Ebook: Inquiry into Life

This bestselling book provides an accessible introduction to the concepts and practicalities of research methods in health and health services. This new edition has been extensively re-worked and expanded and now includes expanded coverage of: Qualitative methods Social research Evaluation methodology Mixed methods Secondary data analysis Literature reviewing and critical appraisal Evidence based practice Covering all core methodologies in detail the book looks at the following kinds of health research: 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 unstructured interviewing The book is grounded in the author's 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, Fourth Edition 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. "Health service researchers - new and old - will be delighted by this new edition of a popular and useful text. There is new content but also updated material making this practically useful as a resource at any stage of the research trajectory. While health is the focus the book is hugely valuable to researchers in cognate areas. such as social care, education and housing. The book meets its own high standards in being easy to follow, well indexed and containing interesting examples of approaches. The limitations of different methods are also honestly reported. A 'must have' for the book shelf." Jill Manthorpe, Professor of Social Work, King's College London, UK "When first published in 1997, this volume was the first systematic overview of research methods used in the health field. In its updated 4th Edition it remains vital and, if anything, more important given the growing number of researchers and students investigating health issues and health services. It provides an impressively comprehensive overview of health research methods in which the wealth and variety of experience of the author shines through at every point. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods are appraised and explained with unpartisan authority and rigour, and the volume covers everything from multidisciplinary collaboration in health service evaluation through the Delphi technique of consensus development to the health economics needed to evaluate costing." Paul Stenner, Professor of Social Psychology, The Open University, UK "This excellent text really is a must for anyone involved in health research. It is truly multidisciplinary in its scope, drawing on a breadth of relevant research from health economics, to epidemiology to psychology which is beyond the scope of most books on research methods. Yet in spite of the wealth of material included it is written and presented in an accessible way so that it will be an invaluable source for those with a background in either qualitative or quantitative research and from students to experienced researchers." Robert J. Edelmann, Professor of Forensic and Clinical psychology, Roehampton University, UK Reviews of previous editions: "Provides an excellent broad based introduction to the subject. The content is clearly presented and at a suitable level for health professionals and postgraduate students in health and health-related social sciences." Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK "A valuable source book for health services researchers, health care providers, and others interested in quantifying quality of life for clinical or research purposes." The International Journal for Quality in Health Care "Includes accounts of a number of recently developed scales, while retaining the breadth, concision and clarity that marked the first edition." Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy

This volume introduces the work of the Economic and Social Reseach Council (ESRC) funded Growing Older Programme (1999-2004) and provides a showcase for the other volumes in the series. It focuses on ways in which quality of life can be extended for older people and offers short research-based summaries of key findings on a variety of core topics with a major emphasis on the views of older people themselves. Many of the leading names in social gerontology in the United Kingdom have contributed their findings, providing the most up-to-date and broad-ranging information available on quality of life in old age. Topics discussed include: ·Defining and measuring quality of life ·Inequalities in quality of life ·Technology and the built environment ·Healthy and active ageing ·Family and support networks ·Participation and grandparenthood Growing Older is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social gerontology, sociology and social policy. It is of interest to professionals working with older people, including social workers, gerontology nurses and community support workers. There are also important findings for policy-makers. Contributors: Sara Arber; Madhavi Bajekal; David Blane; John Bond; Ann Bowling; Jabeer Butt; Lynda Clarke; Joanne Cook; Kate Davidson; Murna Downs; Zahava Gabriel; Ini Grewal; Catherine Hagan Hennessey; Caroline Holland; Gill Hubbard; Leonie Kellaher; Charlotte MacDonald; Tony Maltby; Jo Moriarty; Joan Murphy; James Nazroo; Sheila M. Peace; Chris Phillipson; Ceridwen Roberts; Sasha Scambler; Thomas Scharf; Allison Smith; Susan Tester; Christina Victor; Alan Walker; Lorna Warren.

How can we bring the curriculum to life so that all young people of compulsory school age are fully engaged in their learning and achieve to their maximum? Professor Janice Wearmouth and Dr Karen Lindley bring together contributions from practising teachers, researchers and academics to answer this question for a range of educational contexts and demonstrate the positive impact that can be achieved on student learning at all levels. This edited volume highlights challenges and opportunities within the current English education system. With reflective questions and ideas for teachers to implement in the classroom, this important book bridges the gap between theory and practice and will be invaluable reading for trainee teachers, teacher trainers, qualified teachers and others with an interest in education and the curriculum. "The intrinsic value of the book is that it seeks to illuminate the discussions surrounding the issues identified, from differing and alternative perspectives in education." Dr Barry Paraskeva Costas, Senior Lecturer in Physical Education, University of Hertfordshire, UK "A highly engaging and refreshing look at how a diverse range of learners might be immersed in their learning, this book provides an imaginative and thought-provoking consideration of creative curricula to involve and inspire learners." Julie Wharton, Senior Lecturer, University of Winchester, UK "This book does an excellent job of drawing together a wide range of contributions and contexts that collectively put the challenges and opportunities of curriculum centre stage." Dr Warren Kidd, School of Education and Communities, University of East London, UK Janice Wearmouth is Professor of Education at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. Dr Karen Lindley is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. Both editors are experienced teachers and researchers with continuing close links to Education students, trainee teachers, teacher trainers and practising teachers.

