Understanding Decision Making in Nursing by Cooke, Mary; Lyte, Geraldine; Cooke, Mary; Sullivan, Cath; Sullivan, Cath; Forrester, Michael;

Short description:

Beginning with ethics and quality and moving through to literature reviews, methodologies, analysis and writing up research reports, this ‘how to’ manual introduces the reader to foundational concepts and the key skills they need to complete their qualitative psychological research project.  

Long description:

This book is not available as a print inspection copy. To download an E-inspection copy click here or for more information contact your local sales representative.



Taking you through each aspect of the research process and explaining the unique challenges of using qualitative methods in psychology, this book offers a complete guide to successfully conducting a qualitative psychological research project.

Clear, concise and accessible, this ‘how to’ manual folds key skills like research design and using technology and software into each chapter. This second edition offers: 



- A thorough introduction to foundational concepts that support you through each step of the research process



- New chapters on thematic and narrative analysis



- A set of digital resources designed to make learning about qualitative methods as easy and interactive as possible, including video recordings and transcripts to build key analysis techniques



Through a pragmatic, practical lens, this book provides the perspective and the tools you need to recognize, collect, interpret, and communicate quality qualitative psychological data.

Michael A. Forrester is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Kent, Canterbury.



Cath Sullivan is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Central Lancashire.

This textbook will be a fantastic resource for psychology students, providing the essential theoretical underpinnings of qualitative approaches alongside practical examples, tips and techniques.  Subjecting the same transcript to multiple analyses provides a unique opportunity to witness qualitative research in action – to appreciate the value and unique nature of different qualitative methods.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: This book and how to use it - Cath Sullivan & Michael Forrester
Part I: Formulating Research Questions
Chapter 2: Theory and method in qualitative psychology - Cath Sullivan
Chapter 3: Research ethics in qualitative research - Nigel King
Chapter 4: Quality in qualitative research - Nollaig Frost & Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez
Chapter 5: Conducting literature reviews - Rachel Shaw
Part II: Collecting Qualitative Data
Chapter 6: Approaches to data collection in qualitative research - Stephen Gibson & Sarah Riley
Chapter 7: The interview in qualitative research - Nigel King & Siobhan Hugh-Jones
Part III: Practical Examples of Qualitative Analysis
Chapter 8: Creating a data set to illustrate different approaches to analysis - Stephen Gibson
Chapter 9: Thematic analysis - Leanne Freeman & Cath Sullivan
Chapter 10: Interpretative phenomenological analysis - Rachel Shaw
Chapter 11: Narrative analysis - Deborah Bailey-Rodriguez , Nollaig Frost & Frauke Elichoaff
Chapter 12: Discourse analysis - Sally Wiggins & Sarah Riley
Chapter 13: Conversation analysis - Michael Forrester
Chapter 14: Grounded theory - Alasdair Gordon-Finlayson
Part IV: Outcomes and Results
Chapter 15: Writing your qualitative research report - Colm Crowley