Methodology
This methodology will function to better highlight the details of this
study proposal. The purpose of the study, research method and study
design, research hypotheses and questions,target population and sampling
techniques, measures, data-collection procedures, and data analysis
procedures will be discussed throughout the following paragraphs. Next
the study’s purpose will be analyzed deeper.
Purpose of the Study
This study is concerned with gathering more evidence of the possible benefits of alternative methods of treating PTSD. Due to the large number of people and Veterans who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder it would be beneficial for a company’s reputation and public opinion to invest in deeper research into earlier studies on MDMA assisted psychotherapy. This research is important because PTSD disorder is a horrific thing for anyone to have to deal with and most especially the Veterans who have served their country. Due to recent research reviewed that concerns the possible long term effects of methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin®) when compared to the effects of cannabis it seems logical to be on the cutting edge of research in this area. Any decent parent who has read the studies concerning these two drugs and comprehends big pharma lobbying scheme will demand safer ways to treat their children with ADHD. This study will lay down some ground work by observing young adults for any adverse reactions or gained benefits before further study can be considered. The research method and study design will be discussed next.
Research Method and Study Design
The overall design of the study will be discussed in this section. Although this study is looking for a distinct cause and effect the true experimental research method is not appropriate because the subjects must have certain characteristics and random sampling does not apply (Salkind, 2012). Despite the more desirable characteristics of random sampling due to group equivalence, randomization is not practical for this study (Salkind, 2012). The quasi-experimental design should be utilized when it is necessary for participates to have traits that are necessary for a study even though the relationships of cause and effect are stronger in true experimental designs (Salkind, 2012). It has been determined that the quasi-experimental design is the most appropriate on for this study. Next the nonequivalent control group design will be explained.
The Nonequivalent Control Group Design
The nonequivalent control group design seems to be the best specific design for this study. This is one of the most popular quasi-experimental designs, especially when assigning subjects randomly is difficult or impossible (Salkind, 2012). This design consists of two groups so the design size will need to be duplicated for the 4 groups of 2 comparisons in this study (Salkind, 2012). The process of this design is the administration of a pretest, treating the experimental group as the independent variable while not treating the control group, and then a post test is administered for comparison (Salkind, 2012). The ADHD group would be divided into treatment and no treatment groups, as well as the PTSD group. The research hypothesis and questions will be discussed next.
Research Hypotheses and Questions
This research hypothesis is two-tiered as well. The research question is “would doctors prescribe better alternatives to accepted treatment of PTSD and ADHD and do the alternative treatments offer better results in a clinical trial”? The null hypothesis is that the alternative treatment will not have better results than the traditional treatment. The hypothesis is that alternative treatment will produce more positive results that accepted treatment of PTSD and
ADHD. Some questions that this research are following:
1. What are the results of the tests?
2. Do the results vary from control groups to the variable groups?
The researcher also wishes to gather evidence from 30 doctors who will answer an anonymous multiple choice questionnaire in a qualitative research method that has coded
answers to ease their interpretation. The questions will be rated from 1 for least likely, 2 for likely, and 3 for not likely. The questions are as follows:
1. Are you likely to prescribe Ritalin® even though some research indicates it has long-term adverse side-affects?
2. Are you likely to accept gift from corporations to prescribe their drugs?
3. Are you likely to prescribe an alternative treatment that may better aid your patients than contemporary treatments?
4. Are you likely to prescribe psychotropes for PTSD even though they do not seem to have much benefit?
5. Would you prescribe a better treatment for your patients who suffer with PTSD even if it’s controversial?
6. Do you ever feel guilty for prescribing pharmaceutical speed to children for ADHD?
The mean of each question could be found to reveal the average answers given by physicians. Target population and sampling techniques will be discussed next.
Target Population and Sampling Techniques
The target population and sampling techniques will be discussed in this section. A group of potential participants that will generalized in a study is the population (Salkind, 2012). The target population for the psychotropic drug versus MDMA assisted psycho-therapy will be younger Vets who are suffering with PTSD from combat because their suffering is great upon America and they are perfectly capable of deciding whether or not they wish to try something controversial to help them. The Vets must be entirely briefed on the adverse and beneficial research concerning MDMA and the percentages of Vets who are committing suicide while on psychotropic medication as well so that all matters concerning the research are well understood.
The control and experimental groups should have 9 participants each.
