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Book Details
Abstract
This accessible and clearly structured book, written by experienced researchers and practitioners, provides a one-stop introduction to the most common qualitative, quantitative and desk-based research designs and methods in health and social care.
"This is an excellent research textbook book which covers all the main methods that are currently used in health and social care research. I think that this will be an excellent resource for a number of healthcare professionals at degree and masters degree level. It is beautifully written and good editorial control is clearly evident"
- Professor Claire Hale, Dame Kathleen Raven Professor of Clinical Nursing, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
A single book addressing all basic research design needs. Consistent and jargon-free, it enables readers to compare and contrast methods and decide the best technique for their problem
JOANNE NEALE is Professor of Public Health at Oxford Brooke's University, UK. Her recent publications include Drug Users in Society, also by Palgrave, and numerous journal articles.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| List of figures, tables and boxes | xiv | ||
| Contributors | xv | ||
| Acknowledgements | xix | ||
| Abbreviations | xxi | ||
| PART 1 Research Preliminaries | 1 | ||
| 1 Why Research? | 3 | ||
| The Importance of Research | 3 | ||
| The Contested Nature of Scientific Knowledge | 4 | ||
| The Role of Patronage and Funding | 6 | ||
| The Limitations of Evidence-based Practice | 8 | ||
| Towards an Optimistic Research Future | 10 | ||
| The Rest of the Book | 11 | ||
| References | 14 | ||
| Notes | 15 | ||
| 2 Starting a New Research Project | 16 | ||
| Introduction | 16 | ||
| Deciding on a Topic | 16 | ||
| Formulating a Research Question | 18 | ||
| Choosing a Methodology and Appropriate Methods | 19 | ||
| Planning the Study | 20 | ||
| Seeking and Obtaining Approvals | 25 | ||
| Writing a Proposal | 26 | ||
| Conclusion | 28 | ||
| References | 28 | ||
| Notes | 29 | ||
| 3 Research Ethics | 31 | ||
| Introduction | 31 | ||
| Historical Development of Research Ethics | 31 | ||
| Theories of Ethics | 33 | ||
| Ethical Principles | 35 | ||
| Codes of Practice or Research Conduct | 36 | ||
| Research Ethics Review | 42 | ||
| Conclusions | 43 | ||
| References | 44 | ||
| Notes | 45 | ||
| PART 2 Desk-based Research | 47 | ||
| 4 Literature Reviews | 49 | ||
| Introduction | 49 | ||
| Historical Context | 49 | ||
| Current Use | 51 | ||
| Main Strengths of Literature Reviews | 52 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Literature Reviews | 53 | ||
| Conducting a Literature Review | 54 | ||
| An Example of a Literature Review | 57 | ||
| Further Reading | 59 | ||
| References | 60 | ||
| Notes | 62 | ||
| 5 Systematic Reviews | 63 | ||
| Introduction | 63 | ||
| Historical Context | 63 | ||
| Current Use | 65 | ||
| Main Strengths of Systematic Reviews | 67 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Systematic Reviews | 67 | ||
| Conducting a Systematic Review | 69 | ||
| An Example of a Systematic Review | 73 | ||
| Further Reading | 75 | ||
| References | 76 | ||
| Notes | 77 | ||
| 6 Content Analysis | 78 | ||
| Introduction | 78 | ||
| Historical Context | 78 | ||
| Current Use | 79 | ||
| Main Strengths of Content Analysis | 81 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Content Analysis | 82 | ||
| Conducting a Content Analysis | 84 | ||
| An Example of a Content Analysis Study | 87 | ||
| Further Reading | 88 | ||
| Acknowledgements | 90 | ||
| References | 90 | ||
| Notes | 91 | ||
| 7 Discourse Analysis | 92 | ||
| Introduction | 92 | ||
| Historical Context | 92 | ||
| Current Use | 94 | ||
| Main Strengths of Discourse Analysis | 95 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Discourse Analysis | 96 | ||
| Conducting a Discourse Analysis | 97 | ||
| An Example of a Discourse Analysis Study | 100 | ||
| Further Reading | 102 | ||
| References | 104 | ||
| 8 Service Audit | 105 | ||
| Introduction | 105 | ||
| Historical Context | 106 | ||
| Current Use | 107 | ||
| Main Strengths of Audit | 109 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Audit | 110 | ||
| Conducting an Audit | 111 | ||
| An Example of an Audit | 115 | ||
| Further Reading | 116 | ||
| References | 117 | ||
| Notes | 118 | ||
| PART 3 Quantitative Research | 119 | ||
| 9 Surveys | 121 | ||
| Introduction | 121 | ||
| Historical Context | 121 | ||
| Current Use | 122 | ||
| Main Strengths of Surveys | 124 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Surveys | 125 | ||
| Conducting a Survey | 127 | ||
| An Example of a Survey | 132 | ||
| Further Reading | 134 | ||
| References | 135 | ||
| Notes | 136 | ||
| 10 Cohort Studies | 137 | ||
| Introduction | 137 | ||
| Historical Context | 137 | ||
| Current Use | 140 | ||
