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| Graph 1 represents vectors corresponding to eye contact (CO) as focal behavior during first block of sessions, and verbal social communication (COSOVER) as conditional behavior. Graph 2 represents verbal social communication as the focal behavior during the first block of sessions. Graph 3 represent vectors corresponding to eye contact as focal behavior during the second and third block of sessions, and conventional gestures and social smile (SON) as conditional behaviors.
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Over the last 20 years, researchers have been mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches, but mixed methods research represents a new movement that arose in response to the currents of qualitative and quantitative research, considered separately. Little has been published on the use of polar coordinate analysis in
psychotherapy. This type of an...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... graphs in Figure 3 show positive steps stimulated by eye contact (focal behavior). During the first block (sessions 1-2-3), vectors located in quadrant I indicate that eye contact (CO) and verbal social communication (COSOVER) were mutually activated, which indicates an appropriate strategy. ...
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... Afterwards, 46 sessions were randomly selected to calculate reliability. This number of sessions was determined taking into account that the percentage of sessions mostly used by recent observational research to calculate the reliability ranges from 10 to 20% [75][76][77][78][79][80]. The sessions were chosen at random but taking into account that all the participants and all the tasks were reflected. ...
... In future studies, the complementary use of other analysis techniques, such as a "Markov analysis" [30,88], "polar coordinate analysis" [30,32,75,76,108], or a "temporal pattern (T-patterns) detection" [109], would offer greater information about interference control in ASD children. ...
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present deficiencies in interference control processes. The main aim of this pilot study was to analyze the efficacy of an educational intervention designed to optimize the interference control of eight ASD children, attending to their ASD severity level. A mixed-methods approach grounded in systematic observation and nomothetic/follow-up/multidimensional observational designs was used. An observation instrument was developed to code data, which were grouped according to the ASD severity level (Group 1, requires support; Group 2, requires substantial support) and were analyzed using a lag sequential analysis. The results show that, although both groups progressed during the intervention and could have continued to improve, each group evolved differently. Group 1 performed relatively well from the onset and increased and developed their interference control strategies throughout the intervention, while Group 2, despite also acquiring new interference control strategies, took more time to show improvements. One month after the intervention ended, both groups were unable to consolidate the strategies learned. A mixed-methods approach allowed for real interference control deficits in ASD children to be captured in a natural context. To conclude, it would be necessary to lengthen this intervention and adapt it to the needs of each group.
... To codify social behaviors, we reorganized and evolved an observational instrument (Alcover et al., 2019) which had been inspired by an original observational instrument of Bauminger (2002) and by the approach of social difficulties by the authors of ADOS-2 and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (Lord et al., 2000;Rutter et al., 2003). Certain behaviors were not included in the analysis because the observation frequency was very low such as proximity, sharing objects, affection, talk that reflects an interest in another child's hobbies, giving help, peer or therapist imitation, idiosyncratic language and repetitive behavior. ...
... The majority of studies use questionnaires to assess the evolution of participants, but these methods tend to be subjective and incomplete Moody et al., 2020). Therefore, additional methodologies that complement questionnaires have been proposed, such as social cognitive assessments and behavioral observations (Alcover et al., 2019;Solomon et al., 2004). These methodologies have demonstrated to be effective in assessing evolution and changes in social behaviors, including microconducts like gestures. ...
... These methodologies have demonstrated to be effective in assessing evolution and changes in social behaviors, including microconducts like gestures. In addition, they provide greater knowledge and specificity about social behaviors, which can offer information for professionals to improve their interventions and focus them on their participants (Alcover et al., 2019). As aforementioned, mixed methods methodology allow to transform qualitative data into quantitative data. ...
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... While most studies have been conducted in adults, some have been conducted in adolescents (Down et al., 2011) and children with emotional and behavioral problems in groups (Swank and Shin, 2015) and individual psychodynamic play therapy . Our group has used observational methodology to analyze group psychotherapy in previous studies (Vaimberg, 2010;Roustan et al., 2013;Arias-Pujol and Anguera, 2017;Alcover et al., 2019) and in the empirical part of this article. In the latter we demonstrate the different steps involved in the QUAL-QUAN-QUAL transformation of data and show how the "connecting" method (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2017) is an ideal way to link qualitative and quantitative elements within a systematic observation framework. ...
