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Research Methods in Health

Research Methods in Health

Investigating Health and Health Services

9780335233649
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Description
The new edition of Research Methods in Health continues to provide an excellent broad based introduction to the subject. New or expanded sections, for example on the evaluation of complex interventions, mixed research methods, life history interviews, and socio-psychological theories make this third edition well worth purchasing. The content is clearly presented and at a suitable level for its intended audience of health professionals and post-graduate students in health and health-related social sciences.
Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

Research Methods in Health provides a comprehensive guide to the variety of methods for studying and assessing health and health services. The book not only covers all the topics you need regarding research methods, but also looks into the wider aspects of health and health services. I especially liked the way the book didnt jump straight into research methods and methodology, but took time to introduce some of the main sociological and psychological concepts and ideas, as well as looking at demography and epidemiology ... Each chapter is introduced in easily understood terms and ends with the main points concisely summarized ... Throughout the book clear examples are very well used to build on our understanding of key concepts and at the end of the book is a very useful glossary of terms.
Conor Hamilton, Student Nurse, Queens University Belfast, UK

The additional information in this third edition, for example the coverage of mixed research methods and pertinent social science concepts makes the third edition of this book stand out as a preliminary source of information for anyone looking at research and health ... The summary of main points, key questions and key terms are outstanding and allow the book to be adapted into an essential revision tool as well as adding support and a focal point during reading the book.
Lisa Perraton, Student Nurse, University of Chester, UK

A very simplified text book of research that guides students through different research designs/methodologies. I think this book must be recommended to every research student.
Moses Murandu, Wolverhampton University, UK

This bestselling book provides an accessible introduction to the theoretical concepts and descriptive and analytic research methods used in research on health and health services. The third edition has been thoroughly revised throughout to include updated references and boxed examples, with additional information on key methodological developments, among them::

  • Complex interventions
  • Mixed research methods
  • Psychometrics
  • Secondary data analysis
  • Systematic reviews
  • Pertinent social science concepts
The research methods described cover the assessment of health needs, morbidity and mortality trends and rates, costing health services, sampling for survey research, cross-sectional and longitudinal survey design, experimental methods and techniques of group assignment, questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, coding and analysis of quantitative data, methods and analysis of qualitative observational studies, and types of unstructured interviewing.

The book is grounded in the authors career as a researcher on health and health service issues, and the valuable experience this has provided in meeting the challenges of research on people and organisations in real life settings.

Research Methods in Health is an essential companion for students and researchers of health and health services, health clinicians and policy-makers with responsibility for applying research findings and judging the soundness of research.

Product Details
46476
9780335233649
9780335233649

Data sheet

Publication date
2009
Issue number
3
Cover
paperback
Pages count
496
Dimensions (mm)
170 x 239
Weight (g)
1016

  • Preface
    Acknowledgements

    Section 1 – Investigating health services and health: the scope of research

    Chapter 1:Evaluating health services: multidisciplinary collaboration

    Introduction
    Health services research
    Health technology assessment
    The assessment of quality
    Audit
    Medical audit, clinical audit and quality assurance
    Evaluation
    Structure, process and outcome
    Appropriateness and inappropriateness
    Outcome and patient based outcome
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 2:Social research on health: sociological and psychological concepts and approaches

    Introduction
    Sociological and psychological research on health

    1Health and illness
    The bio-medical model
    The social model of health
    Lay definitions of health
    Lay theories of illness
    Variations in medical and lay perspectives

    2Social factors in illness and responses to illness
    Social variations in health: structural inequalities
    Psycho-social stress and responses to stress to include mediators including self-efficacy, control
    Stigma, normalisation and adjustment
    The Sick Role and illness behaviour

    3Models of health behaviour
    Health lifestyles
    Health behaviour
    Models of health-related actions to include theory of planned behaviour, self-efficacy and control

    4Health-related quality of life
    Theoretical influences on measurement
    Distinctions between measures of broader health status, quality of life and health related quality of life
    Patient based outcome measures

    5Interactions between health professionals and patients
    Communication
    Patients evaluations of health care
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 3:Health needs and their assessment: demography and epidemiology

    Introduction

    1The assessment of health needsHealth needs
    The need for health and the need for health care
    Methods of assessing health needs
    The role of epidemiological and demographic research

    2Epidemiology
    The role of epidemiology
    Epidemiology research
    Methods of epidemiology
    Assessing morbidity, mortality, incidence and prevalence

    3The role of demography
    Demographical methods in relation to assessing need
    Rates: births and deaths
    The need to standardise
    Analyses of survival
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 4:Costing health services: health economics

    Introduction
    Health economics
    Demand, utility and supply
    Economic appraisal
    Cost minimisation
    Cost-effectiveness
    Cost-benefit analysis
    Marginal cost
    Complete costs
    Event pathways
    Opportunity cost
    Discounting
    Cost-utility analysis
    Cost-utility analysis and economic valuations of health
    Costing health services
    Study methods used for costings
    Modelling health care costs
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Section II – The philosophy, theory and practice of research

    Chapter 5:The philosophical framework of measurement

    Introduction
    The philosophy of science
    Paradigms
    Objectivity and value freedom
    Deductive and inductive approaches
    The survival of hypotheses and paradigm shifts
    Theoretical influences on social research methods
    Social science and grounded theory
    Positivism
    Phenomenology
    Choice of methods
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 6:The principles of research

