Resource Tag: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a group of research methods that collect data frequently, in many contexts, and in real-world settings. EMA has been fairly neglected in suicidology. The current article provides an overview of EMA for suicidologists including definitions, data collection considerations, and different sampling strategies. Next, the benefits of EMA in suicidology (i.e., […]

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Suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent worldwide in the past 45 years, with deaths by suicide projected to reach 1.5 million by the year 2020. Despite millions being spent on suicide prevention activities, little is known about their effectiveness: as the US Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) reported, ‘the single greatest obstacle to […]

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In this article, the authors present the protocol for a study in which they will examine the effectiveness of the ALGOS algorithm, an intervention based in a decisional tree of contact type which aims to reduce the incidence of repeated suicide attempts during 6 months. This algorithm of case management comprises the 2 strategies of […]

Recently 4 publications examined suicidality & antiepileptic drug use among several databases & illustrated how biases affect the findings. None of the studies was able to control completely for the indication for which the antiepileptic drugs were prescribed or to account for the varying intensities with which different specialists monitored patients for suicidality. Though multiple […]

Response by Zhao and colleagues to paper by Renaud, et al.Also contains rebuttal to letter by Renaud.

This document provides a summary of a longitudinal evaluation of the StandBy Response Service, a suicide bereavement response service. The purpose of the evaluation was to demonstrate evidence of the community benefits of this program & the benefits of the program to people in the primary target group who had used the service. Qualitative & […]

Moralist, libertarian, & relativist ethical positions concerning suicide & its prevention are presented in order to clarify premises upon which ethical issues in suicide research may be resolved. Ethical concerns are differentiated from legal considerations & the implications of the vulnerability of suicidology research participants are discussed. Specific issues that arise in design, choice of […]

This report presents the results of an evaluation of the StandBy Response Service, a program designed to respond to suicide incidents & suicide bereavement. Qualitative (on-site interviews & observations in trial locations) & quantitative (survey) findings suggest the service does increase a community’s capacity to respond appropriately & effectively to suicide & suicidal behaviours. Analysis […]

The authors describe methodological alternatives & pitfalls for the production of disease maps using data on suicides in England & Wales as an illustrative example. Decisions concerning the methods of mapping of suicide rates, including smoothing, choice of grouping criteria, & colouring scheme dramatically influence the resulting map & how it might be interpreted by […]

A 3-day Nobel Conference on the role of genetics in promoting suicide prevention & the mental health of the population was held in Stockholm during June 2009. 19 invited presentations covered the genetic basis of mood/psychotic disorders & substance abuse in relation to suicide. This article presents an overview based on the highlights of what […]

This document is comprised of the 18 appendices for the final evaluation report of the StandBy Response Service. Copies of the surveys that were used, consent forms, cover letters, factsheets, newspaper advertisements, evaluation researcher training syllabus, survey results, & client & stakeholder comments are included in the appendices.

The published literature on police suicide contains serious measurement problems that undermine understanding, including: unreliability of small samples, lack of statistical significance testing, comparison of different time periods, use of different data sources, use of different summary measures, comparison to inappropriate norms, & misclassification of suicides as accidents. The authors suggest solutions for these problem […]

This article provides a comprehensive review of school-based suicide prevention programs from a public health perspective. A literature review of empirical research was conducted for studies containing information pertaining to implementation & outcomes. A total of 13 studies were identified; 10 studies examined universal prevention programs & the remaining 3 looked at selected prevention programs. […]

In this editorial, the author discusses recent research from China that shows substantially lower rates of mental disorders in suicide victims. This finding contrasts to research in high-income countries which has consistently found that at least 90% of people who die by suicide are suffering from a mental disorder at the time of death. The […]

Twice as many peace officers reportedly die by suicide as are killed in the line of duty. Has suicide among law enforcement become an epidemic? If so, what is the cause? More important, what is the cure? Many obstacles interfere with research on law enforcement suicide, including the natural reticence of families & law enforcement […]

This article examines suicide bereavement through the lens of transformative learning. Its purpose is twofold: first, to analyse the dynamics of the grieving process & the transformative experience of the bereaved; second, to use this analysis to draw implications for theory, practice, & research on transformative learning. It is a study of the way in […]

In this commentary, the author outlines the legal requirement of the Veterans Administration to construct evidence-based research on veterans’ suicide & its prevention, to establish education & prevention programs to reduce the rate of suicide in this population, & to maintain a 24-hour suicide hoteline for veterans. The opportunities this mandate presents for researchers as […]

Both psychological research in & statistical analysis of police suicide will produce a great level of understanding, but these should not lead to decisions about interventions & prevention programs. Once data has been collected, researchers should curb the use of statistics; the essential elements of all applied science are logic & common sense. This chapter […]