AN EFFECT OF RESEARCH TRAINING IN THE STUDY OF PSYCHIATRIC DRUG TREATMENT

Psychiatric journals for fiscal years 1957 and 1960 were surveyed for articles reporting research on the therapeutic value of tranquilizing and energizing drugs. Data concerning the adequacy of reporting and of methodology were collected. There were 36% more articles in 1960 than in 1957. In an initial analysis it was found that most of the articles in both years and that virtually all of the increase fell at the lower levels of methodological adequacy. In a subsequent analysis it was found that, in general, the increase constituted the contribution of physicians in private practice, medical schools and state hospitals, working without the collaboration of persons trained in the conduct of scientific research. Articles in which such persons had collaborated were found to contain most of the methodological features commonly considered desirable in this research area. The findings were interpreted as supporting the use of interdisciplinary teams in chemotherapy research in psychiatry.