British Psychological Society

Report commissioned by the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. Aims:
1. To survey qualitative methods teaching on UK undergraduate psychology degree programmes (BPS accredited).
2. To provide robust data to inform:
- discussions about the status and future of qualitative methods training in the UG population;
- local and national curriculum review;
- delivery of support and resources.

At the first meeting of the Qualitative Methods in Psychology QMiP) Section committee, it was decided to find out what the members of QMiP would like from the Section in order to help the committee support and prioritise activities. A short password-protected questionnaire was, therefore, created which Section members were invited to complete...

In this proposal we argue that qualitative psychology is growing in popularity and that there is a need to support this development within the framework of the British Psychological Society as qualitative psychologists have a set of unique, identifiable, and specific needs. We envisage this support in the form of a Section on Qualitative Methods in Psychology that will provide a focus for researchers interested in qualitative approaches....

In DSM-5, “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) is a new diagnostic category effectively replacing the previous category of “autism”. In this paper I question whether either effectively represents a psychological natural kind with significant scientific and explanatory value. Despite the new categorisation, “ASD” and “autism” are effectively synonymous, and current understandings of ASD are based largely on previous research focussed specifically on autism. However, there has been no stable consensus over the past 40 years about what autism actually is. No biological explanation has been discovered, and no single psychological theory can account for the heterogeneity of autistic symptoms. A recent large-scale population-based study failed to identify a unifying cognitive account of the variety of symptoms of autism. In the philosophy of science literature, there are widely accepted accounts of natural kinds which emphasise their role in scientific explanations and induction. These claim ...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes, acceptability and helpful aspects of a pluralistic therapeutic intervention for depression. Design: The study adopted a multisite, non-randomised, pre-/post-intervention design. Methods: Participants experiencing moderate or more severe levels of depression (as assessed by a score of 10 or greater on the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, PHQ-9) were offered up to 24 weeks of pluralistic therapy for depression. This is a collaborative integrative practice oriented around shared decision making on the goals and methods of therapy. Of the 42 participants assessed, 39 (92.9 per cent) completed two or more sessions. Participants were predominantly female (N=28, 71.8 per cent) and white (N=30, 76.9 per cent), with a mean age of 30.9. The principal outcome indicator was improvement and recovery on the PHQ-9 and Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. Results: Of the completer sample, 71.8 per cent of clie...

The challenge of teaching Research Methods to frequently unwilling undergraduate psychologists has long been recognised. Whilst a number of studies have sought to investigate and address the barriers to its effective teaching, few have taken a quantitative approach and fewer still a longitudinal design in order to examine the efficacy of specified interventions. This study employed such a design, the sample consisting of three cohorts of first-year psychology students (N=286) over three consecutive years who were undertaking Research Methods as a compulsory module. Changes were implemented in both the delivery and assessment regime to facilitate a more engaging delivery of the material and greater consolidation of basic principles though iterative classroom techniques and the use of formative and summative assessments. A significant improvement in student marks, despite an increase in the difficulty of the assessments, was found with overall marks increasing by a whole grade band. F...

QUALITATIVE research methods are increasingly used in all areas of psychology. We have proposed a new Section – the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section – for anyone with an interest in using these research methods. The proposed Section would parallel the existing Mathematical, Statistical and Computing Section, by providing a forum for methodological discussion, training and development of research techniques. The aims of the proposed section are:
1. to promote the use of qualitative research methods in both the scientific and professional domains of psychology (making it easier to identify examiners and consultants with expertise in qualitative methods);
2. to provide a forum for the development of qualitative methods in psychology that will draw together those working in different specialisms, using different approaches and different epistemologies; and
3. to foster the exchange of ideas, research and information on qualitative methods in psychology through the organisation of workshops, conferences, symposia and training sessions of special interest to psychologists using, or wanting to use, qualitative research methods.

British psychologists use a wide range of qualitative methods, and the proposed Section will reflect this diversity, including (but not limited to) semi-structured interviews, focus groups, grounded theory, discourse analysis, ethnography, and interpretive phenomenological analysis. The proposed Section was approved by Council, and the next stage is for 1 per cent of members to say that they would want to join the Section, if formed. Please support the proposed Section by completing the form at www.psyc.leeds.ac.uk/research/ qual/ and returning it to the address provided. A full version of the proposal can also be found at this URL.

Summary:

Activity ranked 1st: Periodic workshops on specialist topics in qualitative research
Activitry ranked 2nd: Liaise with the BPS on the syllabus for the teaching of qualitative methods on accredited psychology degrees
Activity ranked 3rd: A peer-reviewed section journal
Activity ranked 4th: Annual conference
Activity ranked 5th: Liaise with research grant providers on facilitating the funding of qualitative research

Both Orlans and van Scoyoc (2008) and Cooper (2009) emphasise the practical values of counselling psychology, and Kasket (2011, p.5) rein-forces this by referring to counselling psychology as a 'particularly honest, realistic, courageous member of the family of Applied Psychologies'. This point about application is significant as it is also made by Jean-Paul Sartre in Existentialism is a Humanism (1973), which positioned existentialism as a practical disci-pline that addressed the process and contex-tual nature of human issues. Existential counselling psychology could be seen as a practical application of philosophy to everyday living. However, it is necessary to clarify what is meant by a philosophical approach and what its implications are. Existential philosophy is fundamentally an enquiry into personal meaning, and everything we do has a philosophical basis – assumptions about the nature of truth, reality and the origin of human meaning underlie every human action. Other...

AS authors of the proposal for the recently inaugurated Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section, we would like to respond to Mark Shevlin’s letter (May 2005). Despite the adversarial tone of the letter, he does draw our attention to aspects of our proposal which the new Section may wish to develop. First, defining qualitative methods as the absence of statistical analysis allows us to capture this diverse field concisely, and we did want to encapsulate the variety of qualitative methods with their different approaches to data collection, analysis and epistemological positions. However, it may be useful to develop a more positive definition, perhaps building on the statement included in our proposal that in qualitative analysis results are expressed in words rather than numbers. Second, it would be a mistake to downplay what statistical analysis can achieve. We hope that the new Section will work to develop mutual respect between psychologists specialising in different methodologies. Third, our proposal could have been clearer in explaining the usefulness of qualitative methods in the hypothesisdevelopment stage of psychological enquiry. Clarity in such matters is essential if the new Section is to work towards greater understanding of qualitative research. Overwhelmingly, we have found our colleagues specialising in quantitative methods to have been openminded and generous in their attitude towards the new Section, and many have supported its inauguration. We are therefore optimistic that there is a general tolerance for diverse methods within British psychology and a motivation for genuine dialogue.