| Main Strengths of Cohort Studies | 141 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Cohort Studies | 142 | ||
| Conducting a Cohort Study | 144 | ||
| An Example of a Cohort Study | 147 | ||
| Further Reading | 148 | ||
| References | 149 | ||
| Notes | 150 | ||
| 11 Randomised Controlled Trials | 152 | ||
| Introduction | 152 | ||
| Historical Context | 152 | ||
| Current Use | 154 | ||
| Main Strengths of RCTs | 155 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of RCTs | 156 | ||
| Conducting an RCT | 157 | ||
| An Example of an RCT | 161 | ||
| Further Reading | 162 | ||
| References | 163 | ||
| Notes | 165 | ||
| 12 Economic Evaluations | 166 | ||
| Introduction | 166 | ||
| Historical Context | 166 | ||
| Current Use | 167 | ||
| Main Strengths of Economic Evaluations | 170 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Economic Evaluations | 171 | ||
| Conducting an Economic Evaluation | 173 | ||
| An Example of an Economic Evaluation Study | 175 | ||
| Further Reading | 178 | ||
| References | 179 | ||
| Notes | 180 | ||
| 13 Measuring Health Status | 181 | ||
| Introduction | 181 | ||
| Historical Context | 182 | ||
| Current Use | 183 | ||
| Main Strengths of Health Status Measures | 184 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Health Status Measures | 185 | ||
| Developing a Health Status Measure | 187 | ||
| An Example of a Health Status Measure | 189 | ||
| Further Reading | 192 | ||
| References | 193 | ||
| Notes | 194 | ||
| PART 4 Qualitative Research | 195 | ||
| 14 In-depth Interviews | 197 | ||
| Introduction | 197 | ||
| Historical Context | 197 | ||
| Current Use | 199 | ||
| Main Strengths of In-depth Interviewing | 201 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of In-depth Interviewing | 202 | ||
| Conducting In-depth Interviews | 203 | ||
| An Example of an In-depth Interview Study | 205 | ||
| Further Reading | 207 | ||
| References | 209 | ||
| Notes | 210 | ||
| 15 Focus Groups | 211 | ||
| Introduction | 211 | ||
| Historical Context | 211 | ||
| Current Use | 213 | ||
| Main Strengths of Focus Groups | 214 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Focus Groups | 215 | ||
| Conducting a Focus Group | 216 | ||
| An Example of a Focus Group Study | 219 | ||
| Further Reading | 221 | ||
| References | 222 | ||
| Notes | 223 | ||
| 16 Participant Observation | 224 | ||
| Introduction | 224 | ||
| Historical Context | 224 | ||
| Current Use | 225 | ||
| Main Strengths of Participant Observation | 226 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Participant Observation | 227 | ||
| Conducting a Participant Observation Study | 229 | ||
| An Example of a Participant Observation Study | 232 | ||
| Further Reading | 234 | ||
| References | 235 | ||
| 17 Ethnography | 238 | ||
| Introduction | 238 | ||
| Historical Context | 238 | ||
| Current Use | 239 | ||
| Main Strengths of Ethnography | 241 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of Ethnography | 242 | ||
| Conducting an Ethnography | 243 | ||
| An Example of Ethnography | 247 | ||
| Further Reading | 249 | ||
| References | 250 | ||
| Notes | 252 | ||
| 18 Critical Incident Technique | 253 | ||
| Introduction | 253 | ||
| Historical Context | 253 | ||
| Current Use | 254 | ||
| Main Strengths of the Critical Incident Technique | 257 | ||
| Main Weaknesses of the Critical Incident Technique | 258 | ||
| Conducting a Critical Incident Study | 260 | ||
| An Example of a Critical Incident Study | 262 | ||
| Further Reading | 263 | ||
| References | 264 | ||
| PART 5 Bringing it all Together | 265 | ||
| 19 Mixed Methods Research: Quantity Plus Quality | 267 | ||
| Introduction | 267 | ||
| Competing Paradigms | 267 | ||
| A Different Paradigm | 269 | ||
| What is Mixed Methods Research? | 270 | ||
| Uses of Mixed Methods Research | 272 | ||
| An Example of a Mixed Methods Study | 275 | ||
| Making Multi-method Research Happen | 277 | ||
| Quantity and Quality | 279 | ||
| Acknowledgement | 280 | ||
| References | 280 | ||
| Notes | 282 | ||
| 20 Dissemination | 283 | ||
| Introduction | 283 | ||
| What is Dissemination? | 283 | ||
| Why Disseminate? | 284 | ||
| Some General Guidelines for Successful Dissemination | 284 | ||
| Dissertations and Theses | 286 | ||
| Research Reports | 287 | ||
| Books and Book Chapters | 288 | ||
| Academic Journals | 288 | ||
| Professional Journals | 289 | ||
| The Mass Media | 290 | ||
| Leaflets | 290 | ||
| Web Pages | 291 | ||
| Oral Presentations | 292 | ||
| Poster Presentations | 293 | ||
| Conclusions | 294 | ||
| References | 294 | ||
| Notes | 295 | ||
| Index | 296 | ||
| A | 296 | ||
| B | 297 | ||
| C | 297 | ||
| D | 299 | ||
| E | 300 | ||
| F | 301 | ||
| G | 301 | ||
| H | 301 | ||
| I | 302 | ||
| J | 302 | ||
| K | 303 | ||
| L | 303 | ||
| M | 303 | ||
| N | 304 | ||
| O | 304 | ||
| P | 304 | ||
| Q | 305 | ||
| R | 306 | ||
| S | 307 | ||
| T | 308 | ||
| U | 308 | ||
| V | 308 | ||
| W | 308 |