Methods and tools of investigation

Abstract

In Chapter 2, we explored the general designs that can be used in any investigation. We now need to consider a range of methods in detail, before selecting the ones that will suit the character of your project. Research in health settings usually depends on the methods of the social sciences, particularly because the work is carried out with people and can rarely be controlled in the exact way that experiments can be governed within pure science. In health or social services, the researcher needs the subjects’ informed consent and plans for the investigation have to meet ethical standards. Once your project has been fully planned, a proposal (or protocol) has to be submitted to the ethical committee whose jurisdiction covers the population from which you are planning to invite participants. Provided that the ethical committee is convinced that your study will have no detrimental effect on the people who will be acting as your subjects, it is usual for approval to be given. This whole topic is considered further by Carr (1991) who gives an excellent résumé of ethical considerations.