... Like T-pattern detection, polar coordinate analysis has been used in a wide range of fields, including clinical psychology (Arias-Pujol and Rodríguez-Medina et al., 2018;Alcover et al., 2019;Del Giacco et al., 2020). ...
Table of Contents
-Editorial: The Patient’s Change: Understanding the Complexity of the Dynamics of Change and Its Precursors in Psychotherapy
Giulio de Felice, Melissa M. De Smet, Reitske Meganck and Guenter Schiepek
-The Role of Entrapment in Crisis-Focused Psychotherapy Delivered in Psychiatric Emergency Settings: A Comparative Study
Dana Tzur Bitan, Adi Otmazgin, Mirit Shani Sela and Aviv Segev
-Love, Work, and Striving for the Self in Balance: Anaclitic and Introjective Patients’ Experiences of Change in Psychoanalysis
Andrzej Werbart, Annelie Bergstedt and Sonja Levander
-The Action of Verbal and Non-verbal Communication in the Therapeutic Alliance Construction: A Mixed Methods Approach to Assess the Initial Interactions With Depressed Patients
Luca Del Giacco, M. Teresa Anguera and Silvia Salcuni
-Roles of Trait Mindfulness in Behavioral Activation Mechanism for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder
Koki Takagaki, Masaya Ito, Yoshitake Takebayashi, Shun Nakajima and Masaru Horikoshi
-What Differentiates Poor- and Good-Outcome Psychotherapy? A Statistical-Mechanics-Inspired Approach to Psychotherapy Research, Part Two: Network Analyses
Giulio de Felice, Alessandro Giuliani, Omar C. G. Gelo, Erhard Mergenthaler,
Melissa M. De Smet, Reitske Meganck, Giulia Paoloni, Silvia Andreassi,
Guenter K. Schiepek, Andrea Scozzari and Franco F. Orsucci
-A Mixed Methods Framework for Psychoanalytic Group Therapy: From Qualitative Records to a Quantitative Approach Using T-Pattern, Lag Sequential, and Polar Coordinate Analyses
Eulàlia Arias-Pujol and M. Teresa Anguera
-A Phase Transition of the Unconscious: Automated Text Analysis of Dreams in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Alessandro Gennaro, Sylvia Kipp, Kathrin Viol, Giulio de Felice,
Silvia Andreassi, Wolfgang Aichhorn, Sergio Salvatore and Günter Schiepek
-Convergent Validation of Methods for the Identification of Psychotherapeutic Phase Transitions in Time Series of Empirical and Model Systems
Günter Schiepek, Helmut Schöller, Giulio de Felice, Sune Vork Steffensen,
Marie Skaalum Bloch, Clemens Fartacek, Wolfgang Aichhorn and Kathrin Viol
-Long-Term Effects of Home-Based Family Therapy for Non-responding Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders. A 3-Year Follow-Up
Egon Bachler, Benjamin Aas, Herbert Bachler, Kathrin Viol, Helmut Johannes Schöller, Marius Nickel and Günter Schiepek
... While most studies have been conducted in adults, some have been conducted in adolescents (Down et al., 2011) and children with emotional and behavioral problems in groups (Swank and Shin, 2015) and individual psychodynamic play therapy (Halfon et al., 2016). Our group has used observational methodology to analyze group psychotherapy in previous studies (Vaimberg, 2010;Roustan et al., 2013;Arias-Pujol and Anguera, 2017;Alcover et al., 2019) and in the empirical part of this article. In the latter we demonstrate the different steps involved in the QUAL-QUAN-QUAL transformation of data and show how the "connecting" method (Creswell and Plano Clark, 2017) is an ideal way to link qualitative and quantitative elements within a systematic observation framework. ...
... Like T-pattern detection, polar coordinate analysis has been used in a wide range of fields, including clinical psychology (Arias-Pujol and Rodríguez-Medina et al., 2018;Alcover et al., 2019;Del Giacco et al., 2020). ...
