Question
What is the role of clinical research in communication sciences and disorders? How vital are these studies, and how can they be applied within the hospital or educational setting?
Answer
The role of clinical research is to inform the field about the effectiveness of clinical practices. Since it provides an important base of evidence for clinical decision-making, it is vital to our work. As for applications of this research, understanding formal rules of evidence is necessary to correctly interpret literature on causation, prognosis, diagnostic tests, and treatment strategies. I would recommend NSSLHA's Spring 2006 CICSD Journal, vol. 33, as a great resource for this information. Evidence-based practice is nothing short of a paradigm shift for how we grapple with decisions of everyday clinical work. In effect, it takes the position that clinical experience and intuition are important but insufficient tools for conducting clinical practice.
Clifford Highnam received his Ph.D. in speech-language pathology from Bowling Green State University. He teaches courses addressing special populations and school-age language disorders. His research interests involve language acquisition and language impairment in children. Currently he serves as head of the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Northern Iowa.
Clifford Highnam, Ph.D
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