Research is one of the subjects that students in the health professions often find challenging and yet the process of finding, critiquing, using and evaluating information is essential to professional development and practice. This book introduces fundamental research concepts that are relevant to the wider health-care and disability support sector while also making strong connections to the various areas of practice that students identify with.

Examples and cases are taken from a wide range of professions and countries to help students understand the significance of research used by colleagues from other disciplines and become interprofessional practitioners.

Key features

• Reflects current thinking in the field and shows how an evidence-based approach can be used to create best practice methods and achieve desired outcomes
• Follows the stages of the research process in a simple and logical manner. For example, the last section flows from professions which are more clinical in the sense of acute care such as nursing to more community-based, longer-term care such as midwifery.
• Case Studies - situations, information or examples of interactions that illustrate links between research and practice. These provide a focus for class, tutorial or group discussion and debate.
• Research Alive - These sections in each chapter showcase key research concepts or illustrate major research studies relevant to the chapter.
• Clinical reflection - show the actual relationship between research and practice in clinical settings
• Reflection points - designed to assist with appreciating the communication process.
• Study questions - Key points from content of each chapter can be explored in more detail by responding to the study questions at the end of each chapter.

PART 1: RESEARCH CONCEPTS

1. What, why and how of research
The interplay of research and practice
The nature of knowledge
What is evidence?
Evidence grows and changes
Evidence in the world of practice
The impact of evidence on practice
Thinking critically about research

2. Overview of research approaches
World views (paradigms)
Reasoning
Research approaches

3. Qualitative approaches  
What is qualitative research and why do it?
Qualitative research dimensions
Qualitative research methods

4. Quantitative approaches  
What is quantitative research and why do it?
Key statistics: the mean and standard deviation
How important is the normal distribution?
Experimental design

5. Mixed methods approaches
Combining diverse research methods
Reasons for using mixed methods
Doing mixed methods research
‘Quality’ in mixed methods research

PART 2: CONTEXT

6. Maori research
Socio-historical context of Maori
Maori and research
Selecting evidence for use with Maori

7. Pacific research  
Why Pacific health research?
A Pacific world view
Pacific health research models
Guidelines on Pacific health research
Applying a Pacific world view to research

8. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander  
A long history
Historical influences on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research
Developing a research relationship with communities
Building capacity through research
Linking research to outcomes

9. Immigrant and refugee communities: Diversity in research
Aotearoa New Zealand: an immigrant nation
Engaging diverse communities
Research agenda—who benefits?
Establishing researcher competence

PART 3: UNDERTAKING RESEARCH

10. Research questions
Origin and nature of research questions
Qualitative research questions
Quantitative research questions
Other research questions
Evaluating research questions

11. Developing a proposal
Getting started
Writing the proposal
Next steps

12. Ethics
Why is ethics important to research?
Research principles: protection, participation and partnership
Future directions in ethics and research

13. Beginning the research process
Entering the field
Determining data
Gathering the data

14. Identifying and evaluating multiple sources of information
Information literacy
Identifying sources of knowledge
Primary and secondary sources
Scoping and filtering the information
Evaluating the content
Growth of the internet
The role of social media as a source of knowledge
What to do when the research has limitations

15. Presenting and publishing research  
Reading
Writing
Editing
Presenting
Publishing
Future directions

PART 4: UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH IN PRACTICE  

16. Evidence based practice and practice based evidence
Evidence
Medicine
Accounting for people
Weighing the evidence
Evidence-based practice and complexity
Quantitative and qualitative research
Making decisions

17. Linking research and practice
Linking research and practice
Evidence-based practice
Research utilisation and practice change
Locating relevant evidence to inform practice

18. Tools for review  
Critical appraisal
Critical appraisal tools for quantitative research
Critical appraisal tools for qualitative research
Critical appraisal tools for mixed methods research
Critical appraisal tools for clinical guidelines

19. Understanding systematic reviews
What is a systematic review?
What is involved in a systematic review?
Meta-analysis
The Cochrane Collaboration
Reviews of qualitative studies

20. Supporting practitioners to engage with research
Why engage with research?
Levels of research engagement
Strategies for engaging with research

PART 5: PRACTICE AND PRACTITIONERS

21. Nursing  
Why is EBP important for nursing?
What constitutes evidence?
Patients’ preferences, choices and experience
The complex world of patients and nurses
What are the challenges for EBP?

22. Occupational therapy and occupational science
Historical drivers of occupational therapy research
Research in occupational therapy
The future of occupational therapy research
Occupational science

23. Paramedicine
A quiet revolution
Clinical guidelines and international consensus
Research literacy
Evidence-based paramedic practice

24. Podiatry  
Quantitative podiatric research
Qualitative podiatric research
Outcome measures used in podiatry

25. Psychology
Psychology and research
Key themes
Learned behaviour
The developmental
How is psychological research carried out?
Evaluating psychological research

26. Physiotherapy
Historical overview of the development of research in physiotherapy
Common research methodologies in physiotherapy
Linking science with practice
Future directions for research in physiotherapy

27. Medical laboratory science
Evidence-based practise for medical laboratory scientists
What is personalised medicine?
Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics
Understanding genetic variation
Drug responsiveness
Associating genotypes or haplotypes with disease and treatment responses
Drug discovery
Randomised controlled trials and medical laboratory science

28. Health promotion  
What is health promotion?
Research and health promotion practice
Planning and evaluation as the cornerstones of evidence

29. Oral health
The context of oral health
Research into oral health
The future of oral health research
Research and oral health therapy

30. Counselling
Historical overview of the development of research in counselling
Common research methodologies in counselling research
Linking science with practice
Future directions for research in counselling

31. Midwifery  
Evidence and research in midwifery
Exploring midwifery research and scholarship
Evidence-based midwifery practice

32. Interprofessional learning  
The changing context of interprofessional learning
Key definitions
Interprofessional learning research

33. Research in interprofessional practice
Research in interprofessional education and collaborative practice
Gathering evidence
Evidence for interprofessional practice

Valerie Wright-St Clair - Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences , Auckland University of Technology

Duncan Reid - Associate Professor/Dean of Health , Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences , Auckland University of Technology

Susan Shaw - Associate Dean, Faculty of Health & Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology

Joanne Ramsbotham - School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology

Contributors

Anita Bamford-Wade
Felicity Bright
Heather Came
Susan Cartwright
Brenda Costa-Scorse
Caroline Day
Tagaloatele Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop
Panteá Farvid
Brenda Flood
Dawn Forman
Sue Fyfe
Ray Gates
Rosemary Godbold
Naomi Heap
Colleen Higgins
Graham J. Howie
Marion Hunter
Nicola Kayes
Paula Kersten
Chris Krägeloh
Jason Landon
Janet Larkman
Peter Larmer
Litiuingi Lose ‘Ahio
Judith McAra-Couper
Antoinette McCallin
Barbara McKenzie-Green
Sue McNaughton
Kathryn M. McPherson
Russell B. Millar
C. Jane Morgan
Juliet Boon-Nanai
Shoba Nayar
David A. Nicholls
Deborah Payne
Holly Perry
Kirk Reed
Heleen Reid
Keith Rome
Sandy Rutherford
Rhoda M. Scherman
Elizabeth Smythe
Deb Spence
Robin Sutcliffe
Alice Theadom
Keith Tudor
Wee-Leong Joe Chang
Tineke Water
W. Lindsey White
Denise Wilson
Grace Wong

The Oxford Health Hub is a free online resource for students. It contains a diverse selection of activities, additional material, and interactive revision tools to help students get the most from their study.

Read a sample chapter from Evidence-Based Health Practice

Chapter 1: What, why and how of research