Research in mental disorders and mental health practice

The approach to a chapter outlining some topics of current importance in research in mental health practice must of necessity be selective. The first part of the chapter addresses a number of fundamental issues in understanding research in mental health. This includes reviews of:• the essential definition of research• ethical considerations in research• the nature and limitations of science as ahuman social activity• the application ofhypothetico-deductive scientificreasoning in mental health research• ways of using research evidence in clinical practice and policy-making, including 'evidencebased' approaches. After reviewing these fundamental issues, we then address some specific areas that seem particularly important or promising at present. These have been grouped within the following domains:• descriptive psychopathology• the epidemiological approach• clinical trials• health economics• the development of research in the discipline of nursing• qualitative research• action research• progress in research in the neurosciences