From clinical to academic – intervention research in SLT
Reviewed by Anna Volkmer

There are many different research methods and designs that can be used to test the effectiveness of speech and language interventions. This article aims to describe those methods relevant to speech and language therapists working with a range of clients. The author highlights the spectrum of study types from those with less participants (anecdotes, clinical experience and case studies) to those with more participants and more robust methods (well-designed, randomised controlled trials). Each of the individual study designs are described in detail including their strengths and limitations. Each discussion includes reference to relevant examples from the speech and language therapy literature. The article describes the importance of understanding methods of design and analysis when critiquing whether an intervention described in a research study is worth using with clients. The article also highlights the importance of integrating intervention research into clinical practice. The SLT profession needs to become more research literature aware as a group. Articles such as this are valuable reminders and this type of research training and education needs to be integrated to the clinical training process so that SLT practice can routinely intertwine clinical practice with doing and developing research.

Intervention research: appraising study designs, interpreting findings and creating research in clinical practice.
Ebbels SH.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
2017;19(3):218-31.