    Introduction
    Searching the literature
    Literature reviews
    Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
    Rigour
    Aims, objectives and hypotheses
    Concepts and theories
    Research proposals
    Research design and research methods
    Selection of measurement instruments Secondary data analysis
    Level of data and statistical techniques
    Reliability and validity
    Threats to reliability and validity
    Mixed mode questionnaires and biases
    Ethics and ethical committees, clinical governance
    Dissemination
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Section III – Quantitative research: sampling and research methods

    Chapter 7:Sample size and sampling for quantitative research

    Introduction

    1Calculation of sample size, statistical significance and sampling
    The sampling unit
    Calculation of sample size and statistical power
    Testing hypotheses, statistical significance, the null hypothesis
    Type I and Type II errors
    One – or two-sided hypothesis testing
    Statistical, social and clinical significance
    Sampling frames
    Sampling
    Confidence intervals and the normal distribution
    External validity of the sample results

    2Methods of sampling
    Random sampling
    Non-random sampling: quota sampling
    Sampling for qualitative research
    Sampling for telephone interviews
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Notes
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 8:Quantitative research: surveys

    Introduction

    1Survey methods
    The survey
    Descriptive and analytic surveys
    Retrospective (ex post facto), cross-sectional surveys
    Prospective, longitudinal surveys
    Cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort studies
    Triangulated research methods and surveys

    2Methods of analysing change in longitudinal surveys
    Analysing change
    Sample attrition and analysing change
    Stopping rules and analysis of interim results
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 9:Quantitative research: experiments and other analytical methods of investigation

    Introduction
    The experimental method
    Internal and external validity
    Reducing bias in participants and the investigating team
    Blind experiments
    The randomised controlled trial in health care evaluation
    Other analytic methods of investigation
    Before-after study with non-randomised control group
    After-only study with non-randomised control group
    Time series studies using different samples (historical controls)
    Geographical comparisons
    People acting as own controls
    Within-person, controlled site study
    Threats to the validity of causal inferences in other analytic studies
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 10:Sample selection and group assignment methods in experiments and other analytic methods

    Introduction
    Random sampling
    Convenience and purposive sampling
    Volunteers
    Type of investigation and type of sampling frame
    Response rates: experiments and other analytical studies
    Ensuring similarity in group characteristics: random allocation
    Other allocation methods: cross-over methods
    Methods of group design for improving the basic RCT
    Common methods of controlling to obtain equivalence in non-randomised studies
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Section IV – The tools of quantitative research

    Chapter 11:Data collection methods in quantitative research: questionnaires, interviews and their response rates

    Introduction
    Structured and semi-structured questionnaires
    Postal questionnaires and self-administration
    Structured and semi-structured interviews
    Non-response
    Item non-response
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 12:Questionnaire design

    Introduction
    Planning
    Piloting
    Questionnaire layout
    The covering letter
    Questions form, order and wording
    Rules for form
    Scores
    Constructing additional items and scales
    Attitude measurement scales
    Rules for order and wording
    Rules for questions by type of topic
    Checking the accuracy of responses
    Translating an instrument and cultural equivalence
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 13:Techniques of survey interviewing

    Introduction
    Types of interview
    The interviewer
    Interviewer handbooks
    Sampling by interviewers
    Interviewer training
    Interviewer bias
    Persistence in contacting respondents
    Approaching respondents
    Motivating people to respond
    Third parties and distractions
    Beginning the interview
    Rules for structured interviewing
    Interviewing techniques
    The end of the interview
    Recording responses
    Debriefing
    Quality control
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 14:Preparation of quantitative data for coding and analysis

    Introduction
    Coding
    Coding transfer sheets
    The code book
    Numerical values for codes
    Coding open questions
    Coding closed questions
    Checking returned questionnaires
    Data entry on to computer
    Direct data-entry
    Cleaning the data
    Checking for bias in the analyses
    Missing values and data checks
    Computer packages for the analysis of quantitative data
    The analysis
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Section V – Qualitative and combined research methods, and their analysis

    Chapter 15:Unstructured and structured observational studies

    Introduction
    Observation
    Participant observation
    Gaining access
    Hardware: video – and audio tapes
    Establishing validity and reliability
    Observation and triangulated methods
    Structured observations: what to record
    Time sampling
    Recording observed (non-verbal) body language
    Unstructured observations
    Combining structured and unstructured recordings
    Theoretical analysis of observational data
    Categorisation of observational data
    Narratives
    Audi-observation: conversation sampling
    Recording and analysing verbal communication
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 16:Unstructured interviewing and focus groups

    Introduction

    1Unstructured interviews
    Types of unstructured, in-depth interview
    Theoretical frameworks for conducting in-depth interviews and analysis
    In-depth interviewing: sample selection and size
    The process of the interview
    Techniques of in-depth interviewing
    Analysis and presentation of in-depth interview data
    Categorising qualitative data: content analysis
    Rules for coding
    Computer programs for analysing qualitative data
    Narrative format
    Mixed research methods

    2Focus groups
    Focus group interviews
    Group composition
    Appropriate topics for focus groups
    Methods of analysis
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Chapter 17:Other methods using both qualitative and quantitative approaches: case studies, consensus methods, action research and document research

    Introduction

    1Case studies
    The study of single or small series of cases
    Examples of case studies
    The analysis

    2Consensus methods
    Methods of establishing and developing consensus
    Delphi technique
    Consensus development panels
    Nominal group process
    The analysis

    3Action research and rapid appraisal techniques
    Action research
    Stages of action research
    Rapid appraisal

    4Document research
    Documents as sources of, or for, research
    Types of documents
    Authenticity, bias, error and interpretation
    Types of document research
    Analysis of documents
    Diary methods
    Analysis of diaries
    Summary of main points
    Key questions
    Key terms
    Recommended reading

    Glossary
    References
    Index
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