Required (9 credits)

Credits

Critical Reading of Research Articles

This course is an overview of the process of understanding research articles with practice in evaluating scientific literature that is relevant to intervention with children with disorders of relating and communicating. The course combines lectures, reading materials and active group discussions to achieve its learning objectives.

IMH 501

Basic Research Design and Methodology

This course introduces students to basic concepts of research design, methods and statistics relevant to understanding and conducting research on clinical psychology and other health/mental health sciences, with special emphasis on infancy and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. Students explore ethical considerations in the design and execution of research studies, including approaches to informed consent, specifically in regard to young children and their families. This course focuses primarily on quantitative methods, with limited exploration of qualitative approaches. The course uses several case studies to achieve its learning objectives.

2

IMH 502

Statistics I

This basic course reviews concepts in introductory statistics, including descriptive statistics, basic probability theory, sampling distributions and the Central Limit Theorem; the binomial, normal, Student, chi-square, and F distributions; and techniques of 1- and 2-sample tests, linear regression, correlation, an introduction to analysis of variance and selected nonparametric procedures. It discusses the application of these concepts by analyzing peer-reviewed articles focusing on Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disorders research.

2

IMH 503

Statistics II: Techniques of Data Analysis

This course introduces concepts in inferential statistics and builds on Statistics I (IMH 502) by reviewing more in depth how to apply the basic concepts acquired in the previous course for statistical analysis of data in the context of Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disorders research. It introduces to the use of computers for advanced data analysis (e.g., multiple regression, analysis of variance, factor analysis).

2

IMH 504

Basic Psychometrics

This course introduces students to psychometrics theory and test construction. It also introduces students to basic concepts of psychometric measurement, including concepts of instrument validity and reliability. The course practices and applies these concepts by constructing instruments during the course.

2

Electives (5 credits minimum)

Credits

IMH 506

Research Grant Writing

This advanced elective course provides an opportunity to develop necessary competencies to apply for funding that would support research for infants and young children on topics related to mental health and/or developmental disorders.

1

IMH 507

Advanced Statistics

This course helps students to develop skills for conducting multivariate data analysis, including those for survey research, program evaluation, epidemiological research, and qualitative research (e.g., MANCOVA, multiple regression, logistic regression, cluster analysis).

2

IMH 508

Advanced Research Design and Methodology

This is an advanced class in designing, conducting and reporting research. The course focuses on giving students practical experience in various critical aspects of conducting scientific research.

2

IMH 509

Dissertation Seminar

This seminar offers students the opportunity to embark on the process of developing their dissertation project in a supportive, collaborative environment. In addition to exploring topics, methods, and resources, students develop a realistic timeline for completion of the project (including defense of the proposal and final dissertation document). Course goals include: selecting the dissertation topic, recruiting the dissertation committee chair, and completing a timeline based on initial project concept.

1

IMH 510

Advanced Psychometrics

This course builds on Basic Psychometrics (IMH 504) by reviewing more in depth psychometric principles of test construction and advanced psychometric testing strategies for an instrument validation using causal modeling techniques.

2