Small Scale Research Project
The aim of the Small Scale Service Research Project (SSRP) is to:
i. provide trainees with the experience of completing service-related research within a clinical/healthcare context,
ii. foster the development of research awareness and skills,
iii. increase awareness of theory-practice links.
For this assignment, trainees are required to complete a piece of clinically relevant, psychologically informed research, and submit a 4000-word research report in Year 2 of training (February 2019).
Although the trainee will submit their SSRP report in Year 2, the research can be completed anytime within a 12-month time frame to fit in with service requirements. This process is negotiated by the clinical supervisor, trainee, and research tutor.
SSRPs vary from service to service. They can include:
· clinical audit (i.e. measuring service delivery relative to a set of standards),
· service evaluation (e.g. measuring service outcomes, evaluating routine or novel practice),
· analysis of anonymised retrospective routine clinical data,
· collecting or analysing qualitative or quantitative data.
Trainees can work together on collaborative projects, provided there is sufficient evidence of independent contribution by each trainee.
Who are we looking for as SSRP clinical supervisors:
Supervisors can be working in any clinical specialty. We would like to encourage a diverse range of projects for trainees to be able to choose from.
Clinicians may have supervised a trainee clinically on placement previously but this not necessary. Supervising a SSRP can be a good way to gain experience of supervising trainee clinical psychologists and can be a valuable opportunity to promote clinical research in your organisation. Also, we understand that not all placement supervisors wish to supervise a SSRP.
We will have 11 trainees joining our 2017 cohort and are seeking SSRPs to start in January 2018. Trainees in this cohort will be located in Devon and Somerset; therefore, we are particularly requesting project proposals from clinicians within these localities.
We are willing to present potential SSRP projects based in Bristol and Dorset but these projects can only be selected by trainees who are prepared to travel to these locations. It is important to note that there is no funding for out of locality travel expenses for SSRPs.
Available support:
Throughout the SSRP process, research tutors from the DClinPsy Research Team will provide additional research support if required by the trainee or by you, as project supervisor. Trainees have access to weekly research consultation sessions (led by research tutors) to address any research related queries.
What to do next:
For clinical supervisors who will have a trainee on placement and would like to supervise a SSRP, we ask you to provide an expression of interest by 3rd October 2017. You can then work up a proposal together with your trainee in their first weeks of placement. The full SSRP proposal is due by the 28th November 2017.
For clinicians who are not supervising a trainee on placement, you can submit a full SSRP proposal at any time but the deadline for the 2017-2020 cohort is the 3rd of October 2017.
A note about trainee involvement: we welcome input from trainees to help generate SSRP ideas when planning a SSRP project proposal. However current trainees are not allowed to lead on supervision of SSRPs as this will be submitted as a piece of evaluated academic work.
Please return forms to the DClinPsy Programme Administrator ().
What happens after all proposals have been submitted:
· Trainees will be given a list of available SSRPs to select their ‘top 3’ preferences (mid December 2017).
· The SSRP coordinator and Research Director will then allocate projects according to trainee and supervisor preference.
· Trainees and supervisors will be informed of the allocation outcome (end December 2017).
Please note, a maximum of 11 projects are required for the 2017-2020 cohort so we might not be able to allocate all submitted proposals. We will take into consideration if you have previously submitted a project proposal but were not allocated a trainee to acknowledge your efforts in support of DClin Psych SSRP supervision. If your project is not allocated this time, then you will be informed and we will invite you to submit again next year.
Any questions:
Please do not hesitate to contact Dr Alicia Rossiter (SSRP coordinator) if you have any questions about the SSRP procedure or wish to gain some advice/guidance on developing and designing the project. Alicia can be reached via email: or telephone: 01392 722149.
Expression of SSRP Interest Form
(to be completed by clinicians who will be supervising a trainee in a clinical placement)
Submission deadline: 3rdth October 2017
Name of SSRP supervisor:
Name of Service in which proposed project will take place:
Locality (please circle): Devon
Somerset
Other:
Brief outline of proposal:
Full SSRP Proposal Form
(to be completed by all clinicians who want to supervise an SSRP for the 2017-2020 cohort)
Submission deadline: 3rd October if not providing a clinical placement, or
28th November 2017 if working with trainee on placement
Please complete this form with as much detail about the project as possible.
This information will be used to determine the suitability of the project for an SSRP and shared with trainees to help them select a project.
Name of SSRP supervisor:
Email address:
Phone Number:
Name of Service in which proposed project will take place:
Name of Head of Service:
Locality (please circle): Devon
Somerset
Other:
Type of project:
Clinical Audit
Service evaluation
Research – qualitative
Research – quantitative
Name of contact person to register this project in your place of employment:
Proposed Title of Project:
Proposed Research Question(s): (please do not have more than 2)
1.
2.
Relevance to Service:
Proposed methods/design/analysis: (e.g., qualitative – thematic analysis, content analysis, IPA; quantitative, case series, correlational, audit in relation to set standards).
Proposed Participants: (please indicate how many participants will be recruited, and from where.
Proposed data to collect/already available: (e.g. interviews to be conducted, existing database of outcome measures).
If the data has already been collected: have you checked that there are not large amounts of missing data?
Feasibility: (what support is available, access to proposed participants. When recruiting participants, please generally figure in a 1/3 rule – approximately 1/3 of all possible participants will likely participate in the project).
Ethics and Trust approval: (do you anticipate the project will require NHS Ethics Approval?)