sb_rc_ce-html.html

in partnership with the

Behavioral Medicine Research & Training

Foundation

Non-profit Scientific & Educational Organization 91-1948669

operating under Section 501c3 of the US Internal Revenue Code

6576 Blue Mountain Road, Port Angeles, WA 98362

Course Description for:

Psychophysiological Research Techniques

45 Hours of CE Credit / Course Fee $750

Presented by:

Richard A. Sherman, Ph.D.

Description and Learning Objectives: This course is intended to acquaint you with
the basic elements of how read the scientific literature intelligently and how a
psychophysiologically oriented clinical research project is conducted from initiating the
idea through presenting the results. The scientific method and its application to
psychophysiological research and practice is emphasized.
Students learn by watching audiovisual lectures provided on the course web site, reading
assignments both from materials provided on the web site and a text, and interacting with their
instructor via e-mail. They answer short essay questions after each lecture rather than taking
exams. Previous students have found that this course takes between 45 and 95 hours of work to
perform.

Required Text:
Sherman, R. Clinical Research. The book is on the course web site.

Optional Statistical Software: If you want to practice the statistical techniques you will learn
during this course, you will need to have access to any modern, PC based biostatistics program
such as SPSS. Student versions of various appropriate software packages are under several

hundred dollars. If you don’t have access to a program, I strongly recommend SPSSPC. One of
our graduate students just looked into the purchase and found the following: “You can purchase
the software at journeyed.com. The cost of the graduate pack is usually $199.99. You can get the
student version for $85.00, but it expires in one year. The grad pack expires in 4 years and has
unlimited variable capacity.”

Format: Home study supported by e-mail chats after each unit is completed. The lecture
portion of the course is presented through a series of audiovisual lectures profusely
illustrated by power-point slides and movies. The course is accessed from the course web
site. The audiovisual lectures are on power point slides. You will hear the instructor’s
voice while viewing the power point sides. The lectures are between 1 ½ and 2 ½ hours
in length. Reading assignments parallel the lectures. After watching the lecture and
reading the assigned supporting files, you will answer a brief series of short essay review
questions (which are in the review questions file on the course web site). The answered
questions are then e-mailed to the instructor. You and the instructor will discuss each unit
via e-mail chat after your answers are assessed. There is no need to complete the
discussion with the instructor before proceeding to the succeeding lecture & chapters. It
is expected that all review questions will be answered correctly and completely by the
student. Any questions answered incorrectly or incompletely must be discussed and/or
corrected. You will have at least one real-time meeting with the instructor via a web
based program such as “go to meeting” during which you will interact around your new
skills.

Accessibility: Hearing impaired people can view the slides only as virtually all of

the material presented in the lectures is typed onto the slides. Visually impaired people
can concentrate on the verbal lectures as the slide material is repeated in the lecture
accompanying each slide.

Accessing course materials: All course materials are available on the course web site. When
you purchase the course, you will be given instructions for accessing the course web site
immediately.

Computer and Computer Knowledge Requirements: Anybody with a modern computer and
a bit of basic understanding of computer operation (at the level of being able to send e-mails) can
play this course with minimal problems. You must have a computer (a) capable of connecting to
the internet and running a typical internet program, (b) containing/running a modern word
processor such as Microsoft word or Word Perfect, (c) the capability to play sounds such as
music (has speakers and appropriate software which normally come with any modern computer),
and (d) a slide viewing program such as Power Point (you can probably get a slide viewing
program free off the internet if you don’t have one). Any modern (e.g., built within the last ten
years), IBM style computer running Windows 98 and more recent platforms (e.g., XP or
Windows 8) should be able to do this. Speed, hard disk size, and RAM are not factors for
computers in the above category.

Dozens of students have used recent Apple products (MACs etc.) for the course however

they frequently have more difficulty playing the course materials than PC users do.
If you are using a MAC type of computer, you must have a current version of “quicktime”. If
you do not have it, you can download it for free from the web.

Faculty:

The course is given by Dr. Richard Sherman, Ph.D. He is certified by BCIA, approved

by BCIA to teach the general biofeedback certification course, and currently teaches A&P,
Pelvic floor disorders, pain, and other courses. He is a professional psychophysiologist with
extensive training (his Ph.D. is in biology & psychology), has nearly 30 years of experience in
the field, and has published over 130 books, chapters, and articles (mostly in peer reviewed
journals). Dr. Sherman is Director of the psychophysiology doctoral specialization at Saybrook
University and has held many positions within the Association for Applied Psychophysiology
and Biofeedback including president. Full CV available upon request and on the course web site.

