| Contributors | p. vii |
| Foreword | p. viii |
| Foreword to the first edition | p. xi |
| Preface | p. xiii |
| Acknowledgements | p. xiv |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| History of research in midwifery | p. 2 |
| Aim and purpose of this book | p. 4 |
| Research awareness | p. 5 |
| Definition and purpose of research and evidence-based practice | p. 6 |
| The relationship of audit to research and EBP | p. 9 |
| Structure of the book | p. 9 |
| From practice to research | p. 13 |
| Introduction | p. 14 |
| Midwifery practice | p. 14 |
| Types of knowledge | p. 16 |
| Theory | p. 19 |
| The nature of research | p. 20 |
| Paradigms, approaches, methodology and methods: a terminology debate | p. 22 |
| The main assumptions for each paradigm | p. 24 |
| From practice to research | p. 25 |
| Conclusion | p. 29 |
| Chapter summary | p. 29 |
| Evidence-based practice | p. 33 |
| Introduction | p. 34 |
| Origins | p. 34 |
| The purpose | p. 35 |
| The process of evidence-based practice | p. 37 |
| The evidence for EBP | p. 49 |
| Evidence-based practice and policy | p. 52 |
| Conclusion | p. 52 |
| Chapter summary | p. 53 |
| Experimental research | p. 57 |
| Introduction | p. 58 |
| Origins | p. 59 |
| The purpose and types of experimental research | p. 60 |
| The process of experimental research | p. 61 |
| Experimental research designs | p. 78 |
| Quasi-experimental designs | p. 86 |
| Experimental case studies | p. 88 |
| Conclusion | p. 89 |
| Chapter summary | p. 89 |
| Surveys | p. 93 |
| Introduction | p. 94 |
| Origins | p. 94 |
| Purpose | p. 94 |
| Characteristics of the approach | p. 95 |
| Components of the research process | p. 96 |
| Specific tools and methods used within the approach | p. 98 |
| Reliability and validity | p. 112 |
| Conclusion | p. 113 |
| Chapter summary | p. 114 |
| An introduction to statistics in midwifery research | p. 117 |
| Introduction | p. 118 |
| Origins | p. 119 |
| Ethics and statistics | p. 120 |
| Types of statistics | p. 121 |
| Presentation of statistics | p. 121 |
| Levels of measurement | p. 122 |
| Descriptive statistics | p. 124 |
| Probability, p values and significance | p. 131 |
| Inferential statistics | p. 133 |
| Correlation and the associated statistical tests | p. 138 |
| Confidence intervals | p. 143 |
| Odds ratio | p. 144 |
| Relative risk | p. 146 |
| Numbers needed to treat | p. 147 |
| Analysis of variance | p. 148 |
| Power calculations | p. 148 |
| Secondary statistical analysis | p. 149 |
| Systematic review and meta-analysis | p. 149 |
| Additional reading | p. 150 |
| Conclusion | p. 151 |
| Chapter summary | p. 151 |
| Grounded theory | p. 153 |
| Introduction | p. 154 |
| Origins | p. 154 |
| Purposes | p. 156 |
| Features of grounded theory | p. 156 |
| Ethical issues | p. 167 |
| Straussian and Glaserian perspectives of grounded theory | p. 167 |
| Conclusion | p. 168 |
| Chapter summary | p. 169 |
| Ethnography | p. 171 |
| Introduction | p. 172 |
| Origins | p. 172 |
| Purpose | p. 173 |
| Characteristics of the approach | p. 173 |
| Components of the research process | p. 176 |
| Ethnographic reports | p. 184 |
| Conclusion | p. 185 |
| Chapter summary | p. 185 |
| Phenomenology | p. 187 |
| Introduction | p. 187 |
| Origins | p. 188 |
| Purpose | p. 189 |
| Characteristics of the approach | p. 190 |
| Ethical considerations | p. 199 |
| Conclusion | p. 200 |
| Chapter summary | p. 200 |
| Alternative approaches to research | p. 203 |
| Introduction | p. 203 |
| Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches | p. 204 |
| Triangulation | p. 205 |
| Historical research | p. 207 |
| Feminist approaches | p. 208 |
| Action research | p. 210 |
| Evaluation research | p. 214 |
| Case studies | p. 216 |
| Conclusion | p. 217 |
| Chapter summary | p. 217 |
| Interviewing in qualitative research | p. 221 |
| Introduction | p. 222 |
| Origins | p. 222 |
| Purpose | p. 223 |
| Face-to-face interviews | p. 224 |
| Telephone interviews | p. 226 |
| Electronic interviews | p. 227 |
| Focus group interviews | p. 228 |
| The interview process | p. 231 |
| After the interview | p. 238 |
| Trustworthiness of the data | p. 239 |
| Conclusion | p. 239 |
| Chapter summary | p. 240 |
| Critiquing the literature | p. 243 |
| Introduction | p. 244 |
| Critiquing and the skills | p. 244 |
| The critiquing process | p. 246 |
| Alternative critiquing frameworks | p. 259 |
| Your decision | p. 260 |
| Conclusion | p. 261 |
| From research to practice | p. 265 |
| Introduction | p. 265 |
| Learning and working together | p. 266 |
| Sharing information with colleagues | p. 266 |
| Sharing information with students | p. 269 |
| Evidence-based projects | p. 269 |
| Sharing information with clients | p. 270 |
| Evidence-based practice | p. 271 |
| Midwives doing research | p. 273 |
| Quality assurance | p. 273 |
| Research as a strategy for change | p. 274 |
| Conclusion | p. 275 |
| Chapter summary | p. 276 |
| Glossary | p. 279 |
| Index | p. 287 |
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