Purpose of the Study
This study is concerned with gathering more evidence of the possible benefits of alternative methods of treating PTSD. Due to the large number of people and Veterans who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder it would be beneficial for a company’s reputation and public opinion to invest in deeper research into earlier studies on MDMA assisted psychotherapy. This research is important because PTSD disorder is a horrific thing for anyone to have to deal with and most especially the Veterans who have served their country. Due to recent research reviewed that concerns the possible long term effects of methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin®) when compared to the effects of cannabis it seems logical to be on the cutting edge of research in this area. Any decent parent who has read the studies concerning these two drugs and comprehends big pharma lobbying scheme will demand safer ways to treat their children with ADHD. This study will lay down some ground work by observing young adults for any adverse reactions or gained benefits before further study can be considered. The research method and study design will be discussed next.
Research Method and Study Design
The overall design of the study will be discussed in this section. Although this study is looking for a distinct cause and effect the true experimental research method is not appropriate because the subjects must have certain characteristics and random sampling does not apply (Salkind, 2012). Despite the more desirable characteristics of random sampling due to group equivalence, randomization is not practical for this study (Salkind, 2012). The quasi-experimental design should be utilized when it is necessary for participates to have traits that are necessary for a study even though the relationships of cause and effect are stronger in true experimental designs (Salkind, 2012). It has been determined that the quasi-experimental design is the most appropriate on for this study. Next the nonequivalent control group design will be explained.
The Nonequivalent Control Group Design
The nonequivalent control group design seems to be the best specific design for this study. This is one of the most popular quasi-experimental designs, especially when assigning subjects randomly is difficult or impossible (Salkind, 2012). This design consists of two groups so the design size will need to be duplicated for the 4 groups of 2 comparisons in this study (Salkind, 2012). The process of this design is the administration of a pretest, treating the experimental group as the independent variable while not treating the control group, and then a post test is administered for comparison (Salkind, 2012). The ADHD group would be divided into treatment and no treatment groups, as well as the PTSD group. The research hypothesis and questions will be discussed next.
Research Hypotheses and Questions
This research hypothesis is two-tiered as well. The research question is “would doctors prescribe better alternatives to accepted treatment of PTSD and ADHD and do the alternative treatments offer better results in a clinical trial”? The null hypothesis is that the alternative treatment will not have better results than the traditional treatment. The hypothesis is that alternative treatment will produce more positive results that accepted treatment of PTSD and
ADHD. Some questions that this research are following:
1. What are the results of the tests?
2. Do the results vary from control groups to the variable groups?
The researcher also wishes to gather evidence from 30 doctors who will answer an anonymous multiple choice questionnaire in a qualitative research method that has coded
answers to ease their interpretation. The questions will be rated from 1 for least likely, 2 for likely, and 3 for not likely. The questions are as follows:
1. Are you likely to prescribe Ritalin® even though some research indicates it has long-term adverse side-affects?
2. Are you likely to accept gift from corporations to prescribe their drugs?
3. Are you likely to prescribe an alternative treatment that may better aid your patients than contemporary treatments?
4. Are you likely to prescribe psychotropes for PTSD even though they do not seem to have much benefit?
5. Would you prescribe a better treatment for your patients who suffer with PTSD even if it’s controversial?
6. Do you ever feel guilty for prescribing pharmaceutical speed to children for ADHD?
The mean of each question could be found to reveal the average answers given by physicians. Target population and sampling techniques will be discussed next.
Target Population and Sampling Techniques
The target population and sampling techniques will be discussed in this section. A group of potential participants that will generalized in a study is the population (Salkind, 2012). The target population for the psychotropic drug versus MDMA assisted psycho-therapy will be younger Vets who are suffering with PTSD from combat because their suffering is great upon America and they are perfectly capable of deciding whether or not they wish to try something controversial to help them. The Vets must be entirely briefed on the adverse and beneficial research concerning MDMA and the percentages of Vets who are committing suicide while on psychotropic medication as well so that all matters concerning the research are well understood.
The control and experimental groups should have 9 participants each.
The Ritalin® versus cannabis oil group should be young adults 19- 21
who are currently diagnosed with ADHD and taking Ritalin® for it. Young
adults who are already on Ritalin® are of age so that they can make
their own decision as to whether or not they want to try cannabis oil
instead of Ritalin® to control their ADHD symptoms. As with the Vets
these subjects should be
thoroughly briefed of previous research and lobbying by various corporations to keep cannabis illegal due to its high versatility. It seems like 9 participants in each group is alright for this tier of the study. Ads placed in the papers in towns for a hundred miles around and a small reward for participation should be a sufficient recruitment method. Next the sampling techniques will be discussed.
