| Series editor's preface | p. ix |
| Acknowledgements | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Finding out and making sense | p. 3 |
| Observation | p. 6 |
| Asking questions | p. 10 |
| Controlled trials | p. 14 |
| Research ethics and Research Ethics Committees | p. 17 |
| The research imagination | p. 20 |
| Summary | p. 22 |
| Further reading | p. 23 |
| Assessing research | p. 25 |
| Reading research reports | p. 27 |
| The structure of research reports | p. 28 |
| Assessing research reports | p. 29 |
| Ethical and political questions | p. 31 |
| Summary | p. 32 |
| Reading open interview research | p. 33 |
| The research paper: Abbott and Sapsford (1987b) | p. 33 |
| Discussion | p. 37 |
| Summary: points for evaluation | p. 41 |
| Further reading | p. 42 |
| Reading observation research | p. 44 |
| Kirkham (1983) | p. 44 |
| Cayne (1995) | p. 46 |
| James (1984) | p. 48 |
| Summary: points for evaluation | p. 50 |
| Further reading | p. 51 |
| Reading about controlled trials | p. 53 |
| Gordon (1986) | p. 54 |
| Doll and Hill (1954) | p. 56 |
| Summary: points for evaluation | p. 61 |
| Further reading | p. 62 |
| Reading survey research | p. 63 |
| Abbott (1997) | p. 64 |
| Abbott and Sapsford (1993) | p. 67 |
| Discussion | p. 69 |
| Summary: points for evaluation | p. 71 |
| Further reading | p. 72 |
| Reading secondary sources | p. 73 |
| Using secondary sources | p. 73 |
| Research paper: Abbott and Tyler (1995) | p. 75 |
| Standardization and comparison | p. 78 |
| Summary: points for evaluation | p. 80 |
| Further reading | p. 81 |
| Doing research | p. 83 |
| Using secondary sources | p. 85 |
| Using libraries - review of literature | p. 85 |
| Finding statistics | p. 87 |
| Population and vital statistics | p. 88 |
| Health and the National Health Service | p. 88 |
| Social services statistics | p. 89 |
| Problems with published statistics | p. 90 |
| 'Qualitative' sources | p. 91 |
| Summary | p. 92 |
| Further reading | p. 92 |
| Survey research: design and sampling | p. 94 |
| Selecting respondents | p. 96 |
| Random sampling | p. 97 |
| Cluster sampling | p. 98 |
| Quota sampling | p. 99 |
| Devising the questions | p. 100 |
| Measuring attitudes | p. 101 |
| Anticipating problems | p. 103 |
| Non-response | p. 103 |
| Reactivity | p. 104 |
| Alternative explanations | p. 104 |
| Doing the research | p. 105 |
| Summary | p. 106 |
| Further reading | p. 107 |
| Experimental practice | p. 109 |
| Uncontrolled trials | p. 109 |
| Towards the controlled trial | p. 111 |
| Single-case experimental designs | p. 114 |
| Quasi-experimental logic | p. 117 |
| Summary | p. 118 |
| Further reading | p. 118 |
| Answer to Exercise 32 | p. 119 |
| Open interviewing | p. 120 |
| Life-history interviews and comparative interviewing | p. 121 |
| The nature of the data | p. 123 |
| Doing the interviews | p. 124 |
| Selecting informants | p. 127 |
| Gaining access | p. 127 |
| Summary | p. 128 |
| Further reading | p. 129 |
| Answer to Exercises | p. 129 |
| Analysing text | p. 132 |
| Qualitative description | p. 133 |
| Case analysis | p. 134 |
| Content analysis | p. 135 |
| Meta-analysis | p. 137 |
| Ideology and discourse | p. 139 |
| Summary | p. 142 |
| Further reading | p. 143 |
| Specimen answer to Exercise 35 | p. 143 |
| Participant observation | p. 145 |
| Covert participant observation | p. 145 |
| Overt observation | p. 148 |
| Observation in the workplace | p. 150 |
| Summary | p. 152 |
| Further reading | p. 153 |
| In conclusion | p. 155 |
| Writing up | p. 157 |
| Formal reports: quantitative research | p. 158 |
| Formal reports: qualitative research | p. 160 |
| Other modes of presentation | p. 161 |
| Summary | p. 162 |
| Further reading | p. 163 |
| In conclusion: research into practice | p. 164 |
| Research-based practice | p. 165 |
| Evaluating practice | p. 167 |
| The reflective researcher | p. 173 |
| Research and theory | p. 176 |
| In conclusion | p. 180 |
| Summary | p. 181 |
| Further reading | p. 182 |
| Glossary | p. 183 |
| References | p. 189 |
| Author index | p. 196 |
| Subject index | p. 198 |
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