The major problem addressed by this study was to investigate the relationship between characteristics of the research methods used in selected subject subfields and the growth of published research in those subfields.

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Background Qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) has a long history in the social sciences, where its theoretical basis is well established. Qualitative longitudinal (QL) methods are gaining popularity in health care research for exploring the dynamic experience of illness. However, methodological development of QLR is limited within the health literature, and there are very few studies examining the experience of people with colorectal cancer (CRC). Moreover, such studies describe the experiences of those surviving CRC and the voices of those with advanced disease who are approaching the end of their lives remain largely unheard. Aim and objective This study explores the potential of QL interviewing to examine the experiences of those with advanced, metastatic, CRC. I investigate how QL interviews can be best utilised to explore the participants’ accounts of their experiences. I specifically examine the added value and costs of a flexible approach with regard to the frequency and timing of longitudinal interviews. Analytical approaches to QL data are examined to determine their overall value. Methods Sixteen patients with metastatic CRC and eight of their family carers participated in narrative interviews at three time points over the course of a year. The study was designed to include two groups of participants. The first, a routine interval group where interviews were carried out at regular intervals of six months; the second, a flexible interval group where there was an interview at baseline followed by monthly phone calls to track changes in the participants’ circumstances, with a view to conducting the interview as change was occurring. The data were analysed at each time point, and longitudinally using narrative and thematic techniques. Findings The QL design enabled a trusting relationship to evolve, such that private accounts of experience were disclosed. Thus, a nuanced and contextualised understanding of the experience of metastatic CRC materialised. Overall the accounts of CRC were characterised by uncertainty, yet at the same time death was a certainty. Over time, this dual narrative led to participants feeling themselves to be in an ambiguous and liminal state. Some participants described a loss of sense of self, yet others maintained their identity. The work that participants carried out to manage their sense of self changed, as they moved from a collective to an individual identity. In the flexible interval group, monthly telephone calls produced an even more profound research relationship and further enriched the accounts. However, early interviews were only conducted on two occasions and more ethical issues arose as a result of the increased contact. Conclusions By exploring the potential of QL methods, this study has developed the methodology for researching the experiences of those with serious illness. QL interviewing elicits a deep understanding of metastatic CRC that appreciates notions of temporality, process and change. Regular contact with participants between interviews can further enrich the accounts, and is a useful strategy for tracking changes given the unpredictable nature of advanced disease. This thesis showcases the cross-sectional and longitudinal opportunities that QL analysis presents; yet also highlights how longitudinal narrative analysis allows a story to unfold over time which reflects the beginning, the middle and for some the end of the illness experience. Although QL analysis is time consuming, and more contact can amplify ethical issues, the benefits outweigh the constraints.

Introduction Symptoms are universally experienced and can be bothersome. There have been comparatively few studies of common symptoms in the UK general population. As a result, little is known about the current epidemiology of common symptoms in the UK. There are major methodological challenges to conducting an epidemiological study of common symptoms in the community. Current knowledge about the most appropriate methodological tools for collecting and interpreting data on symptoms is limited. A range of methods has been used in previous studies, but the most appropriate method is not known. An evaluation of the different methods that could be used for investigating common symptoms in the community was therefore required. Aims The overall aim of this study was to investigate and compare the use of different approaches to collecting epidemiological data on common symptoms, with a view to developing an evidence-base for the use of these different approaches. Methods A general review of methods used in epidemiological studies and a comprehensive review of methods used in previous epidemiological studies of symptoms were undertaken. The reviews informed the development of symptoms survey. Symptoms survey was conducted to collect epidemiological data on common symptoms in the community. A total of 1179 individuals was approached from four GP practices in the Aberdeen area and sent an invitation letter, information sheet and consent form. Potential participants were requested to select at least two data collection instruments from four options (postal questionnaire, diary, online questionnaire and telephone interview). All the instruments collected the same data (presence of symptoms, severity of symptoms, management of symptoms and quality of life). This allowed a direct comparison of the data collected by the various measures. Those agreeing to participate in the study were sent one of their chosen instruments in phase one of the study and a second (but different) one of their chosen instruments in phase two, which was conducted three weeks later.

