Study Design

The project can be developed as a sequence of linked validation studies rather than a single all-purpose study.

Study 1 — Feasibility and psychometrics

Participants complete one or more validated psychopathology questionnaires followed by the PCN augmentation.

Primary targets:

• completion time,
• acceptability,
• item-selection behavior,
• distribution of causal ratings,
• network feasibility,
• subjective representativeness,
• short-term retest reliability.

A retest subsample allows separate examination of:

• selected-node stability,
• edge-level stability,
• direction stability,
• and global network-metric stability.

Study 2 — Incremental longitudinal validity

Participants are followed over time.

Core comparison:

Base model:
Outcome_follow-up ~ Outcome_baseline + conventional questionnaire information
 
Augmented model:
Outcome_follow-up ~ Outcome_baseline + conventional questionnaire information + PCN information

The conventional-information block should be deliberately strong so that incremental value cannot be explained simply by re-encoding severity.

Possible base-model predictors:

• total score,
• subscale scores,
• number of elevated items,
• mean severity of selected items,
• or, where sample size permits, the complete item profile.

See Validation Framework and Analysis/Network Metrics.

Study 3 — Network-feedback experiment

Participants can be randomized to:

• standard questionnaire feedback, or
• questionnaire feedback plus their individualized PCN.

Candidate immediate outcomes:

• problem understanding,
• coherence,
• perceived personalization,
• perceived control,
• insight,
• motivation,
• treatment relevance.

See Feedback/Network Feedback.

Embedded methodological analyses

Several analyses can be embedded across studies, particularly Analysis/Same Symptoms Different Networks and comparisons of alternative Assessment/Item Selection rules.