This book of edited chapters helps researchers from clinicaland nonclinical disciplines plan, carry out, and analyzeresearch, and evaluate the quality of research studies.The focus of the book is a multidisciplinary approach toresearch methods that are relevant to researchers fromdifferent disciplines working side by side in the investigationof population health, the evaluation of health care, and healthcare delivery.

Ann Bowling is a professor of health services research at University College London, United Kingdom.

Shah Ebrahim is an epidemiologist in the Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, United Kingdom.

Section 1: Introduction

1. Introduction: research on health and health care
2. Describing and evaluating health systems

Section 2: Multidisciplinary methods of investigation

3. Evidence based health care: systematic reviews
4. Critical appraisal
5. Features and designs of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and non-randomised experimental designs
6. Epidemiological study designs in health care research and evaluation
7. Finding and using secondary data on the health and health care of populations
8. Quantitative social science: The survey
9. Approaches to qualitative data collection in social science
10. Combined qualitative and quantitative designs
11. Design and analysis of social intervention studies in health research
12. Area-based studies and the evaluation of multilevel influences on health outcomes
13. Mathematical models in health care
14. Economic evaluation of health care

Section 3: Multidisciplinary research measurement

15. Psychological approaches to measuring and modelling clinical decision making
16. Approaches to measuring patients' decision making
17. Techniques of questionnaire design
18. Measuring health outcomes from the patient's perspective
19. Genetics, health and population genetics research
20. Tools of psychosocial biology and health care research

Section 4: Data analysis

21. Key issues in the statistical analysis of quantitative data in research on health and health services
22. Key issues in the analysis of qualitative data on health services research

Section 5. Essential issues to consider when conducting research

23. Involving service users in health services research
24. Ethical and political issues in the conduct of research
25. Training for research

General glossary
General further reading
Index