Class Scientific Dissertation in Clinical and Health Psychology

It is intended to provide students with structured contact with in-depth research themes that enable them to acquire and develop solid knowledge and skills in scientific research. In this sense it is intended to accompany students in the planning and implementation of their research projects, which will culminate in the preparation of the final dissertation.
 

1. Literature review, using databases and other scientifically valid bibliographic sources;
2. Problem formulation and research hypotheses, duly grounded in the state of the art and based on the identification of knowledge gaps / research needs;
3. Selection / reflection on the methodologies that best suit the research questions and the ethical requirements of research with humans in Psychology;
4. Where applicable,
A. contact with conducting an empirical study (data collection)
B. statistical analysis of the data;
5. Interpretation of the results in the light of the literature review performed;
6. Dissemination of research results to the scientific community, through the writing of a final dissertation in scientific article format, according to APA standards, as well as other scientific products, such as
communications in relevant scientific congresses for the area.
 

The curricular unit is annual, assuming constant monitoring by the teacher regarding the student's work. The initial classes are dedicated to the introductory works related to the entire process of elaboration and presentation of the dissertation. Subsequently, classes are dedicated to supporting the various activities inherent to a research process underlying the dissertation (for example, preparation of the request to the ethics committee, literature review, selection of theme and instruments, data collection and document preparation). The teacher is also an active participant in the whole process, being able to continuously evaluate not only the quality of the research project, but also the acquisition of content and skills by the student. The curricular unit ends with the defense of the dissertation and the attribution of the respective final classification.

American Psychological Association (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7.ª ed). Washington: Author.
Comer, J. S., & Kendall, P. C. (2013). The Oxford handbook of research strategies for clinical psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.