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Qualitative Health Psychology
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Qualitative Health Psychology
Theories and Methods

Edited by:

September 1999 | 272 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
The discipline of health psychology has grown rapidly in recent years, during a period of increasing debate about the nature of psychology and of science in general. Health psychology has tended to adopt the dominant positivist approaches and methods of its parent discipline, but questions are increasingly being asked about the relevance and legitimacy of these theoretical and methodological frameworks for health psychology, and there is growing interest in developing alternative approaches. One such alternative is to apply the theories and methods of qualitative research to health psychology. Qualitative Health Psychology examines a wide variety of qualitative research issues and considers their relevance for health psychology. The editors examine some of the main theoretical perspectives underlying qualitative research, such as discourse analysis and narrative research, and consider the social context and embodiment of health and illness. They also cover some of the practical issues involved in conducting qualitative research, including interviewing, and focus particularly on issues of research with different populations, such as children and the terminally ill. In addition, the book considers a range of analytic issues and specific analytic approaches such as grounded theory, action research and the evaluation of qualitative methods. Persuasive and compelling, Qualitative Health Psychology provides s strong case for the use of a qualitative framework in health psychology and is essential reading for anyone interested in the research or practice of health psychology today.

 
PART ONE: CONSTRUCTING HEALTH AND ILLNESS THROUGH LANGUAGE
Michael Murray and Kerry Chamberlain
Health Psychology and Qualitative Research
Alan Radley
Social Realms and the Qualities of Illness Experience
Lucy Yardley
Understanding Embodied Experience
Michael Murray
The Storied Nature of Health and Illness
Mandy Morgan
Discourse, Health and Illness
Mary-Jane Paris Spink
Making Sense of Illness Experiences
Jane M Ussher
Feminist Approaches to Qualitative Health Research
 
PART TWO: CONVERSING ABOUT HEALTH AND ILLNESS
Cynthia M Mathieson
Interviewing the Ill and the Healthy
Christine Eiser and Sarah Twamley
Talking to Children about Health and Illness
R Glynn Owens and Sheila Payne
Qualitative Research in the Field of Death and Dying
Jane Selby
Cross-Cultural Research in Health Psychology
 
PART THREE: TRANSFORMING TALK INTO TEXT
Kerry Chamberlain
Using Grounded Theory in Health Psychology
Sue Curtis, Helen Bryce and Carla Treloar
Action Research
Jonathan A Smith, Maria Jarman and Mike Osborn
Doing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Antonia Lyons
Shaping Health Psychology
Qualitative Research, Evaluation and Representation

 

`This book constitutes a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers. Mos t.... of the chapters succeed in providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to the various approaches and/or methods, thus enabling the reader to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to pursue the topic further. The book as a whole is also very well referenced and this makes it a source of essential information for students and researchers with an interest in qualitative health psychology' - Health Psychology Update

`The book as a whole provides a useful introduction to large-q Qualitative research in health psychology, and makes a convincing argument that qualitative research is far more than just a polite excuse for people who can't handle structural equation modelling. Like the field it describes, the book is discursive, at times personal, and intentionally partial in its perspective. Researchers, both novice and experienced, postgraduate students, and health psychology practitioners will find this a fascinating, and at times, challenging volume' - British Journal of Health Psychology


A recommended book for the novice researcher especially those considering employing an interpretive phenomenological approach.

Ms Louise Lawson
Dept of Nursing & Midwifery, Hertfordshire University
March 21, 2014

A little bit too specialized for my audience, though I am impressed with the work

Mr Ian Fouweather
Graduate School, Bradford University
November 28, 2013

a useful book for postgraduate research students pursuing qualitatiev research projects in psychology

Dr Ceri Phelps
School of Psychology & Counselling, Swansea Metropolitan University
September 13, 2011

I thought this book was well-written, insightful and thought-provoking. I note however that it is written as a challenge to the dominant positivist approach to psychological research, rather than as a 'handbook' for conducting qualitative research. In my experience, newcomers to qualitative methods struggle with constructivist thinking. For this reason, I will suggest this text as supplementary reading for students interested in exploring the epistemological spectrum of qualitative methodology, or interested in the qualitative methods covered in the book (e.g. Grounded Theory, IPA).

Dr Benjamin Gardner
Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London
June 17, 2011

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