To provide advanced training in the ethical and scientific principles common to all mental health research disciplines, together with skills in statistics and epidemiological and both biological and social research methodology.
To provide an in-depth practical and theoretical knowledge base to guide the practice and interpretation of research in the field of mental health, policy and an understanding of the context in which it takes place.
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding and skills in the following areas:
- Knowledge and understanding: A grounding in the ethical and scientific principles common to all mental health research disciplines.
- Intellectual Skills: Skills in univariate statistics and epidemiological and social research methodology as applied in psychiatric research; the ability to appraise and critique research
- Practical Skills: An ability to formulate research questions, design studies and conduct psychiatric research in health and social care settings; ethical committee applications and consent from construction; critical appraisal, evaluation and problem solving; statistical package use up to regression methods; understanding of Social Psychiatry methods, Systematic review methodology, neuroimaging, biological and psychiatric genetic research techniques; assimilation, comprehension and dissemination of research findings; awareness of practical, logistic and ethical issues
- Generic / Transferable Skills: The ability to conduct a supervised research project and to present the findings in the form of a dissertation; skills in database handling and evaluation, several statistical and presentation packages, web database exploration, group working; presentation, appraisal and report writing skills; individual time management; an ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment.