well-rounded professional. Examples are provided of how this emphasis is being introduced in a PhD family therapy program.     

Encountering the ‘unexpected’ in phenomenological research. Faith and belief as expressions of spirituality in a qualitative study

A study of 12 secondary schools students in Victoria, Australia explored the spirituality of young people in the context of their everyday lives through a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation. In developing an understanding of what spirituality meant to the participants in this study, it was apparent that spirituality was deeply abiding and embedded within the participants’ religious traditions. This was influenced by the exposure participants had to religious and spiritual teachings. Despite the fact that the participants expressed a range of religious beliefs about God, the afterlife and transcendence towards others as significant ways in which they understood spirituality, the findings were not generalisable across the Australian population. These themes will be explored throughout the paper proving implications for educators working with specific groups of students from faith backgrounds and the possibility of investigating what young people from non-religious backgrounds believe.     

After Babel: Teaching psychoanalysis on a former battlefield – experiences in an international research network

Abstract

This article describes a psychoanalyst's personal experience in an international and interdisciplinary social trauma research network. Crises and conflicts are understood as an integral feature of such a collaboration. Using the self-reflective capacity of the psychoanalyst may help to turn them into a new perspective. Crossing disciplinary borders, reconnecting to the field of academic research, might prove to be a rather rewarding step.     

Are research participants truly informed? Readability of informed consent forms used in research

Researchers typically attempt to fulfill disclosure and informed consent requirements by having participants read and sign consent forms. The present study evaluated the reading levels of informed consent forms used in psychology research and other fields (medical research; social science and education research; and health, physical education, and recreation research). Two standardized measures of readability were employed to analyze a randomly selected sample (N = 108) of informed consent forms used in Institutional Review Board-approved research projects at a midwestern university during the 1987-1988 academic year. Results indicate that informed consent forms are typically written at a higher reading level than is appropriate for the intended population and that there are no consistently significant differences in readability among areas of research or between college student and noncollege student participants. Due to the unacceptably high reading level of the consent forms, one must question whether participants can comprehend the information contained in the consent form.     

Promoting responsible conduct in research through “survival skills” workshops: Some mentoring is best done in a crowd

For graduate students to succeed as professionals, they must develop a set of general "survival skills". These include writing research articles, making oral presentations, obtaining employment and funding, supervising, and teaching. Traditionally, graduate programs have offered little training in many of these skills. Our educational model provides individuals with formal instruction in each area, including their ethical dimensions. Infusion of research ethics throughout a professional skills curriculum helps to emphasize that responsible conduct is integral to succeeding as a researcher. It also leads to the consideration of ethical dimensions of professional life not covered in traditional ethics courses.     

Postgraduate research students: People in context?

This article seeks to explore learning, development and academic success, using postgraduate research students' experiences and relating them to submission and completion rates. The perceptions and circumstances of a sample of postgraduate research students from one cohort in a large civic university were examined via questionnaire and interviews. Significant associations between data gained via questionnaire and outcome of research study are presented, together with qualitative illustrations from comments and interviews with participating individuals. A developmental, sociocultural understanding of the learner is discussed. This supports a brief review of a package of practical measures designed to assist universities to support research students, especially those who may have difficulty negotiating the experience of research study, and their supervisors, and ultimately improve retention and submission rates.     

What is conceptual research in psychoanalysis?1

The development of psychoanalysis as a science and clinical practice has always relied heavily on various forms of conceptual research. Thus, conceptual research has clarifi ed, formulated and reformulated psychoanalytic concepts permitting to better shape the fi ndings emerging in the clinical setting. By enhancing clarity and explicitness in concept usage it has facilitated the integration of existing psychoanalytic thinking as well as the development of new ways of looking at clinical and extraclinical data. Moreover, it has offered conceptual bridges to neighbouring disciplines particularly interested in psychoanalysis, e.g. philosophy, sociology, aesthetics, history of art and literature, and more recently cognitive science/neuroscience. In the present phase of psychoanalytic pluralism, of worldwide scientifi c communication among psychoanalysts irrespective of language differences and furthermore of an intensifying dialogue with other disciplines, the relevance of conceptual research is steadily increasing. Yet, it still often seems insuffi ciently clear how conceptual research can be differentiated from clinical and empirical research in psychoanalysis. Therefore, the Subcommittee for Conceptual Research of the IPA presents some of its considerations on the similarities and the differences between various forms of clinical and extraclinical research, their specifi c aims, quality criteria and thus their specifi c chances as well as their specifi c limitations in this paper. Examples taken from six issues of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis in 2002‐3 serve as illustrations for seven different subtypes of conceptual research.