Using GoalMinder in research
Whether it is in-house research or collaborative studies with universities, GoalMinder has unique features bringing research tools to the therapists on the "front lines."
- Every drop-down list item used in the construction of an intake becomes a searchable key word for the aggregate analyzer.
- Diagnoses, medication, and treatment modalities are also searchable attributes.
- Searches uses boolean "and" and "not" logic, so almost any data extraction can occur.
- Unique keywords can be added to a record for research purposes. For example, let us say a researcher is interested in post-partum depression. If parity of the mother was not coded, therapists could be asked to go back to the data and indicate (through a new keyword item) the parity status of the mother. Then the aggregate analyzer could be used to pull nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous moms from the data for further analysis.
- Virtually any likert-type rating scale can be entered, including scales developed by the investigator. Then, the data obtained by use of the scale become available for analysis.
- Once a data query is aggregated, GoalMinder has a very powerful export function which is run from the aggregate analyzer. You do this:
- Use the aggregate analyzer to select a subpopulation of your clients using any search criteria you desire and the problem cluster data you wish to analyze
- press the "export" button"
A comma-delimited text file is then written which is formatted in "pivot table" form. A spread sheet such as Excel® can directly read the data, as can Statistica® or other analytical programs. All problem cluster data is exported for each session in which it was recorded. This means with just a few searches, you can set up very sophisticated statistical comparisons utilizing this export feature.
