Pranee Liamputtong - Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice

Dedication

In loving memory of my younger daughter

Emma Inturatana Rice

Who will forever live in my heart

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Pranee Liamputtong 2022

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Brief Contents

Expanded Contents

Pranee Liamputtong

Pranee Liamputtong and Zoe Sanipreeya Rice

Pranee Liamputtong and Virginia Schmied

Pranee Liamputtong, Zoe Sanipreeya Rice, Tinashe Dune and Amit Arora

Tanya Serry and Pranee Liamputtong

Patricia M. Davidson, Elizabeth J. Halcomb and Leila Gholizadeh

Priscilla Ennals, Kate DCruz and Linsey Howie

Pauline Wong, Pranee Liamputtong and Helen Rawson

Christine Imms and Susan Greaves

Miranda Rose, John E. Pierce and Sam Harvey

Margot J. Schofield and Christine Forrester-Knauss

Melissa Graham

Karl B. Landorf, Michelle R. Kaminski and Glen A. Whittaker

Kate A. McBride, Emma S. George, Freya MacMillan and Genevieve Z. Steiner

Ben Lyall and Emma Barnard

Brett Biles

Terese Bondas, Elisabeth O.C. Hall and Anita Wikberg

Nora Shields and Katherine Harding

Pranee Liamputtong and Tanya Serry

Tanya Serry and Pranee Liamputtong

Jane Pierson

Pranee Liamputtong, Nora Shields and Annemarie Gallichio

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

PREFACE

Norman Denzin, in his 2011 writing The politics of evidence, contends that like an elephant in the living room, the evidence-based model is an intruder whose presence can no longer be ignored. This is even more true in 2021. Globally, evidence-based practice (EBP) has become a major preoccupation of researchers and practitioners in health care. EBP lends itself neatly to the practice of some health practitioners, particularly those who rely on interventions in their practice. No doubt EBP is very useful for certain health researchers and practitioners, but it overemphasises certain kinds of research and undervalues or ignores other kinds that can contribute greatly to health practices. Politically, this has prompted many researchers to suggest that EBP is developed to privilege certain health researchers, practitioners and health practices. The main debate is the question of what type of evidence we need in health care practice. Of course, not all evidence can be gathered from the approach advocated by EBP, and this is when we need to carry out research to find appropriate evidence that will be suitable for our practice and our clients. This is the precise reason for this book to be born.

In this book I bring together contributors who write about research methods that readers can adopt to find their evidence. I include both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as we need to select the method that is appropriate for the questions we ask. I also include chapters on the mixed methods research design so that readers can see that there are times when we need to consider both approaches in finding evidence. The volume also introduces ways in which we can make sense of the research data we have collected, and instructions on how to write up the data in a more meaningful way.

In this fourth edition, I have included several new chapters. A new element is an introductory chapter on evidence-based practice in health (Chapter 1). This is to underscore the importance of this practice in recent times. Further, in any piece of research, ethical issues are crucial. How do we carry out research without harming our research participants? In our preoccupation with finding evidence, we may forget that there is another party that we must acknowledge, and we must design our research carefully so that they will not be harmed. Chapter 4 is a new chapter that deals with this important matter.

Most new chapters appear in Part IV of this text. Mixed methods research has become useful in health research. It is argued that the mixed methods approach offers both depth and breadth to the research. Thus, it provides stronger evidence in research findings. Many other researchers and writers have pointed to this importance. Another new chapter in this edition is on research using the internet and social media. This is a timely chapter. Internet and social media research have become crucial, particularly during the pandemic of COVID-19 during 202021. We may be unable to conduct research face-to-face but we can still carry out our work using the internet as a medium. I myself have found this approach very valuable. The new edition also includes a chapter on researching with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is written by an Indigenous scholar and provides in-depth knowledge about how we can conduct research sensibly and culturally appropriately with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a vital chapter to have in this edition.