OCD Action : Procedure - The national UK charity providing support and information to anybody affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Research

How do you feel about yourself and others in your life?

September 15, 2009

Construction of self and significant others in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A study using multiple sorting procedure.

My name is Gina Smith, a trainee clinical psychologist from Surrey University. I am looking volunteers to take part in my research study.

What is the study about?

I am looking at the way people with OCD symptoms think and feel about themselves and other important people in their lives (e.g. family, friends, colleagues) as compared to those without OCD symptoms. I am doing this using a multiple sorting procedure, an unusual method which people tend to find both interesting and enjoyable.

What would I have to do?

I will ask you to fill in 15-20 cards with names of significant people in your life. I will then ask you to sort the cards into groups in such a way that all cards in any one group are similar to each other in an important way and different from those in the other groups e.g. you may sort the cards based on height and have the groups taller than me, shorter than me, about the same height as me.. When you have sorted the cards I will ask you to tell me on what basis you have sorted the cards and what is similar about all the cards in each group and record this information. We will repeat this process several times. I will then ask you to sort the cards into some groups specified by me. This would take about an hour.