Sampling Techniques
There are different sampling techniques for the different study types. The most commonly used kind which selects the participants by chance is probability sampling strategies (Salkind, 2012). The chance that the sample represents the population is increased by the random rules and nonsystematic sampling of probability strategies (Salkind, 2012). Simple random sampling is the most used of the probability sampling procedures because it gives everyone an
independent and equal chance to be selected (Salkind, 2012). Unfortunately, this study may not use this method because the participants must have certain characteristics for this study. Nonprobability sampling strategies will be discussed next.
This study calls for nonprobability sampling strategies are required for this study. In the nonprobability sampling strategy there is an unknown probability about who will be selected for the study and everyone doesn’t have an independent and equal chance of being accepted (Salkind, 2012). This study calls for a sample with certain variables so that it needs to feature quota sampling to select people with the desired characteristics (Salkind, 2012). When stratified sampling is not possible for a study there is a degree of questionable generalizability (Salkind, 2012). The sampling error expresses the lack of fit between the population and the sample (Salkind, 2012). The difference between a measure of the characteristics of the population from which the sample selection occurred and the measure of the characteristics of the sample is the sampling error (Salkind, 2012). Salkind (2012) explains “the exact process for computing the sampling error, which is expressed as a numerical value, is beyond the scope of this book, but you should recognize that your purpose in selecting a good sample is to minimize hat value. The smaller the value, the less discrepancy there is between the ample and the population” (p.104). The general “magic” number for a sample size is 30; however, that is too large of a sample for this complex test (Salkind, 2012). The author has decided on 9 participants in each group for a total of 34 participants. Next measures will be discussed.
Measures
Three separate measures will be utilized in this study. Tests serve a specific purpose and are very popular in behavioral and social outcome assessment as they reflect the performance outcome in variables (Salkind, 2012). Researchers are aided by tests in the determination of the research outcome because they can measure the effectiveness of treatment (Salkind, 2012). Three measures will be utilized in order to ensure more accurate test results. The Personal Adaptability Test will be discussed next.
The Personal Adaptability Test
thoroughly briefed of previous research and lobbying by various corporations to keep cannabis illegal due to its high versatility. It seems like 9 participants in each group is alright for this tier of the study. Ads placed in the papers in towns for a hundred miles around and a small reward for participation should be a sufficient recruitment method. Next the sampling techniques will be discussed.
Sampling Techniques
There are different sampling techniques for the different study types. The most commonly used kind which selects the participants by chance is probability sampling strategies (Salkind, 2012). The chance that the sample represents the population is increased by the random rules and nonsystematic sampling of probability strategies (Salkind, 2012). Simple random sampling is the most used of the probability sampling procedures because it gives everyone an
independent and equal chance to be selected (Salkind, 2012). Unfortunately, this study may not use this method because the participants must have certain characteristics for this study. Nonprobability sampling strategies will be discussed next.
This study calls for nonprobability sampling strategies are required for this study. In the nonprobability sampling strategy there is an unknown probability about who will be selected for the study and everyone doesn’t have an independent and equal chance of being accepted (Salkind, 2012). This study calls for a sample with certain variables so that it needs to feature quota sampling to select people with the desired characteristics (Salkind, 2012). When stratified sampling is not possible for a study there is a degree of questionable generalizability (Salkind, 2012). The sampling error expresses the lack of fit between the population and the sample (Salkind, 2012). The difference between a measure of the characteristics of the population from which the sample selection occurred and the measure of the characteristics of the sample is the sampling error (Salkind, 2012). Salkind (2012) explains “the exact process for computing the sampling error, which is expressed as a numerical value, is beyond the scope of this book, but you should recognize that your purpose in selecting a good sample is to minimize hat value. The smaller the value, the less discrepancy there is between the ample and the population” (p.104). The general “magic” number for a sample size is 30; however, that is too large of a sample for this complex test (Salkind, 2012). The author has decided on 9 participants in each group for a total of 34 participants. Next measures will be discussed.
Measures
Three separate measures will be utilized in this study. Tests serve a specific purpose and are very popular in behavioral and social outcome assessment as they reflect the performance outcome in variables (Salkind, 2012). Researchers are aided by tests in the determination of the research outcome because they can measure the effectiveness of treatment (Salkind, 2012). Three measures will be utilized in order to ensure more accurate test results. The Personal Adaptability Test will be discussed next.
