‘It’s not in my job description’: An exploration of trainee clinical psychologists’ attitudes towards research and perceptions of DClinPsy research culture

Abstract

This project aimed to investigate attitudes towards research and perceived research culture among trainee clinical psychologists across the UK. This was achieved by exploring factors such as: research training environment, research attitudes, research self-efficacy, and professional identity. An online survey was completed by 44 trainee clinical psychologists who started training in 2020. The findings showed that UK trainee clinical psychologists did not perceive a strong research training environment, they did not hold strong attitudes towards research, or have positive research self-efficacy as indicated in previous research. It is of some concern that the role of researcher, as part of the identity of a clinical psychologist, was not seen to be instrumental by most trainees. Important differences in the results of this research compared to previous published literature are discussed, in addition to a consideration of the implications of these findings for training and the post-qualification role of clinical psychologists.