The Center for Contextual Psychiatry is looking for a motivated PhD student with a background in Psychology or in Social/ Health sciences to work on methodological challenges related to the use of the Experience Sampling Methodology in healthy populations and patients with mental health disorders.

Experience Sampling Research: Methodological and Statistical Challenges

The Center for Contextual Psychiatry is a multidisciplinary and internationally oriented research center, widely recognized for its expertise in the design, application, and analysis of studies and clinical trials using Experience Sampling Methodology in the context of Mental Health research. The CCP is headed by prof. Inez Myin-Germeys. The CCP currently consists of 25 researchers from a wide range of backgrounds (psychology - psychiatry - statistics - philosophy - movement sciences - ...). The Center is part of the Department of Neurosciences in the School of Medicine at KU Leuven, one of the most renowned research universities in Europe.   Website unit

Project

Ambulatory assessment techniques such as the Experience Sampling Methodology or Ecological Momentary Assessment are increasingly being used in mental health research and in clinical practice. However, many methodological issues remain to be investigated. What is the optimal design for such a study, what would be an optimal questionnaire to use, and how reliable can we apply this methodology in clinical populations? The CCP - together with the research group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences (Faculty of Psychology) - is setting up a series of studies specifically disentangling these issues. The PhD student will take a leading role in these studies.

The successful candidate has a Master degree in Psychology or in the Social/Health Sciences, with a strong interest in research design and methodology. We are looking for an innovative and creative personality, with the ability to independently generate novel solutions in methodologically challenging areas. Experience with  ambulatory assessment and with mixed effects models is an advantage. The candidate should be able to speak Dutch and have good command of English (written and oral).

Salaries for PhD students are competitive by international standards. A contract for one year will be offered, which is renewable for another three years after positive evaluation. Starting date is flexible but no later than December 2017.