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'The authors are not advocating that all people need to be involved in research but certainly argue the need for practioners to develop their research skills and expertise. This text removes some of the mystique of research and would certainly encourage the practioner to explore some of the areas raised in more depth. I would consider it to be an essential text for any social and health care practioner whether they are in practice or pursuing further studies. - Nurse Education Today, Volume 24, Issue 1, January 2004 Research is now a crucial function of health and social care practice. All professionals in these fields need to understand research and be able to apply it in their daily care. Making Sense of Research aims to demystify research by introducing the relevant and essential elements. The authors provide a foundation of research knowledge by explaining the role of research in health and social care, giving an overview of the research process and presenting a range of approaches both quantitative and qualitative. There is an emphasis on the development of critical skills and how to implement research findings in practice. Additionally, they cover ethical issues involved in research and the dissemination of evidence gained through research. This completely revised and updated Second Edition is an invaluable introductory text for students and qualified practitioners in the health and social care professions who have no prior training or experience in the area. It includes new material on internet research, and the examples and reading lists have been fully updated.
What is research and how does it work in the context of nursing, health and social care? This introductory guide provides you with a concise overview of the different research methods and terminology that you will come across when undertaking research in any course related to nursing, health and social care. The book′s easy-to-follow structure takes you from research novice to confident researcher, helping you to make sense of research and understand how it is implemented in healthcare practice. The new edition includes: Updates in light of the 2018 NMC standards, with more information on the impact of GDPR, consent and vulnerable groups, Personal and Public Involvement (PPI), and work-based projects. Improved case examples of real research, with more on group work, poster presentations, research output and dissemination, literature reviews, and dissertations. Upgraded activities that include reflective exercises, critical appraisal tools, a dissemination plan, and a glossary, all in the book. This is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students within the health and therapy professions, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, radiographers, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and paramedics.
Many health care practitioners and researchers are aware of the need to employ factor analysis in order to develop more sensitive instruments for data collection. Unfortunately, factor analysis is not a unidimensional approach that is easily understood by even the most experienced of researchers. Making Sense of Factor Analysis: The Use of Factor Analysis for Instrument Development in Health Care Research presents a straightforward explanation of the complex statistical procedures involved in factor analysis. Authors Marjorie A. Pett, Nancy M. Lackey, and John J. Sullivan provide a step-by-step approach to analyzing data using statistical computer packages like SPSS and SAS. Emphasizing the interrelationship between factor analysis and test construction, the authors examine numerous practical and theoretical decisions that must be made to efficiently run and accurately interpret the outcomes of these sophisticated computer programs. This accessible volume will help both novice and experienced health care professionals to Increase their knowledge of the use of factor analysis in health care research Understand journal articles that report the use of factor analysis in test construction and instrument development Create new data collection instruments Examine the reliability and structure of existing health care instruments Interpret and report computer-generated output from a factor analysis run Making Sense of Factor Analysis: The Use of Factor Analysis for Instrument Development in Health Care Research offers a practical method for developing tests, validating instruments, and reporting outcomes through the use of factor analysis. To facilitate learning, the authors provide concrete testing examples, three appendices of additional information, and a glossary of key terms. Ideal for graduate level nursing students, this book is also an invaluable resource for health care researchers.
Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach introduces students to research methods by illuminating the underlying assumptions of social science inquiry. Authors Pengfei Zhao, Karen Ross, Peiwei Li, and Barbara Dennis show how research concepts are often an integral part of everyday life through illustrative common scenarios, like looking for a recipe or going on a job interview. The authors extrapolate from these personal but ubiquitous experiences to further explain concepts, like gathering data or social context, so students develop a deeper understanding of research and its applications outside of the classroom. Students from across the social sciences can take this new understanding into their own research, their professional lives, and their personal lives with a new sense of relevancy and urgency. This text is organized into clusters that center on major topics in social science research. The first cluster introduces concepts that are fundamental to all aspects and steps of the research process. These concepts include relationality, identity, ethics, epistemology, validity, and the sociopolitical context within which research occurs. The second and third clusters focus on data and inference. These clusters engage concretely with steps of the research process, including decisions about designing research, generating data, making inferences. Throughout the chapters, Pause and Reflect open-ended questions provide readers with the space for further inquiry into research concepts and how they apply to life. Research Scenario features in each chapter offer new perspectives on major research topics from leading and emerging voices in methods. Moving from this dialogic perspective to more actionable advice, You and Research features offer students concrete steps for engaging with research. Take your research into the world with Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach.
