Description

4. Research questions
For your assignment, you need to answer the following research questions:

a. Which factors predict gambling severity after CBT treatment?
Which of the variables measured at the end of the CBT programme, if any, predict gambling severity

6 months later?

b. Which factors predict whether someone will meet GD criteria 6 months after CBT?

Although the primary outcome for this study is PGSI, DSM-5 GD diagnoses were also collected. Do the factors that are associated with PGSI score have a similar relationship with GD diagnosis at 6 months (considered as a secondary outcome)?

c. Does patient engagement with CBT impact the relationship between predictors and gambling behaviour?

Research indicates that engagement with CBT has an impact on whether it is effective. This has been partially managed in this study by excluding participants who did not attend at least 50% of scheduled CBT sessions. However, the researcher and GamCare want to know whether treatment in which people attend less than 100% of sessions has an effect, and if so, are predictors of treatment outcome different in those who do not completely engage.

d. What are the implications of your results for clinical practice?
Interpret your results for your GamCare colleagues (i.e. a non-statistical audience), and explain what they

might suggest in terms of improving clinical practice and client outcomes.

5. Assignment format

Your assignment will be written in the style of a scientific paper, but with shorter Introduction and Discussion sections than a paper (you are not expected to do a literature review on this topic). We will discuss writing scientific reports, but your assignment should include these sections:

• Introduction (brief) • Methods
• Results
• Discussion (brief)

The assignment should be written in Microsoft Word or similar word processing software with numbered Figures and Tables included in the document (a PDF is also fine). The word count for this assignment is between 2,000 and 3,000 words. Submitting ‘raw’ SPSS output is not acceptable. The point of this assignment is to demonstrate that you understand:

• How to analyse these data;

• Why you used particular techniques to doso;

• What the results mean.

A report full of tables and figures with no explanation of what was done, why it was done, and what it means, will not receive a high mark. When marking your assignment we will consider:

74

1. Introduction (1.1) Was the primary aim of the study clearly stated? What was the hypothesis?

2. Methods 3. Results

4. Discussion 5. Overall

(1.2) Were any secondary aims clearly stated? What were the associated hypotheses? (1.3) Was any context for the study and/or rationale for the analyses provided?

(2.1) Were the study design, participants, and measures clearly explained? (2.2) Were the statistical methods used to answer each aim clearly explained?

(3.1) Were the results of the study clearly described? (3.2) Were appropriate tables and/or figures used?

(4.1) Were the interpretations of the results presented correct?

(5.1) Was the required report structure followed?
(10) Was the report written and presented clearly and intelligibly?