Evaluating Research in Health and Social Care

Roger Gomm, now retired, was lecturer in health and welfare at The Open University, UK. He has long experience of ethnographic research in both the United Kingdom and internationally, and of bespoke evaluation research. He has written several books, including Social Research Methodology (second edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and Key Concepts in Social Research Methods (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

′[T]he aim of the book is to give health practitioners "the background to read and understand research". I believe that this book is indeed capable of fulfilling this function, and is a useful addition to any research methods reading list. [T]he resource chapters are extremely well written and well presented with good use of sub-headings, tables, figures, and boxes to explain items in more detail.Overall, I think this is an excellent book and a very good introduction to research. It is certainly suitable for health professionals wanting to understand enough about research to be able to read and understand published papers, but is also an excellent book to accompany any research methods course. The use of published research and the cleanly written and accessible style of the book make it an unusual and very welcome addition to the research methods field′ - Medical Sociology News′This is an ambitious contribution to the ever-growing market for research textbooks. The book concludes with an excellent appendix on sources of literature. …useful for postgraduate students and staff wishing to fill gaps and/or double-check their facts′ - Physiotherapy`In lieu of serving up the usual fare of methods and applications to be chosen from at whim, it concentrates on clinicians with limited time who wish to evaluate research rather than necessarily do it themselves.... If you already have a book on research methods...this book will still fine-tune your antennae to the good, the bad and the cant′ - The British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information Management′Recommended reading′ - Oxford Brookes University, Oxford

• IntroductionPART ONE: EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHESExperimental Methods and Simple InterventionsBandages for Leg Ulcers Experimental Methods and Complex InterventionsCase Management in Mental Health Care From Effectiveness to Cost-EffectivenessA Trial of a Hospital at Home SchemeComparing Like with LikeA Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Homes Visiting Schemes and Childhood InjuryThe Basics of Experimental DesignResearch Instruments in Experimental ResearchReading the Results of Experimental ResearchPART TWO: SURVEY RESEARCHSurveys, Samples and QuestionsConsumer Satisfaction with the NHSAn Equity Audit in Coronary CareSurveys and Case Control StudiesControlling for Age and Socio-Economic CircumstancesPART THREE: QUALITATIVE APPROACHESLoosely Structured InterviewsThe Stories Behind the StatisticsNaturalistic ObservationMidwives′ Ethnic Sterotyping of their PatientsUnderstanding Language in ContextProfessional UncertaintyAction ResearchApplied Qualitative Methods in the Family CentreCollecting and Analysing Qualitative DataPART FOUR: RESEARCH APPRAISAL QUESTIONS