This volume presents a systematic examination of the impact of social structures on individual behaviors and on their development in adulthood and old age. These papers and responses attempt to improve the reciprocal relationship between changes in social macro- and micro-structures and the process of psychological development in relation to issues of human aging. Using and combining concepts and data from various fields, this research promotes a better understanding of the effects of demographic patterns and social structures on the psychological development of adults.

′The 4th edition of this extensive text is an outstanding resource prepared by nurses (and a librarian) for nurses. In a structured and helpful style it presents thousands of items from the literature - published papers, reports, books and electronic resources - as a clear, accessible, and most of all useful collection. The efforts to signpost and lead the reader to the sought-for information are effective and well-conceived, and the "How to use this book" section is remarkably simple...the book should be found in every nursing and health library, every research institute and centre, and close to many career researchers′ desks′ - RCN Research This latest edition of Resources for Nursing Research provides a comprehensive bibliography of sources on nursing research, and includes references for books, journal papers and Internet resources. Designed to act as a ′signpost′ to available literature in the area, this Fourth Edition covers the disciplines of nursing, health care and the social sciences. Entries are concise, informative and accessible, and are arranged under three main sections: · ′Sources of Literature′ covers the process of literature searching, including using libraries and other tools for accessing literature · ′Methods of Inquiry′ includes an introduction to research, how to conceptualize and design nursing and health research, measurement and data collection, and the interpretation and presentation of data · ′The Background to Research in Nursing′ encompasses the development of nursing research; the profession′s responsibilities; the role of government; funding; research roles and careers; and education for research. Fully revised and updated, the Fourth Edition includes just under 3000 entries, of which 90% are new. It has extensive coverage of US, UK literature and other international resources. This new edition will be an essential guide for all those with an interest in nursing research, including students, teachers, librarians, practitioners and researchers.

Clinicians and those in health sciences are frequently called upon to measure subjective states such as attitudes, feelings, quality of life, educational achievement and aptitude, and learning style in their patients. This fourth edition of Health Measurement Scales enables these groups, who often have limited knowledge of statistics, to both develop scales to measure non-tangible health outcomes, and better evaluate and differentiate between existing tools. It covers how the individual items are developed; various biases that can affect responses (eg social desirability, yea-saying, framing); various response options; how to select the best items in the set; how to combine them into a scale; and then how to determine the reliability and validity of the scale. It concludes with a discussion of ethical issues that may be encountered, and guidelines for reporting the results of the scale development process. Appendices include a comprehensive guide to finding existing scales, and a brief introduction to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. It synthesizes the theory of scale construction with practical advice, making it the ultimate guide to how to develop and validate measurement scales that are to be used in the health sciences.

Health Sciences & Professions