To get CE credit for this course: You will complete five written assignments corresponding to
each of the sections of the book. Each assignment should be done shortly after you finish the
lectures associated with the corresponding section of the book. Note that there are no single word
answers in any of the assignments. Each assignment will take you between two and five single
spaced pages to answer adequately. Do not answer questions from the book.

You can expect to write two versions of each assignment as I will return assignments

with any problems for correction. When you e-mail me a revision of a draft I critiqued, enter
your revised answers on the file I sent you containing my critique so I can look at my comments
and your response simultaneously.

Topics we will cover

Introduction

1. Rationale - the crucial need to understand and use clinical research

2. The scientific method

Section A. The need to know what you are doing

1. The basic steps and time-line of a project

2. Defensive reading of clinical literature

- does the hypothesis make sense?

3. Protocol development - formulating and maturing a question
4. Background and literature searches
5. Determining feasibility
6. Research ethics
7. The research protocol approval process
8. Pitfalls in the first steps

Section B. Basic study structures for the office and clinic environment

9. The logic and progression of designs
10. Exploratory single subject and single group designs
11. Observational studies - longitudinal & cross-sectional designs
12. Prospective experimental study designs
13. Outcome and quality of life studies
14. The protocol's research plan and design

15. Defensive reading of clinical literature

- does the design fit the needs?

16. Pitfalls in study design

Section C. Establishing the credibility of data and clinical publications

17. Subject selection techniques - sampling, inclusion - exclusion
18. Hardening subjective data

19. Validity and reliability - defensive data entry

20. Survey, test, and questionnaire design

21. Defensive reading of clinical literature -

can you trust the subjects and data?

22. Pitfalls in data gathering methodology

Section D. Statistics for evaluating literature

& interpreting clinical data

23. Concepts of clinical data analysis
24. Descriptive statistics for evaluating clinical data
25. Probability and significance testing
26. Decision / Risk analysis

27. Power analysis - determining the optimal number of subjects
28. Evaluation of overlap between groups through inferential statistics
29. Evaluation of relationships between changing variables
30. Dichotomous and proportional data
31. Outliers - data points that don't meet expectations
32. Pattern analysis
33. Survival / life table analysis
34. Defensive reading of clinical literature: Handling the data
35. Pitfalls in study analysis

Section E. Administrative aspects of research

(permission to do studies, presentations, etc.)

36. Getting permission to perform the study
37. The protocol - incorporating statistics
38. The grant - extramural funding process
39. Writing and presenting the study
40. The publication submission and review process

41. Changing clinical practice based on what you did and read

42. Defensive reading of clinical literature

- does the conclusion match the raw data, the data analysis, the
hypothesis, and the background?

43. Pitfalls in the overall research process

When all requirements have been successfully completed, your course
completion certificate will be e-mailed to you and BCIA will be informed that
you completed the course.

Administrative Information

Schedule:

You can start the course whenever wish to within six months of the purchase date

and work at your own pace as long as you complete the course within one year of purchase.

Duration of course validity: You must begin the course within six months of the purchase

date and complete it within one year of the purchase date. Courses not completed by that time are
void and must be repurchased if still available. No refunds are provided for courses not
completed within one year of purchase.

CE Credit

Saybrook University is regionally accredited and approved by the state of California to grant

degrees. These are continuing education, not university accredited, courses. CE credits are given through
(1) the state of California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences (Approval # PCE1895); (2) The National Board
of Certified Counselors (Provider # 6270), and (3) the Behavioral Medicine R&T Foundation is approved
by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The
Foundation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Saybrook University is regionally accredited and approved to grant degrees by the state of California.

BCIA:

This course is accepted by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance for both

certification and recertification.

Purchasing courses: Courses can be purchased from Biofeedback International Resources

by clicking the Buy Me button for the specific course HERE.

Full refund will be made until the students are given access to the course website.

After getting access to the course website, there is no refund at all, as Saybrook University and the

Foundation have committed their resources to you and you have access to all of the course materials.

A course would only be cancelled due to an extreme emergency on the part of the course instructor or

the Foundation. In the highly unlikely event a course is cancelled, you would receive a full refund.

Scholarships: Saybrook University and the Foundation give

scholarships

consisting of

25% off the cost of the course(s) to (a) students and professionals (e.g. clinicians, coaches, teachers)
from emerging nations and (b) full time graduate students in developed nations.

Course updates: Updates to all courses are placed on the course web site as they are made.
Students are informed when updates are available.