Research Activity in British Clinical Psychology Training Staff: Do We Lead by Example?

Abstract

Sixty-two members of staff from clinical psychology doctoral training programmes across Britain completed a survey about their level of research output, the extent to which they felt this met their own expectations and job requirements, and how it influenced promotion prospects. In addition, they listed perceived barriers to and facilitators of research activity. There was wide variation in research activity, such that many participants had limited or no publications while a smaller proportion had many. Respondents were as, or more, dissatisfied than satisfied with their publications, submissions and grant applications and over half felt that the number of grant applications failed to meet their expectations. Support from and collaboration with colleagues was the main facilitator for research, while a lack of time was viewed as the main barrier.

Improving responses to rape and sexual assault: Delivering a victim-centred system

“…Some trainees also publish small-scale research projects and case studies, but there is still a low mean of 3.4 publications per course per year (cooper & Turpin, 2007). However, staff who work on doctorate programmes in both the UK and US may not be encouraging publications, as their mode number of publications has also been reported as 0 (Newman & mcKenzie, 2011;Stewart, Roberts & Roy, 2007).…”

“…In UK clinical doctorate staff, the main perceived barrier is lack of support from colleagues and organisation, but lack of personal motivation is also identified (Newman & mcKenzie, 2011). In the UK, some report being put off by a stressful viva experience during their training (Hutton, 2013).…”

‘It’s not in my job description’: An exploration of trainee clinical psychologists’ attitudes towards research and perceptions of DClinPsy research culture

“…The relevance of professional identity to research activity is suggested by social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), which posits that key components of what it means to be a clinical psychologist have ramifications for the output of a clinical psychologist. If the authentic professional identity of clinical psychologists does not encompass the scientistpractitioner model (Pilgrim, 2003), then this provides a possible explanation for the lack of research activity that clinical psychologists undertake: a lack of identification with the role of 'researcher', means research activity is undervalued, and the scientist-practitioner model is rejected (Newman & McKenzie, 2011). Therefore, the RTE on DClinPsy courses has an important role in the formation of professional identity (Holttum & Goble, 2006), and power to create either a positive scientist-practitioner identity or to alienate trainees from this identity (Corrie & Callanan, 2001).…”

Conducting research in clinical psychology practice: Barriers, facilitators, and recommendations

“…However, reports suggest that up to 75% of UK doctoral theses are left unpublished (Cooper & Turpin, ). One suggestion for these low publication rates is the lack of identification with the role of ‘researcher’ and rejection of the scientist‐practitioner model (Gelso, ; Newman & McKenzie, ). However, it seems important to broaden the conceptualization of the term ‘research activity’ to more than the production of peer‐reviewed publications and to include consuming research (e.g., reading literature, reviewing guidelines, staying up to date with recent field advances).…”