Conducted within a mixed methods framework, this study focuses on the conversation-facilitation role of a lead therapist during group psychotherapy with adolescents. Conversation is an essential component of psychoanalytic psychotherapies and there is growing interest in describing and studying the impact of conversational techniques. One way to do this is to report on specific approaches, such as questioning, paraphrasing, and mentalization in intervention turns and to analyze their impact on the therapist-patient relationship. The main aim of this study was to investigate differences in communication strategies used by a lead therapist in the early and late stages of therapy with six adolescents aged 13–15 years. We employed a mixed methods design based on systematic direct observation supplemented by indirect observation. The observational methodology design was nomothetic, follow-up, and multidimensional. The choice of methodology is justified by our use of an ad hoc observation instrument for communication strategies combining a field format and a category system. We analyzed interobserver agreement quantitatively by Cohen’s kappa using GSEQ5 software. Following confirmation of the reliability of the data, we analyzed the lead therapist’s conversation-facilitation techniques in sessions 5 and 29 of a 30-session program by quantitatively analyzing what were initially qualitative data using T-pattern detection (THEME v.6 Edu software), lag sequential analysis (GSEQ5 software), and polar coordinate analysis (HOISAN v. 1.6.3.3.6. software and R software). The results show changes in the techniques used from the start to the end of therapy. Of the 28 communication strategies analyzed, three were particularly common: questioning and paraphrasing in session 5 and questioning and mentalization in session 29. This mixed methods study shows that combined use of T-pattern detection, lag sequential analysis, and polar coordinate analysis can offer meaningful and objective insights into group psychotherapy through the lens of the therapist.
... In short, the mixed methods approach adopted has shown its enormous potential to help us to study the improvement of the planning skills of children with ASD, and consequently, to improve their quality of life; aspect that proves to be particularly deficient in children and adolescents with ASD compared to their typically developing peers (de Vries and Geurts, 2015). Therefore, and in accordance with other authors (Arias-Pujol et al., 2015;Rodríguez-Medina et al., 2016Alcover et al., 2019), we advocate the use of mixed methods approach. The use of the mixed methods approach (and, more exactly, the observational methodology considered in itself as mixed methods), due it offers rigor and flexibility, is still more necessary and useful when it comes to the assessment of participants of a young age and special characteristics, as is the case of this study (Anguera, 2003). ...
The literature confirms that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have planning deficits. However, few interventions have targeted these deficits. The aims of this study were to: (1) show that the mixed methods approach can be useful in studying planning skills of children with ASD during and after an educational intervention; (2) assess whether the planning skills of two groups of children with ASD improved during the intervention and if this progress was maintained 1 month after completing the intervention. The groups were formed depending on each child’s severity level (SL) of ASD according to DSM-5: SL1 (requiring support) and SL2 (requiring substantial support). Each group was composed of four children. In the framework of mixed methods, we used observational methodology, which is considered as mixed methods in itself because it integrates qualitative and quantitative elements. A nomothetic/follow-up/multidimensional observational design was used. Planning skills manifested by children during the intervention were codified, as well as the scaffolding behaviors provided by the educational specialist. These skills and behaviors were also coded in one session, which took place 1 month after the intervention. Coded data of each group were submitted to prospective and retrospective lag sequential analysis. This informed of the sequential structure of planning skills performed by children in interaction with the educational specialist at the beginning and at the end of the intervention, as well as 1 month later after the intervention. The comparison of the patterns obtained in these three temporal moments allowed us to know the improvement of the two groups in the use of planning skills. Results showed that both groups improved their autonomous use of planning skills. However, SL1 group used successfully and autonomously complex planning skills, while SL2 group were unable to achieve this gain. SL2 group progressed in autonomy, but only using basic planning skills. Both groups can further improve their use of planning skills; therefore, the intervention should be adjusted to their characteristics and temporarily extended. These findings contribute to the, as yet, little studied field of intervention and assessment of planning skills in children with ASD using a mixed methods approach.