Making Sense of Statistical Methods in Social Research is a critical introduction to the use of statistical methods in social research. It provides a unique approach to statistics that concentrates on helping social researchers think about the conceptual basis for the statistical methods they′re using. Whereas other statistical methods books instruct students in how to get through the statistics-based elements of their chosen course with as little mathematical knowledge as possible, this book aims to improve students′ statistical literacy, with the ultimate goal of turning them into competent researchers. Making Sense of Statistical Methods in Social Research contains careful discussion of the conceptual foundation of statistical methods, specifying what questions they can, or cannot, answer. The logic of each statistical method or procedure is explained, drawing on the historical development of the method, existing publications that apply the method, and methodological discussions. Statistical techniques and procedures are presented not for the purpose of showing how to produce statistics with certain software packages, but as a way of illuminating the underlying logic behind the symbols. The limited statistical knowledge that students gain from straight forward ′how-to′ books makes it very hard for students to move beyond introductory statistics courses to postgraduate study and research. This book should help to bridge this gap.
Social psychologists have studied beliefs and values, and related constructs such as "attitudes" and "prejudice" for decades. But as this innovative and interdisciplinary book convincingly demonstrates, the scientific examination of beliefs and values now influences research and practice across a range of disciplines. Specifically, this edited volume explores the many cutting edge implications and applications of Equilintegration or EI Theory and the Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI). Grounded in twenty years of research and practice, EI Theory seeks to explain the processes by which beliefs, values, and worldviews are acquired and maintained, why their alteration is resisted, and under what circumstances they are modified. Based upon EI Theory, the BEVI is a comprehensive analytic tool which examines how and why we come to see ourselves, others, and the larger world as we do as well as the influence of such processes on multiple aspects of human functioning. Edited by the developer of the EI model and BEVI method, and informed by contributions from leading U.S. and international scholars, this book features captivating research findings and pioneering practice applications. Research-focused chapters explain how the EI model and BEVI method increase our conceptual sophistication and methodological capacity across a range of areas: Culture, Development, Environment, Gender, Personality, Politics, and Religion. Practice-oriented chapters demonstrate how the BEVI is used in the real world across a range of applied domains: Assessment, Education, Forensics, Leadership, and Psychotherapy. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this fascinating and timely volume speaks to many of the most pressing issues of our day, by illuminating why we believe what we believe, and demonstrating how our beliefs and values may be assessed, explained, and transformed in the real world. Key Features: Presents an interdisciplinary theoretical model and innovative assessment method derived from two decades of work on the etiology, maintenance, and transformation of beliefs and values Features contributions from leading scholars from the U.S. and internationally, demonstrating the many implications and applications of this cutting edge approach for research and practice Demonstrates the importance of "making sense of beliefs and values" in addressing many of the most pressing issues of our day
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist Most of us learn about science from media coverage, and anyone seeking factual information on climate change, vaccine safety, genetically modified foods, or the dangers of peanut allergies has to sift through an avalanche of bogus assertions, misinformation, and carefully packaged spin. Cornelia Dean draws on thirty years of experience as a science reporter at the New York Times to expose the tricks that handicap readers with little background in science. She reveals how activists, business spokespersons, religious leaders, and talk show hosts influence the way science is reported and describes the conflicts of interest that color research. At a time when facts are under daily assault, Making Sense of Science seeks to equip nonscientists with a set of critical tools to evaluate the claims and controversies that shape our lives. “Making Sense of Science explains how to decide who is an expert, how to understand data, what you need to do to read science and figure out whether someone is lying to you... If science leaves you with a headache trying to figure out what’s true, what it all means and who to trust, Dean’s book is a great place to start.” —Casper Star-Tribune “Fascinating... Its mission is to help nonscientists evaluate scientific claims, with much attention paid to studies related to health.” —Seattle Times “This engaging book offers non-scientists the tools to connect with and evaluate science, and for scientists it is a timely call to action for effective communication.” —Times Higher Education
