Handbook for Synthesizing Qualitative Research

Designated a Doody's Core Title!

Written for graduate-level students and faculty in health care science disciplines, this handbook will help you integrate the findings in reports of primary qualitative studies as well as extrapolate the methods and techniques used to create a qualitative research synthesis.

Using reports of studies in two domains of research and across behavior, social science, and practice disciplines, this handbook will help you:

• Locate qualitative research synthesis in qualitative research, research synthesis, research utilization, and evidence-based practice

  Locate the qualitative research synthesis enterprise in reading and writing practices

  Differentiate qualitative research synthesis from other forms of inquiry

  Formulate significant research problems and purposes for a qualitative research synthesis study

  Design credible qualitative research synthesis studies that fit available resources

  Conduct comprehensive searches for primary qualitative research reports in a target domain of inquiry

  Conduct judicious appraisals of these qualitative research reports

  Compare and classify findings across qualitative research reports

  Select methodological approaches appropriate to the content and form of the qualitative research findings

  Use qualitative metasummary and metasynthesis techniques to integrate qualitative research findings

  Optimize the validity of qualitative research synthesis studies

  Present the results of qualitative research synthesis studies in effective, audience-appropriate ways