This book is aimed at those studying and working in the field of health care, including nurses and the professions allied to medicine, who have little prior knowledge of statistics but for whom critical review of research is an essential skill.

Introducing the basic principles of research theory and practice, this book is the ideal starter text for any counselling trainee or practitioner learning about the research process for the first time. Structured around common training topics, the book: - Explains why you need to do research at all: what it is, why it′s important and its historical and philosophical context - Guides you through the confusing mass of research literature - Covers the ins and outs of actually doing research: practical and ethical issues - Helps you get the most out of research - how to evaluate the outcomes and use research to investigate the process of therapy. Written in a language familiar to first-year trainees and using a range of features to enhance learning, this accessible introduction will equip both trainees and qualified therapists with the essential nuts and bolts to understand research. John McLeod is Emeritus Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay Dundee and adjunct Professor at the University of Oslo, Norway.

In the Second Edition of this bestselling textbook, the authors use real-world examples to introduce basic principles in statistics with no prior knowledge or experience assumed. With an emphasis on describing concepts, showing through example and illustrating points with graphs and displays, this book will provide readers with a step-by-step introduction to using statistics. Chapters address the following questions: Why bother learning statistics in the first place and are they relevant to real life? How do I make sensible tables and informative graphs? What are descriptive and inferential statistics and how are they used? What are regression and correlation anyway?

Statistics can be an intimidating subject for many students and clinicians. This concise text introduces basic concepts that underpin medical statistics and, using everyday clinical examples, highlights the importance of statistical principles to understanding and implementing research findings in routine clinical care.

Survive academic study with this snappy guide to research techniques and strategies for all student nurses. Providing words of wisdom and tips from real student nurses, Study Skills for Nurses enables you to develop your own individual ways of studying for those all important projects, with exercises, step-by-step guides and tricks to help you get ahead. Special features Developed by students for students Clear, straightforward and jargon-free Ties in with the NMC standards for pre-registration education and the Essential Skills Clusters. Takes away the fear of study and independent research projects, making it approachable, easy and fun

This book is a detailed and comprehensive guide to undertaking quantitative health research at postgraduate and professional level. It takes you through the entire research process, from designing the project to presenting the results and will help you execute high quality quantitative research that improves and informs clinical practice. Written by a team of research experts, this book covers common practical problems such as applying theory to research and analysing data. It also includes chapters on communicating with ethics committees, recruiting samples from vulnerable populations, audit as a research approach, quasi-experimental designs and using cognitive interviewing, making it a new and innovative offering for health researchers. Other topics covered in this book include: Ethical considerations of research Designing and planning quantitative research projects Data measurement and collection Analyzing and presenting resultsWith a strong practical focus, each chapter features examples of real-life research to illustrate the quantitative research process, as well as tips and insights into research planning and execution. This book is an essential guide for all health care professionals undertaking a postgraduate degree, as well as health researchers and practitioners who need to carry out research as part of their professional role. Contributors: Ruth Belling, Michelle Butler, Catherine Comiskey, Siobhan Corrigan, Gloria Crispino, Orla Dempsey, Suzanne Guerin, Maree Johnson, Carmel Kelly, Elaine Lehane, Maria Lohan, Susan McLaren, Deirdre Mongan, Corina Naughton, Rhona O'Connell, Elaine Pierce, Gary Rolfe, Eileen Savage, Anne Scott, Emma Stokes, Roger Watson "“Learning quantitative research is taken much for granted. This is probably why there are fewer generic books on quantitative than qualitative research. This book is long overdue. Clearly- written and well structured, it takes us through the whole journey of a research project from developing 'research questions' to 'presenting the findings', passing through philosophical underpinnings, recruitment of participants and ethical considerations. Written by an array of well-known researchers and teachers, this book will certainly appeal to new as well as seasoned researchers. Those who will use it, will not be disappointed." Kader Parahoo, University of Ulster "The title of this text is somewhat misleading. It is not only an excellent and thorough guide to qualitative health research methods; it is also an excellent introduction to all forms of qualitative research. It takes the reader gently through theoretical and ethical concerns to the practicalities and benefits of utilising qualitative approaches. As such it is that rare thing; a text that can be used by novice researchers to learn their craft, and a key reference resource for experienced research practitioners." Dr. John Cullen, School of Business, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, UK "This is a first-rate collection of essays that promotes an informed understanding of both underpinning principles and widely used techniques. A great deal of effort has clearly been invested in co-ordinating the contributions, and this has delivered clarity, complementarity and effective coverage. This is a welcome, carefully-crafted and very accessible resource that will appeal to students and researchers in healthcare and beyond." Martin Beirne, Professor of Management and Organizational Behaviour, University of Glasgow, Adam Smith Business School, UK

The importance of early childhood education has been emphasized by a large body of research that has demonstrated that children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development is significantly influenced by the quality of the education and care received from their families and in preschool. Consequently, it is important to investigate factors that pertain to the provision of a high-quality education and high-quality care for young children. This book addresses several important issues that are currently under discussion with respect to this topic. In particular, the book focuses on three topics presently under debate: the professionalization of pedagogues working in the field of early childhood education; the quality of education and care provided by families and preschools; and the promotion of children from socio-economically disadvantaged families. Providing an excellent overview of current research in Germany, this book will be useful to readers who are interested in international perspectives on early childhood education and who want to gain insight into relevant topics discussed in other countries. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Child Development and Care.