When a school community decides to implement innovative curricula, the responsibility for leadership of the associated professional learning processes lies with the principal. The onus is on principals to be leader learners. They adapt their leadership style to the context of the school. They encourage learning as a future-oriented, organisation-wide process. They encourage deep learning, and double-loop learning, and they nurture a culture of collaborative learning. They provide practical support for teacher leadership and teacher learning, and they understand that teachers have differing needs for support during a period of significant curriculum change. The research methodology used for this study involved a multiple case study design. Principals and staff from three Queensland state schools who participated in the trial of innovative curricula provided the data for the three case studies. The data collection at three schools related to the processes of professional learning at each site. Interviews conducted with the participants at each school, and observation of meetings and school documentation, provided the researcher with the data to develop a framework for principals who are interested in creating a professional learning community. Data collected from the schools generally supported the findings of the theorists. However, analysis of the data provided more detailed information than is currently available in the literature to inform the establishment of professional learning processes. Analysis of the data indicated that professional learning can be classified according to four themes: personal learning, leadership-related learning, learning related to innovation, and learning related to processes that support a collaborative culture. The findings from the literature review and the findings from the case studies were used to construct a framework for professional learning for principals who wish to create a learning organisation. The framework provides a foundation for professional learning programs for principals, and could be used by a range of people or groups, including district office personnel, professional associations, and networks of principals and aspiring leaders.

How can the biological evolution and functions of consciousness be studied? The purpose of this thesis was to determine not only what means of inquiry are available to do so but also how good they are or, more specifically, how promising they are with respect to the research goal of giving a scientifically respectable evolutionary explanation of consciousness. Because no suitable or easily adaptable evaluation system or set of evaluative criteria was available, I constructed a systematic tool for evaluating the promise of means of inquiry. The evaluation tool has three dimensions--relevance, efficacy, and practicality--with two criteria each, which are assessed independently (except for the relevance criteria) and synthesised into dimensional and promise scores. This tool served to evaluate, and advise on, 23 means of inquiry that have been used in the investigation of the evolution of consciousness, including its adaptation status and evolutionary functions. The core of the thesis is formed by the evaluation tool and its application. After establishing the need for an evaluation of means of inquiry in this area and presenting the evaluation tool constructed for this purpose, I apply the tool to arguments that consciousness is an evolutionary adaptation, to general reasoning strategies, and to evolutionary strategies. This thesis core is preceded by a contextual introduction to consciousness and evolutionary theory and by the dismissal of some sceptical positions. It is followed by a comparative review of the evaluation results and an evaluation of the evaluation tool. The main contributions of this research consist of the promise evaluation tool for means of inquiry, which is underpinned by a new evaluative theory and available for use by other researchers; and, through the tool's application, an improved understanding of means of inquiry and recommendations about which of them to use for the present research goal.

Class of 2011 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To design a tool to assess for bias in studies for pharmacy services. METHODS: This study will involve reviewing published reports of studies comparing pharmacists’ services to usual services to identify the key study design components and methods for addressing study design limitations. We will then design a tool to assess further such studies for bias. RESULTS: The aspects of a good pharmacy services study that can be controlled include: large study population, equivalence of population at baseline, experimental mortality, multi-centered study, adequate adherence to treatment, and independence from study staff/manufacturer influence. If these things are controlled and/or accounted for it increases the strength of the study. CONCLUSION: The tool we have designed can successfully evaluate the quality of studies of pharmacy services.

Whether one should use an analysis of covariance or a form of difference score test (difference as an outcome or repeated measure) is not always clear. The literature on the topic focused for a while on Lord's paradox which lead to the conclusion that both analyses were equally valid when there is true random assignment. Yet, the issue of which analysis is best was little explored. In an attempt to create a unifying simulation framework that will allow for comparable results when exploring various data structure variations, I will tackle 5 such manipulations by exploring the impact of varying effect size and relationship between time points, violating the homogeneity of the regression slopes assumption, exploring the effect of large systematic baseline differences, the impact of data missing at random, as well as comparing the sample size requirements for a given test power. The programs provided, which allow for tens of millions of simulations to be run in a reasonable time frame (within a day) also puts to rest any ambiguity on the stability of the results. By analyzing Type I error rate and statistical power, I establish that ANCOVA respects the type-I error rate of alpha, and has more power than repeated measure analysis in most cases, but should be avoided when there is a baseline imbalance. Hence, in cases where ANCOVA is applicable, it is preferable to use it over other difference score tests.

Using two independent samples of Army soldiers-in-training, this study explores the measurement of resilience in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience among Servicemembers (Army STARRS) New Soldier Study Component (NSS). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify a three-factor structure of resilience within the Army STARRS. Confirmatory factor analysis was then used to confirm the three-factor structure, and then internal reliability was assessed. Determination of how resilience can be measured within the Army STARRS NSS will aid scholars who wish to examine resilience among Army soldiers-in-training.

We describe an exercise involving the power balance wristband (PBW) designed to enhance students’ ability to design scientific tests. An instructor demonstrated that the PBW improved a student’s balance, strength, and flexibility and invited students to design and conduct a brief scientific test of the PBW. Research methods students who participated in the exercise significantly improved their ability to design scientific tests of the PBW and another pseudoscientific practice (i.e., Healing Touch); students enrolled in the control sections of the course showed no improvement. Incorporating this single-class exercise into research methods courses has the potential to not only improve students’ critical thinking about pseudoscience but also improve their research-design skills.