CLINICAL RESEARCH

Clinical Research

Clinical Research

Clinical research can be defined as research that is related to experiences and descriptions of individual and interpersonal problems, transition, and change. This includes social science and medical science studies of human behavior and interactions, cognition, and somatic experiences from a variety of perspectives. Transition and change can occur as part of one's life course experiences or as a result of clinical intervention. The purpose of this entry is to provide an overview of choice points for clinical researchers to consider. The entry is not meant to explain how to do qualitative clinical research; rather, it is meant to raise topics and possible issues for researchers to consider as they conceptualize, design, implement, and write up studies. The entry does not differentiate between clients and patients; rather, the word clients is used to refer to both patients and clients.

It is important for researchers to position themselves as well as their theoretical and methodological framework, and in doing clinical research this transparency of integrating theory with practice becomes even more relevant. This is due to the multiple relationships that can occur between researchers and the people participating in their studies as well as the potential for the research itself having an effect on the participants. To help researchers conducting clinical research, this entry contains the following sections: (a) description of the links among epistemology, theory, methodology, and methods; (b) types of research questions; (c) underlying agendas driving questions; (d) consideration of whose perspectives one is considering; (e) researcher/researched relationships; (f) points in time being investigated; (g) presentation of findings; (h) ethical issues in clinical research; and (i) political context of clinical research. As this entry explains, clinical researchers are challenged with a multitude of decision points to consider during the research process. It is important for researchers to consider some of these points at the genesis of conception of a project. Other points of consideration come into play as the projects are designed, implemented, and written up (or performed). In addition, it is recommended that researchers continuously reflect on ethical and political ramifications of their work.

There are various types of relationships that can occur between the researcher and those being researched. In classical experimental research, the people being studied were referred to as subjects. This created a clear separation between the researcher and the “other” in terms of power, personal relationship, voice, and knowledge.

In clinical qualitative research, there are multiple signifiers a researcher can use to define the researcher and “other” relationship. Are the people being researched considered participants, collaborators, co-researchers, or some other concept? The choice of terms has real implications for the research endeavor, with both epistemological and phenomenological impacts. In designing a study, the researcher should have a clear rationale for what descriptors are used in the study and an appreciation for how the language reflects the researcher's relationship with the people being studied. When the people being researched are considered co-researchers, this implies that they have a voice in the research process ...