Making Research Relevant Applied Research Designs for the Mental Health Practitioner

Making Research Relevant is the ideal core textbook for master?s-level introduction to research methods courses in mental health. Accessible and user friendly, it is designed to help trainees and practitioners understand, connect, and apply research to clinical practice and day-to-day work with students and clients. The text covers foundational concepts like research ethics and how to best consume research, as well as 11 applied, evaluative, and outcome-based research methods. Easy-to-read chapters are infused with case examples from diverse settings and paired with brief video lectures, which provide vignettes to guide application and visual components that demonstrate how research methods can benefit mental health practitioners in real-world scenarios.

1. Introduction WachterMorris, Wester, Vaishnav, & Austin 2. Understanding Existing Literature Giordano 3. Research Ethics in Practice Wester, Wachter Morris, Austin, & Vaishnav 4. Evaluating and Designing Surveys McKibben 5. Case Study Downs 6. Using Single-Case Research Designs to Evaluate Outcomes Lenz & Callender 7. Using Correlational and Causal Comparative Research Designs in Practice: Exploring Relations Among Client Variables Umstead & Mayton 8. Quasi-Experimental Methods Barrio Minton 9. Randomized Controlled Trials Ray 10. Phenomenological Methodology: Merging Research and Practice Jorgensen & Brown-Rice 11. Photovoice Trepal & Cannon 12. Mixed-Methods Research He 13. Bringing it All Together: Effective Program Evaluation Walsh & Allison 14. Advocacy-Based Research Janke, Gonzalez, Carlone, & Vetter Index

Carrie A. Wachter Morris, PhD, is an associate professor of counselor education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and past president of the Association of Assessment and Research in Counseling.

Kelly L. Wester, PhD, is a professor of counselor education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has taught graduate courses in research and provided workshops on research methodology.