1st Edition

Qualitative Metasynthesis A Research Method for Medicine and Health Sciences

By Kirsti Malterud Copyright 2019
    142 Pages
    by Routledge

    142 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Qualitative Metasynthesis presents a research method developed for upcycling and synthesis of qualitative primary studies, aimed at researchers within medicine and health sciences.

    This book demonstrates how and why qualitative metasynthesis can be a method for reuse and expansion of medical knowledge. It presents the principles of metasynthesis as a qualitative research method, so that the reader can assess whether this is a research strategy that fits the aim of their study. The author offers practical advice for conducting research using this methodology. The presentation is illustrated by a study carried out by the author and collaborators, reflecting on real-life challenges and solutions as an example of meta-ethnography, one of the most frequently used strategies for qualitative metasynthesis. The author also looks at systematic reviews, a methodology developed within in the tradition of evidence-based medicine, discussing strengths, weaknesses and pitfalls of this methodology. Rooted in the interpretative paradigm, qualitative metasynthesis challenges several of the principles from the evidence-based medicine tradition, offering reflections on challenges when epistemologically very different methodologies intersect.

    This book should be considered essential reading for anyone carrying out qualitative research within the fields of medicine, health and social care.

    1. Utilization and upcycling of existing research
    2. knowledge

      We do not have to start from scratch

      Qualitative studies – an open mind, but no blank slates

      Research waste or exploiting knowledge capital? Recycling, upcycling and sustainable

      management of knowledge resources What will this book offer you?

      The role of the nursing home doctor in end-of-life care – a concrete example

      From chaos and individual research reports to systematic reviews

      Comprehensive and critical reading of

      the research literature The information deluge Broad mapping

      Systematic reviews – a specific kind of research literature summary

      Evidence from research results Multipurpose knowledge capital Evidence-based medicine

      Different research questions require

      different evidence from relevant methodologies

      From summary and renarration to interpretation and synthesis Descriptive, interpretative or both? Meta-analysis

      Qualitative metasynthesis

      Which kinds of research questions can

      be studied with qualitative metasynthesis?

    3. Project planning and literature management
    4. Careful preparations are profitable investments Summing up research – a stepwise process

      A research question that is both flexible

      and determined Choosing a strategy

      The protocol 24

      Registration of the project

      Literature search

      Overview and steady course

      Search strategy

      Search terms in logical combinations Search sources and databases

      Grey literature

      Language

      Before you set off seriously

      Screening and selection of potentially relevant primary studies Reference management

      Systematic screening and rough classification Reading candidate articles in depth

      with quality assessment Supplementary search

      What characterizes your sample?

      Flowsheet for search and selection Hallmarks of the primary studies Identification of results from the

      primary studies

      Organizing the material from data extraction

    5. Analysis and synthesis
    6. Interpretation of the results from the primary studies

      Synthesis is more than summary and renarration

      Levels of interpretation – concepts of first, second and third orders

      Different strategies for metasynthesis

      Meta-ethnography

      Background

      Metaphors and translations

      Analytical perspectives

      Strategy for analysis – seven steps The matrix as a tool for analysis

      A specific example of analysis and synthesis Contemporary meta-ethnography

      Other methods for qualitative metasynthesis Critical interpretive synthesis

      Thematic synthesis

      Realist synthesis

      Reporting your study – writing the article

      Elements in the article

      Method, material and analysis Synthesis and results

      Transparency in reporting qualitative metasyntheses

    7. Theoretical and methodological challenges
    8. Qualitative methods encounter evidence-based medicine

      Scientific paradigms

      Common features, differences and opposites

      Social anthropology and metasynthesis

      A complete and independent literature review?

      Situated knowledges

      Cherry picking

      Finding the needle in the haystack Independent appraisals or bias?

      Which evidence is the best evidence?

      The evidence hierarchy

      A universal gold standard?

      Grading of evidence

      New pyramids

      Diversity or standardization of knowledge

      Merging apples and oranges – the synthesis of heterogeneous data

      Sustainable evidence

      Three steps forward and two steps back

      Grading of qualitative metasynthesis

      Mixed methods and qualitative metasynthesis

      Qualitative and quantitative methods in the same study

      Multi-methodological exploration of complex research questions

      Qualitative metasynthesis with mixed methods Synthesis of qualitative primary studies

      with different designs

    9. Final comments

    Ethics and privacy protection Regulations and approvals

    Distance as a challenge

    Contributing something new

    What do you need to conduct a qualitative metasynthesis?

    Competence and experience

    Relevant primary studies with useful presentations of results

    Resources and personal traits

    Set off!

    You are not alone

    Newer and more exciting Wheat or chaff?

    Sustainable competence – new

    opportunities for collaboration

    References

    Index

    Biography



    Kirsti Malterud, MD PhD, was a general practitioner for 35 years, combined with academic work as a researcher at Uni Research/NORCE Research Centre and a Professor of General Practice at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her list of research publications is extensive, with empirical studies about vulnerable groups of patients as well as methodological contributions on qualitative research methods.