Monday, April 27, 2009

Research Methods

Research Methods
Assessment task 1- Blog 4- Evaluation of Research Findings

Barbara Newton Due date: May 2009

TITLE OF ARTICLE:

Kania, A., Porcino, A., & Vehof, M., (2008).Value of qualitative research in the study of massage therapy [Electronic version]. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork: Research, Education, & Practice, Vol 1, No 2.


Evaluation of quality.


1) Source of information.
• The paper is from an academic, peer reviewed scholarly journal produced by the independent Massage Therapy Foundation. Their mission is “to advance the knowledge and practice of Massage Therapy by supporting scientific research, educational and community service”. (Massage Therapy Foundation, 2009)
• The authors work within the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, a comprehensive research educational facility in Canada and are accomplished professionals in the health sector with numerous published papers between them.
E.g: M. Verhof coauthored one of the related referenced texts; Assessing efficacy of complementary medicine: adding qualitative research methods to the “gold standard.” J Altern Complement Med.2002; 8(3): 275-281


These two points substantiate the authority or the status of the source through verification of the authors and their credentials and the information relevance. Publication date of December 2008 makes it current.


2) Quality of information
• The article’s content analyses and evaluates information which has been gleamed from a wide range of relevant, suitably titled, current, primary source references in relation to the key words. (Qualitative research; methodology; massage therapy).

Examples:
Sandelowski, M. Using qualitative research. Qual Health Res. 2004 14(10):1366-1386.
Weinrich, S. & Weinrich, M.,(1990) The effect of massage on pain in cancer patients. Appl Nurs Res. 3(4):140-145.

The referencing is made in the body of the text content.

• Web references are sourced from non commercial authoritative sources.
E.g.; Government Health and Massage Therapy Foundation sites.
Most importantly they relate the information to the massage therapy field.

• The examples given are all health related.



The references are authoritative, thereby ensuring the credibility, objectivity, quality and accuracy of the source.


3) Comprehension of the material


• The material is presented in an easy to follow order beginning by distinguishing between the two methods of methodology- quantitative and qualitative, and explaining what qualitative research is. That is followed by a brief description of how quantitative research is carried out and outlining the value of such illustrated by a number of clinical examples.

• The range of examples and comparison of qualitative versus quantitative not only highlighted, illustrated the value, and the importance of the qualitative findings, but further aided in increasing my understanding of the different methods,
“The results of the study demonstrate that, although standardized [quantitative] outcome measures are useful, alone they may not capture the broad range of possible outcomes or meaningful effects of an intervention as they are experiences or perceived by individuals”.

• The material also explores the possibility of both the massage therapist and the recipients’ perspectives being integrated.

• The authors explained the value of such qualitative study.
“Qualitative research findings therefore will not only help massage therapists practice more effectively, but also differently, with greater awareness and mindfulness”.
This in fact could be an understatement that only future studies and time will verify.


Overall I felt that the information as presented achieved the aim to give the target audience, a novice massage therapy researcher who is unfamiliar with qualitative research, a comprehensive overview to more than sufficiently gain an understanding of the topic “Value of Qualitative research in the study of massage therapy” in a balanced and well illustrated manner. The paper addresses a gap in the knowledge or application of massage therapy not previously widely known because of a lack of suitable qualitative research. In doing so it more than fulfilled the credibility criteria identified in my previous information quality blog.



References

Massage Therapy Foundation retrieved April 24th 2009 from http://www.massagetherapyfoundation.org

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