Most information currently available to health professionals focuses on quantitative research; this book fills the gap. Written by occupational therapists and physiotherapists of international standing, this practical text maps the links between philosophy, research methods and practice in an accessible way.

Contributors. Prologue. PART I: Planning the research. Chapter 1: ‘Going exploring’: The nature of qualitative research (Linda Finlay). Chapter 2: Mapping methodology (Linda Finlay). Chapter 3: Strategic choices in research planning (Barbara Steward). Chapter 4 Ethical and governance issues in qualitative research (Claire Ballinger and Rose Wiles). PART II: Doing the research. Chapter 5: A grounded theory of the wellbeing of older people (Mandy Stanley). Chapter 6: An ethnography of physiotherapy culture (Barbara Richardson). Chapter 7: Investigating invisible groups using mixed methodologies (Barbara Steward). Chapter 8: Communication practices in physiotherapy: A conversation analytic study (Ruth H. Parry). Chapter 9: Using biographical research with disabled young people (Michael Curtin). Chapter 10: Low back pain: Exploring the meaning of exercise management through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Sarah G. Dean, Jonathan A. Smith and Sheila Payne). Chapter 11: Using a biographic-narrative-interpretive method: Exploring motivation in mental health (Tanya Campbell-Breen and Fiona Poland). Chapter 12: Empowering young people through participatory research? (Anne Killett). Chapter 13: The embodied experience of multiple sclerosis: An existential-phenomenological analysis (Linda Finlay). Chapter 14: Discourse analysis in action: The construction of risk in a community day hospital (Claire Ballinger and Julianne Cheek). Chapter 15: A case study of unconscious processes in an organisation (Paula Hyde). PART III: Presenting the research. Chapter 16: Demonstrating rigour and quality? (Claire Ballinger). Chapter 17: Disseminating the research: Towards knowledge (Linda Finlay and Barbara Steward). Glossary. Index.

Qualitative Research for Allied Health Professionals - Challenging choices is a practical text, which addresses the links between philosophy, research method and practice in an accessible, readable way. The subtitle, Challenging Choices', carries a double meaning: qualitative research is both challenging (ie, demanding and stimulating) to undertake and likely to be challenged and contested. In particular, the choices researchers make when designing, carrying out and reporting research will attract scrutiny. To help researchers take on this double challenge, the book: Highlights some of the choices involved in carrying out qualitative research. Offers a wide range of practical examples to show how different ways of qualitative researched can be managed. Critically examines a variety if qualitative research methodologies of particular interest to allied health professionals. Clarifies the links between epistemology, methodology and method. This book is structured in three parts. Part 1 Sensitizes readers to the complex issue which challenge qualitative researchers at the planning stage of their projects. In part 2, the challenge of using different methodologies is critically explored by eleven authors who describe their individual research experiences. Part 3 examines the choices researchers make when they evaluate and present research.

"…this book should be an essential buy for all those concerned with learning about and understanding research into health and the health service." (Accident and Emergency Nursing Journal, April 2007) "This book provides an outstanding array of highly relevant references and information on resources"  (British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2007)