A FRAMEWORK FOR CONSUMERS EVALUATING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

An abstract is a short overview of what your paper says. Usually an abstract is between 50 – 100 words. Some journals or conferences may ask for an abstract of a specific length – or with a specific limit. Often it is best to write this once you have finished the paper. Introduction In this section of the paper, you outline what you are writing about. In the introduction you need to: review any other literature about the topic, write about how this makes sense to you, if you think there are gaps in what has already been written. You would also discuss how you make sense of what has been written by others; discuss why you are writing about the topic – and why you conducted the research (for example, the research might not have been conducted before, or it might have been done in other countries, and never in Australia); outline the aims of your research – or the aims of your paper. Sometimes you might be making hypotheses (that is, you can say that you anticipate certain things to be the outcome of the research), sometimes you may have aims. This is usually done as the last section of the introduction. Whenever you write about something that you have read – or when ever you refer to someone else’s work – you must cite where you got your information. This involves noting the author and date in the text, and then including the full reference in your reference list. To note a reference in the text you can do one of 2 things: 1. eg: Polgar and Thomas (1995) discuss sampling methods in research and suggest that to conduct random sampling a method such as a random numbers table be used. 2. eg: It is suggested that a random numbers table be used to when adopting a random sampling method (Polgar & Thomas, 1995). A Framework for Consumers Evaluating Mental Health Services. 29 Method The method section of the paper discusses how you conducted the research. It is important to remember you need to include enough detail to enable another researcher to replicate your investigation. You need to discuss: Who participated – outlining some general description of the participants as a group. For example, you would usually note the gender mix of the group, age ranges of participants etc. How you recruited participants. What sort of data collection you used (eg: interviews, questionnaires etc). You need to explain what this involved. How you plan to analyse the information you receive. Results This is where you discuss what you found the results of your analysis of the information collected. Discussion In the discussion section, you talk further about the results. You begin to make interpretations and draw conclusions about your findings. You need to link the findings back to what you were writing in the introduction. Explain how the findings add to/ change/ make sense of what other’s have written. Evaluate your aims or hypotheses in terms of what you have found. In this section you also need to talk about what you suggest other’s do differently – what didn’t work so well, or as you expected? References This section of the paper lists all the other sources you have used to write the paper. These are listed in alphabetical order, and generally you need to follow a specific style in writing this section. Each reference should follow the following format: If the reference is a journal article: Authors name. (date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal. Number of the volume of journal, page numbers of article. For example: Smith, J. (1998). The best way to write a journal article. Research Methods and Writing, 11, 79-84. A Framework for Consumers Evaluating Mental Health Services. 30 If the reference is a book: Authors name. (date of publication). Title of Book. Publisher, city/country For example: Polgar, S & Thomas, S. (1995). Introduction to research in the health sciences 3 Edition. Churchill Livingstone, Melbourne. Different referencing systems are used, however this is the type of referencing system used by most psychology journals. It is important to check what referencing system is used by a journal you want to submit to. In a research paper, you use the section headings above in your paper. The only section you do not title is the introduction. So, you title the Method section, the Results section, and so on, with these names. If you are writing a discussion paper, it will only include some of these sections. Usually it will still have an abstract, an introduction, and most of the paper will then be discussion. You usually won’t use these labels as titles for the sections, but write titles that reflect the content. If you want to try and publish your writing there are a few things that you need to consider: Where do you want your work published? You may have different options to consider. If you have presented the same work at a conference, you may have an opportunity to submit a written version to go into the conference proceedings. There are many journals where work can be published also. Like when preparing a presentation – you need to consider whom your audience will be when writing too. When writing to submit to conference proceedings or a journal you will usually be required to set your work out in a particular way. Different conference committees and journal editors may have slightly different requirements. These might include things like word count or size of the paper, the font you need to use, how many copies you need to submit etc. You can find these requirements: 1) for conferences by asking the conference organisers – or sometimes checking on the conference website; or 2) for journals, usually each copy of the journal has a list of submission requirements at the back of the copy. Tips for writing a paper for publication: Like presentations, you need to make sure your writing is easy for people to understand and follow. Keep it clear and simple. Decide on your argument and make sure you follow this through in writing the paper – keep coming back to your major points. A Framework for Consumers Evaluating Mental Health Services. 31 Read through and check your writing often. Taking a break from writing and then coming back to it and reading it can help you find mistakes you couldn’t see before. Having someone else proof read your writing is always useful. Someone else doesn’t know what you are trying to say like you do. This is a useful way to see if you actually are saying what you want to. If you use terms that aren’t generally understood – or are specific to an area – make sure you explain what you mean. Getting someone else to proofread the paper is useful for this – they can let you know if you have used terms that they don’t understand. Expect to write a few drafts. Some ethical considerations when publishing and presenting If you mention other people in a presentation or a written paper, you need to get their permission. Ideally, they should see a copy of what you are going to say, or what you have written before it is presented or published. If you are representing a group, it is usually advisable to make sure you discuss your presentation with the group – this helps make sure the group you are presenting a shared understanding in your talk or writing. References & Further Reading: Presenting and Publishing Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services. (1999). The Kit: A guide to the advocacy we choose to do. A resource kit for consumers of mental health services and family carers. Spice Consulting, Australia O’Shea, R. (2000). Writing for psychology: an introductory guide for students. Harcourt Brace, Sydney Appendix 2: Background articles Gill, K. , Pratt, C. , & Librera, L. (1998). The effects of consumer vs. staff administration on the measurement of consumer satisfaction with psychiatric rehabilitation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 21, 365-370. Lecomte, T. , Wilde, J., & Wallace, C. (1999). Mental health consumers as peer interviewers. Psychiatric Services, 50, 693-695. Oades L. , Viney, L. , Wong, E. , Bowker, C. , & Strang, J. (1999). Promoting consumers’ participation as mental health researchers. Paper presented at Mental Health Services Conference, Melbourne. A Framework for Consumers Evaluating Mental Health Services. 32