title: A systematic examination of the nature and content of vignettes in schizophrenia research.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vignettes are often used in psychiatric research, yet there are few systematic studies on their content, creation, and use.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article describes a study of: (a) how researchers create vignettes in research on schizophrenia and (b) how these vignettes portray individuals with schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed database for articles between 2008 and 2012 that used vignettes to measure attitudes about schizophrenia. We analyzed the identified vignettes using a tool developed in reference to DSM criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within the vignettes, 98% of individuals portrayed demonstrated delusions, 91% demonstrated hallucinations and 29% demonstrated disorganized speech. The majority of vignettes portrayed individuals under 25 years and when both genders were not depicted, researchers chose to depict men much more frequently than women (41% vs. 8%). A majority of articles did not use original vignettes (55%), and many of the articles (53%) contained vignettes created by one team of researchers. Most vignettes did not include positive language or recovery-oriented information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights a need for critical thought on vignette development and utilization, especially as psychiatry is now moving towards a recovery-based understanding of mental illness.
authors.affiliation: a School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University , Kingston , Ontario , Canada and.
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Aldersey
authors.affiliation: b Douglas Mental Health University Institute , Montreal , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Doan Chinh
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: b Douglas Mental Health University Institute , Montreal , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whitley
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012107:Research Design; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D057545:Social Stigma
keywords: Mental illness; schizophrenia; systematic search; vignettes