"This is a book for everyone doing educational research. It is not simply a routineprovocation directed at positivists by a group of researchers advocating qualitativemethods. The book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on the ethicsof educational research by offering something more than opposition to the narrowutilitarian research agenda." British Journal of Educational Studies The Moral Foundations of Educational Research considers what is distinctive about educational research in comparison with other research in the social sciences. As the contributors all agree that education is always an essentially moral enterprise, discussion about methodology starts, not with the widely endorsed claim that educational research should be 'useful' and 'relevant', but with the attempt to justify and elaborate that claim with reference to its moral foundations. Determining the nature of 'usefulness' and 'relevance' is not simply a matter of focussing on impact and influence but involves a radical re-conceptualisation of the moral and educational significance of what is deemed to be 'useful' and 'relevant'. There is no argument with this emphasis on the generation of 'useful' and 'relevant' knowledge, but it is suggested that educational research requires a fuller and more rounded understanding that takes account of the moral values of those who conduct it. Educational research is grounded, epistemologically, in the moral foundations of educational practice. It is the epistemological and moral purposes underlying the 'usefulness' and 'relevance' of educational research that matter.

There is a comforting tale that heads of higher education institutions (HEIs) like to tell each other. "Go around your university or college," they say, "and ask the first ten people who you meet how their morale is. The response will always be 'rock-bottom.' Then ask them what they are working on. The responses will be full of life, of optimism and of enthusiasm for the task in hand." The moral of the story is that the two sets of responses don't compute; that the first is somehow unthinking and ideological, and the second unguarded and sincere. The thesis of this book is that the contradictory answers may well compute more effectively than is acknowledged: that the culture of higher education and the mesh of psychological contracts, or "deals," that make it up make much of the current discourse about happiness and unhappiness in contemporary life look simplistic and banal. In particular, the much-vaunted "science of happiness" may not have much to say to us. There is also a potential link between the Manichean discourse about morale and our wider culture's approach to happiness. Both normally deal in extremes, and much more rarely in graduations. Why is so much discourse about contemporary higher education structured around (real and imagined) unhappiness? How does this connect with the realities of life within (and just outside) the institutions? Does it matter, and, if so, what should we be doing about it? Based on historical, sociological and philosophical analysis, this book offers some answers to these questions.

Now in its 6th edition, this trusted reference for nursing students supports the development of safe, effective and person-centred practice. The text has been comprehensively revised by nursing leaders and experts from across the spectrum of clinical practice, education, research and health policy settings; and a highly experienced editorial team, which includes Jackie Crisp, Clint Douglas, Geraldine Rebeiro and Donna Waters. Chapters of Potter & Perry’s Fundamentals of Nursing, 6e engage students with contemporary concepts and clinical examples, designed to build clinical reasoning skills. Early chapters introduce frameworks such as Fundamentals of Care and cultural safety, as ways of being and practising as a nurse. These frameworks are then applied in clinical and practice context chapters throughout. Reflection points in each chapter encourage curiosity and creativity in learning, including the importance of self-care and self-assessment. 79 clinical skills over 41 chapters updated to reflect latest evidence and practice standards, including 4 new skills Fully aligned to local learning and curriculum outcomes for first-year nursing programs Aligned to 2016 NMBA Registered Nurse Standards for Practice and National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards Easy-to-understand for beginning students Focus on person-centred practice and language throughout 44 clinical skills videos (including 5 NEW) available on Evolve, along with additional student and instructor resources Accompanied by Fundamentals of nursing clinical skills workbook 4e An eBook included in all print purchases Additional resources on Evolve: • eBook on VitalSource Instructor resources: Testbank Critical Reflection Points and answers Image collection Tables and boxes collection PowerPoint slides Students and Instructor resources: 44 Clinical Skills videos Clinical Cases: Fundamentals of nursing case studies Restructured to reflect current curriculum structure New chapters on end-of-life care and primary care New online chapter on nursing informatics aligned to the new National Nursing and Midwifery Digital Health Capabilities Framework, including a new skill and competency assessment tool