The Personal Adaptability Test
The Personal Adaptability Test will be used in the Ritalin®
versus cannabis oil research to measure irritability of the
participants. The assumption that abnormal social and personal behavior
is the same type of error that is present in other types of learning is
the rationale for this measure (Buckingham, n.d). “Botheredness” or
annoyance, irritation, and such can be measured by the Personal
Adaptability Test (Buckingham, n.d.). Although this test may be
employed to screen job applicants it seems to be a useful measure for
this study (Buckingham, n.d). Now that the measure for irritability
associated with Ritalin® has been sorted we can move along. Next the Happiness Measures will be discussed.
Happiness Measures
The Happiness Measures will be useful for both tiers of this study. Happiness Measures is considered an instrument of social indication that is historically linked to the subjective well-being domain that originates as general social service research (Fordyce, 1987). In research in which happiness is the construct of interest and present-oriented time perspective is helpful this instrument is successful (Fordyce, 1987). Additionally, the user needs to realize that well-
being’s subjective indices form stronger relationships with each other in lieu of forming objective indicators of life’s quality (Fordyce, 1987). This measure is inappropriate as a diagnostic tool or for the evaluation of clinical interventions (Fordyce, 1987). The Happiness Measures seems to be an appropriate measure for this study. The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool will be explained next.
The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool
The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool will be a useful measure in both tiers of this study. This instrument provides a brief cognitive screening measure that seem to be an improvement over previous tests (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). Separate scores by cognitive domain and an Executive Function subscale are yielded by this measures (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). This measure may be useful to neuropsychologists as a method to generate cognitive function hypothesis (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). This instrument of measure will be used to track changes of cognitive function prior to preceding the treatment of this study. Next data-collection procedures will be discussed.
Data-collection Procedures
The time frames and data collection will be explained in this section. Prior to the study’s commencement all four groups will be tested with the appropriate measures for their tier of the study. Three months of treatment or non-treatment should be a result in a decent indication of the benefits of the independent variables. Once the three months of treatment time has ceased
the participants will be retested to note any changes in their measures. Then the data will need to be coded.
Coding Data
Data coding must take place before it can be processed. When data are transferred from the test booklet or original collection form into the proper format for data analysis this is called data coding (Salkind, 2012). Whether using a computer app or paper and pencil the importance
of this activity is vital to a study (Salkind, 2012). The nature of what’s entered should be apparent when a data coding sheet is reviewed (Salkind, 2012). Instead of words, digits are utilized to save entry and space, as well as ensure more precise data analysis (Salkind, 2012). It seems that digits are very important in data coding. An important rule for coding data will be discussed next.
A look at data coding guidelines will be helpful. An important rule in data coding is clutter should be reduced with frequent use of code (Salkind, 2012). Also data should always be recorded as discretely as possible and with explicit elements (Salkind, 2012). Since not all data coding can a simple “1” or “2” so that tough decisions must be made as to how data will be coded (Salkind, 2012). This study will employ SPSS to do the data coding. Next data-analysis procedures will be discussed.
Data-analysis Procedures
Luckily, this research has SPSS to aid with data-analysis procedures. The t-Test for Independent Means should be utilized on both tiers in this study. Common usage as an inferential test that measures the difference between two means grounded in two independent,
unrelated groups are what the t-Test for Independent Means is best known for (Salkind, 2012). The t-Test for Independent Means will be administered on all the measures that are tested in this study to provide a comparison for conclusion forming.
The purpose of the study, research method and study design, research hypotheses and questions, target population and sampling techniques, measures, data-collection procedures, and data analysis procedures have been analyzed in the preceding paragraphs. The author has explained the steps of this study to the best of her ability. Thank you for considering that this study be able to “come alive”.
Resources
Buckingham, G. E. (n.d). Personal Adaptability Test. Available from: Mental MeasurementsYearbook with Tests in Print, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 13, 2016 from http://
Chan, P.C., Sills R.C., Braun A.G., J.K. Haseman J.K., J.R.. and Bucher J.R. (March, 1996). Toxicity and Carcinogenicity of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Fischer Rats and B6C3F1Mice. Toxicological Sciences. 30 (1): 109-117. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/30.1.109 http://
Fordyce, Michael W. (1987). Happiness Measures. Retrieved from
http://
Happiness Measures
The Happiness Measures will be useful for both tiers of this study. Happiness Measures is considered an instrument of social indication that is historically linked to the subjective well-being domain that originates as general social service research (Fordyce, 1987). In research in which happiness is the construct of interest and present-oriented time perspective is helpful this instrument is successful (Fordyce, 1987). Additionally, the user needs to realize that well-
being’s subjective indices form stronger relationships with each other in lieu of forming objective indicators of life’s quality (Fordyce, 1987). This measure is inappropriate as a diagnostic tool or for the evaluation of clinical interventions (Fordyce, 1987). The Happiness Measures seems to be an appropriate measure for this study. The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool will be explained next.
