Methods used in psychopathology research

Task:
Throughout the quarter, we read three original empirical articles that focused on randomized control trials
(RCTs) studying the effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for depression,
anxiety, and Borderline Personality Disorder. RCTs are considered the gold standard of psychotherapy
research. In this essay, pick 1­3 design elements that are often employed in RCTs and discuss how these
methodological choices strengthen the experimental design and what we can conclude from these studies.
Listed below are some examples. You are free to use these examples and/or identify your own.
Intent­to­treat versus treatment completers
Exclusionary criteria
Checks that random assignment was adequate between groups
Measuring outcomes both categorically (diagnosis) and continuously (# of symptoms)
Use of active control conditions (and not treatment as usual)
Recruitment description
Representativeness of sample (i.e. race/ethnicity, gender)
Criteria for Success:
Choose 1­3 design elements, explain what they are, and describe how they strengthen the study
conclusions.
3/10/2019 Essay 3 Final Submission
https://canvas.uoregon.edu/courses/124819/assignments/706879 2/4
Essay 3
Discuss how the study conclusions would be weakened without the particular study design
elements/methods.
Use specifics from at least one of the 3 articles to make your case.
Include citations in the text (e.g., Linehan et al., 2015 details a RCT that highlights the need to report
how many individuals were excluded from the trial because…)
Include a reference list at the end of the paper (the reference list does not count toward your 500 word
count limit).
Use critical thinking to shape your own ideas, pulling from the text and the lecture.
Have good writing quality.
Submission Instructions:
Please save your essay with your last name and assignment # in the title. Example:
Casement_essay3.doc
Essays must be in document (.doc, .docx) or PDF formats
Do not plagiarize — Vericite will be used to check all essays. Final submissions with Vericite scores > 20
will be carefully examined by the instructor and TAs for potential plagiarism.