Health Education Research, Vol. 14, No. 6, 832-833,
December 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press
Book Review |
Research Methods for Nurses and the Caring Professions (2nd edn)
Primary Nurse, Aire Court Community Unit Day Hospital, Community & Mental Health Services, Leeds
The Open University has rightly received praise for the quality of its teaching materials since its inception over 30 years ago. With some justification, Lord Wilson cited its charter as the most significant achievement of his terms as Prime Minister. This updated paperback adds to that canon of overall excellence.
From the outset note is made that this is a `substantially revised' edition, but the main aims remain to appreciate and consider the background issues to social research. Of paramount interest is the issue of research which evaluates, and contributes to, the development of personal practice. This is a valuable addition to the Social Science for Nurses and the Caring Professions catalogue.
The first information inside the book is a list of current and forthcoming Open University titles, and this volume is mentioned. This is either sloppy editing or a needless repetition, or possibly both. The contents pages are very thorough, the book boasts an exhaustive glossary and useful summaries conclude every chapter. As one might expect of such an academic tome, it is also well referenced.
Abbott's preface spells out the importance of research and acknowledges the need for the process to be de-mystified. That goal, one of the stated aims of this volume, is achieved fairly impressively and as an introduction to research methodology it is similarly successful. The reader is led through the discussion of the developments necessary to enhance any professionals understanding. In offering truisms such as `research starts an extension of common sense' the authors are not `dumbing down', but merely widening the cross-cultural references. Practical exercises are introduced regularly throughout the text, and the format strikes a suitable balance between education and information.
Some aspects are comforting—the reminder that `the correct role for the qualitative researcher has often been described as that of the `amiable incompetent'—someone friendly and intelligent but lacking knowledge, someone who has to be told things' (p. 126) is a case in point. As an example of the style of writing employed this will suffice—the tone is suitably encouraging and engenders enthusiasm. Ideal when the topic in question can, in the wrong hands, result in a book being put back on the shelf with some rapidity.
In updating their original edition, Abbott and Sapsford have kept sight of their intention to offer an introduction to reading and doing research. Again they consider the processes involved and make fortuitous use of a paper they co-produced in 1987, which considers issues concerning mothers of children with learning difficulties. The honest appraisal of their own work and findings offers insights and a retrospective overview. Other papers are treated equally dispassionately. Indeed, by using secondary sources and considering the arranging of literature searches, potential problems with published statistics are itemized, whether from gender or ethnic perspectives. This serves as a pertinent reminder that all survey questions, `even apparently simple ones' (p. 90), merit continually close scrutiny.
Obviously any introductory textbook will draw upon the readerships need for clarity and this is no exception. Particularly noteworthy is the most erudite explanation I've yet seen in print of the Hawthorne Effect. The development of reflective practice is also considered as a positive learning tool—consequently Schon is mentioned alongside Foucault, Goffman (for both Asylums and Stigma, interestingly) and Oakley in the Author Index.
As one progresses through the chapters, the exercises become more thought provoking and the reader is encouraged to widen the source materials studied. This gives both the impression of and tangible evidence that the experiential scope of the individual is being widened. By Chapter 9 `Survey Research: Design and Sampling' are being encouraged and two chapters later we find the seminal section of the book, where `Open Interviewing' is considered. This is a major area in nursing development which is discussed at some length—politically nurses have never been under greater pressure to accept accountability or to use research within our daily practice.
Analysing texts and participant observations are considered before the concluding section, which is devoted to the writing up of research findings, and Chapter 15 rounds off the book with a resume of how to translate evidence from research into practice. Sight is never lost of the value of research and how it can enhance the ability of the individual. Many examples cited in the text are based around the concepts of health and treatment, but Abbott argues that social workers or team members based in the community would also derive substantial benefit from this book.
I feel confident that the prospective readership range could be widened even further—for as the publishers indicate this book could be used in tandem with other volumes that consider the integral importance of research into practice. The time to re-evaluate and to equip ourselves for the challenges of the next century is here. I would argue that reading Research Methods for Nurses and the Caring Professionals will generate interest and offer inspiration. This paperback adds another sphere to Abbott and Sapsford's already comprehensive list of published works.
Notes
Pamela Abbott and Roger Sapsford Open University Press, Buckingham, 1998 200 pp. ISBN 0-335-19697-7 (pb)
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