The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool
The Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool will be a useful measure in both tiers of this study. This instrument provides a brief cognitive screening measure that seem to be an improvement over previous tests (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). Separate scores by cognitive domain and an Executive Function subscale are yielded by this measures (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). This measure may be useful to neuropsychologists as a method to generate cognitive function hypothesis (Walterfang &Velakoulis, 2008). This instrument of measure will be used to track changes of cognitive function prior to preceding the treatment of this study. Next data-collection procedures will be discussed.
Data-collection Procedures
The time frames and data collection will be explained in this section. Prior to the study’s commencement all four groups will be tested with the appropriate measures for their tier of the study. Three months of treatment or non-treatment should be a result in a decent indication of the benefits of the independent variables. Once the three months of treatment time has ceased
the participants will be retested to note any changes in their measures. Then the data will need to be coded.
Coding Data
Data coding must take place before it can be processed. When data are transferred from the test booklet or original collection form into the proper format for data analysis this is called data coding (Salkind, 2012). Whether using a computer app or paper and pencil the importance
of this activity is vital to a study (Salkind, 2012). The nature of what’s entered should be apparent when a data coding sheet is reviewed (Salkind, 2012). Instead of words, digits are utilized to save entry and space, as well as ensure more precise data analysis (Salkind, 2012). It seems that digits are very important in data coding. An important rule for coding data will be discussed next.
A look at data coding guidelines will be helpful. An important rule in data coding is clutter should be reduced with frequent use of code (Salkind, 2012). Also data should always be recorded as discretely as possible and with explicit elements (Salkind, 2012). Since not all data coding can a simple “1” or “2” so that tough decisions must be made as to how data will be coded (Salkind, 2012). This study will employ SPSS to do the data coding. Next data-analysis procedures will be discussed.
Data-analysis Procedures
Luckily, this research has SPSS to aid with data-analysis procedures. The t-Test for Independent Means should be utilized on both tiers in this study. Common usage as an inferential test that measures the difference between two means grounded in two independent,
unrelated groups are what the t-Test for Independent Means is best known for (Salkind, 2012). The t-Test for Independent Means will be administered on all the measures that are tested in this study to provide a comparison for conclusion forming.
The purpose of the study, research method and study design, research hypotheses and questions, target population and sampling techniques, measures, data-collection procedures, and data analysis procedures have been analyzed in the preceding paragraphs. The author has explained the steps of this study to the best of her ability. Thank you for considering that this study be able to “come alive”.
Resources
Buckingham, G. E. (n.d). Personal Adaptability Test. Available from: Mental MeasurementsYearbook with Tests in Print, Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 13, 2016 from http://
Chan, P.C., Sills R.C., Braun A.G., J.K. Haseman J.K., J.R.. and Bucher J.R. (March, 1996). Toxicity and Carcinogenicity of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Fischer Rats and B6C3F1Mice. Toxicological Sciences. 30 (1): 109-117. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/30.1.109 http://
Fordyce, Michael W. (1987). Happiness Measures. Retrieved from
http://
Hadland,Scott E. MD, MPH; Knight, John R. MD; and Harris, Sion
K. PhD. (2015). Medical Marijuana: Review of the Science and
Implications for Developmental Behavioral Pediatric Practice. J Dev
Behav Pediatr. 2015 Feb-Mar; 36(2): 115–123.
doi: 10.1097/
http://
doi: 10.1097/
http://
Marco, Eva M; Adriani, Walter; Ruocco, Lucia A; Canese, Rossella;
Sadile, Adolfo G; and Laviola, Giovanni. (Aug, 2011). Neurobehavioral
adaptations to methylphenidate: Theissue of early adolescent exposure.
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Volume 35, Issue 8, Pages
1722–1739. doi:10.1016/
http://
Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Waking Times. (11 April,2013). Can Medical Cannabis Stop The ADHD Epidemic? Waking Times. Retrieved from http://
Walterfang, M., & Velakoulis, D. (2008). Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool. Retrieved from
http://
http://
Salkind, N. J. (2012). Exploring research (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Waking Times. (11 April,2013). Can Medical Cannabis Stop The ADHD Epidemic? Waking Times. Retrieved from http://
Walterfang, M., & Velakoulis, D. (2008). Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool. Retrieved from
http://
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