Research Methods For Nurses And The Caring Professions

by Pamela Abbott; Roger Sapsford

• ISBN13: 9780335196975
• ISBN10: 0335196977
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1998-05-16
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill UK

Summary

Praise for the first edition of Research into Practice and Research Methods for Nurses and the Caring Professions:These books provide a good introduction for the uninitiated to reading and doing research. Abbott and Sapsford provide a clearly written and accessible introduction to social research ... One of their aims is to 'de-mystify' research, and in this they succeed admirably... After reading the text and the articles in the reader, and working through the various research exercises, readers should have a clear appreciation of how to evaluate other people's research and how to begin their own.-David Field, Journal of Palliative MedicineThis book, now substantially revised in its second edition, is about the appreciation, evaluation and conduct of social research. Aimed at nurses, social workers, community workers and others in the caring professions, the book is particularly focused on research which evaluates and contributes to professional practice. The authors have provided many short, practical exercises in the text, and the examples are drawn mostly from projects carried out by one or two people rather than large research teams. The clear, accessible style will make this the ideal introductory text for those undertaking or studying research for the first time.The book may be used in conjunction with Research into Practice (Open University Press), a reader of useful examples selected by the same authors.

Author Biography

Pamela Abbott is Director and Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Teesside Roger Sapsford is a senior lecturer in research methods at the Open University

Table of Contents

Series editor's preface	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Finding out and making sense	p. 3
Observation	p. 6
Asking questions	p. 10
Controlled trials	p. 14
Research ethics and Research Ethics Committees	p. 17
The research imagination	p. 20
Summary	p. 22
Further reading	p. 23
Assessing research	p. 25
Reading research reports	p. 27
The structure of research reports	p. 28
Assessing research reports	p. 29
Ethical and political questions	p. 31
Summary	p. 32
Reading open interview research	p. 33
The research paper: Abbott and Sapsford (1987b)	p. 33
Discussion	p. 37
Summary: points for evaluation	p. 41
Further reading	p. 42
Reading observation research	p. 44
Kirkham (1983)	p. 44
Cayne (1995)	p. 46
James (1984)	p. 48
Summary: points for evaluation	p. 50
Further reading	p. 51
Reading about controlled trials	p. 53
Gordon (1986)	p. 54
Doll and Hill (1954)	p. 56
Summary: points for evaluation	p. 61
Further reading	p. 62
Reading survey research	p. 63
Abbott (1997)	p. 64
Abbott and Sapsford (1993)	p. 67
Discussion	p. 69
Summary: points for evaluation	p. 71
Further reading	p. 72
Reading secondary sources	p. 73
Using secondary sources	p. 73
Research paper: Abbott and Tyler (1995)	p. 75
Standardization and comparison	p. 78
Summary: points for evaluation	p. 80
Further reading	p. 81
Doing research	p. 83
Using secondary sources	p. 85
Using libraries - review of literature	p. 85
Finding statistics	p. 87
Population and vital statistics	p. 88
Health and the National Health Service	p. 88
Social services statistics	p. 89
Problems with published statistics	p. 90
'Qualitative' sources	p. 91
Summary	p. 92
Further reading	p. 92
Survey research: design and sampling	p. 94
Selecting respondents	p. 96
Random sampling	p. 97
Cluster sampling	p. 98
Quota sampling	p. 99
Devising the questions	p. 100
Measuring attitudes	p. 101
Anticipating problems	p. 103
Non-response	p. 103
Reactivity	p. 104
Alternative explanations	p. 104
Doing the research	p. 105
Summary	p. 106
Further reading	p. 107
Experimental practice	p. 109
Uncontrolled trials	p. 109
Towards the controlled trial	p. 111
Single-case experimental designs	p. 114
Quasi-experimental logic	p. 117
Summary	p. 118
Further reading	p. 118
Answer to Exercise 32	p. 119
Open interviewing	p. 120
Life-history interviews and comparative interviewing	p. 121
The nature of the data	p. 123
Doing the interviews	p. 124
Selecting informants	p. 127
Gaining access	p. 127
Summary	p. 128
Further reading	p. 129
Answer to Exercises	p. 129
Analysing text	p. 132
Qualitative description	p. 133
Case analysis	p. 134
Content analysis	p. 135
Meta-analysis	p. 137
Ideology and discourse	p. 139
Summary	p. 142
Further reading	p. 143
Specimen answer to Exercise 35	p. 143
Participant observation	p. 145
Covert participant observation	p. 145
Overt observation	p. 148
Observation in the workplace	p. 150
Summary	p. 152
Further reading	p. 153
In conclusion	p. 155
Writing up	p. 157
Formal reports: quantitative research	p. 158
Formal reports: qualitative research	p. 160
Other modes of presentation	p. 161
Summary	p. 162
Further reading	p. 163
In conclusion: research into practice	p. 164
Research-based practice	p. 165
Evaluating practice	p. 167
The reflective researcher	p. 173
Research and theory	p. 176
In conclusion	p. 180
Summary	p. 181
Further reading	p. 182
Glossary	p. 183
References	p. 189
Author index	p. 196
Subject index	p. 198
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