There has been a comprehensive development over the last few years of low intensity intervention programs that are implemented within a user context and that are made up of everyday life activities, and it has been necessary to adapt the necessary methodological channels in order to guarantee an adequate resolution pathway. The mixed method perspective offers a suitable framework, and observational methodology – in itself considered mixed method – is appropriate for studying the implementation and evaluation of low intensity intervention programs, allowing the development of the QUAL-QUAN-QUAL stages that correspond to the connect integration pathway of mixed methods. In this work it was applied to a single case, in a low intensity intervention, retrieving valuable information obtained, but systematizing it and applying quantitizing to the qualitative data that was treated quantitatively in a rigorous manner. The aim was to analyze the psychotherapist-patient interaction in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, in which we sought to identify which of the therapist’s techniques stimulated actions of reciprocal social interaction in the child, and which techniques inhibited non reciprocal social interactions. The observational design was nomothetic, follow-up, and multidimensional. The patient was a 4-year-old boy with a diagnosis of severe autism spectrum disorder. We used an ad hoc observation instrument combining a field format and a category system. Interobserver agreement was analyzed quantitatively by Cohen’s kappa using the free QSEQ5 software program. Polar coordinate analysis was carried out using the free program HOISAN 2.0. Polar coordinate analysis allows us to obtain an inter-relational map of the connections detected between focal behavior established in each case and the different categories. The results provide objective evidence – backed up by the application of polar-coordinate-based data analysis – that within a framework of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the techniques of “verbalization” and “vocalization” significantly activate reciprocal social interaction behaviors and inhibit non-social reciprocal behaviors in a child with severe autism spectrum disorder with no language. On the other hand, direct gaze promotes the child’s withdrawal. The results are of key importance as they show the therapist behaviors most useful for promoting social interaction in a child with severe autism.
El fútbol femenino ha experimentado un enorme crecimiento en los últimos años.
En el ámbito científico, en cambio, no podemos afirmar todavía que haya sido objeto de
análisis principal de los investigadores centrados en el rendimiento deportivo. Bajo esta
línea se fundamentó este trabajo en el que, a partir del paradigma mixed methods se trató
de conocer cuáles son los criterios que determinan el éxito ofensivo en fútbol femenino
de élite. En respuesta a ese interrogante se plantearon dos estudios diferenciados a partir
de la metodología observacional. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron comprobar que la
zona de posesión, configuración espacial de interacción, intención inicial ofensiva y zona
de inicio fueron criterios que determinaron el éxito ofensivo en las acciones analizadas.
A partir de las entrevistas realizadas a entrenadoras y jugadoras se demostró que criterios
como el rendimiento técnico-táctico individual y colectivo, el rendimiento físico de las
jugadoras, así cómo la toma de decisión y la capacidad de desarrollar ataques en espacios
de acción reducidos y en duraciones cortas, fueron criterios asociados al éxito ofensivo
en fútbol femenino de élite. Durante los próximos años, se considera necesario seguir
desarrollando el conocimiento científico sobre el éxito ofensivo en fútbol femenino.
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Women´s football has experienced enormous growth in recent years. In the
scientific field, on the other hand, we cannot yet affirm that it has been subject of analysis
by researchers focused on sports performance. This study was based on this line in which,
based on the mixed methods paradigm, an attempt was made to find out what are criteria
that determine offensive success in elite women´s football. In response to this question,
two differentiated studies were proposed based on the observational methodology. The
results obtained made it possible to verify that the possession zone, interaction context,
offensive intention and start zone were criteria that determined the offensive success in
the offensive actions analyzed. From the interviews carried out with coaches and players,
it was found that criteria such as individual and collective technical-tactical performance,
the physical performance of the players, as well as decision-making and the ability to
develop attacks in reduced action spaces and in short durations were criteria associated
with offensive success in elite women's soccer. Over the next few years, it is considered
necessary to further develop scientific knowledge on offensive success in women's
football.
The reliability of datasets in observational methodology is typically tested using coefficients of agreement, correlation coefficients, or generalizability theory. Another increasingly popular method used to demonstrate the quality of data is the consensus agreement method, in which two or more observers agree on their coding decisions while creating the dataset. Although the consensus agreement method is being increasingly used in observational studies, few studies have conducted an in-depth analysis of how this qualitative procedure is approached or of how it can be optimized. In this study, in addition to presenting a practical example of the application of the consensus agreement method, we compare the results from three groups (of two, three, and four observers) to analyze performance in terms of time required to code the data and goodness of fit with respect to an optimal dataset. No significant differences were found between the three groups for either of the variables analyzed. Prior calculation of the sample size required to detect significant differences between the groups adds strength to our conclusions regarding the efficiency of the consensus agreement method.
