A new book co-edited by a Northumbria University academic aims to help policy makers, health practitioners and academics to develop and evaluate social interventions more effectively.
‘Doing Realist Research’ is edited by Dr Nick Emmel, Dr Joanne Greenhalgh, Dr Ana Manzano, Dr Mark Monaghan and Dr Sonia Dalkin. Dr Dalkin is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health in our Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
Realist research and evaluation methodologies are becoming increasingly popular in the development of social policy, as they focus on understanding the mechanisms by which an intervention does or doesn’t work.
‘Doing Realist Research’ brings together leading theorists, researchers and policy makers with expertise in using realist methods and offers a definitive guide to putting realist methodologies into practice.
It features practical, worked examples of how to turn theory into evidence and empowers readers not just to understand realist methods, but to use them.
The book aims to help readers negotiate the complexity of relational systems and understand the importance and relevance of cumulative theory, so they can produce useful evidence for policy.
It will also help readers to choose cases, methods and strategies for analysis as well as be flexible and creative in their approaches.
Dr Sonia Dalkin is a Social Scientist at Northumbria University and active member of Fuse, the Centre for Translation Public Health Research. She has over 8 years experience in realist approaches and now provides training in the approach throughout the UK and internationally. Her work portfolio reflects her realist experience with projects in palliative care, care planning, dementia care, advice services, sports coaching and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).
Dr Sonia Dalkin is a Social Scientist at Northumbria University and active member of Fuse, the Centre for Translation Public Health Research. She has over 8 years experience in realist approaches and now provides training in the approach throughout the UK and internationally. Her work portfolio reflects her realist experience with projects in palliative care, care planning, dementia care, advice services, sports coaching and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). Dr Sonia Dalkin is a Social Scientist at Northumbria University and active member of Fuse, the Centre for Translation Public Health Research. She has over 8 years experience in realist approaches and now provides training in the approach throughout the UK and internationally. Her work portfolio reflects her realist experience with projects in palliative care, care planning, dementia care, advice services, sports coaching and Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).Dr Sonia Dalkin has over eight years of experience in realist approaches and provides training across the UK and internationally. Her experience includes using realist approaches within a variety of topic areas, including palliative care, care planning, dementia care, advice services, sports coaching and Patient Reported Outcome Methods (PROMs).
Dr Dalkin said: “This book will be of interest to anyone working or researching within the field of health, including academics, policy makers, health practitioners and post-graduate students. It is a timely addition to the ongoing development and application of realist methods across evaluation, synthesis, and social research. “
‘Doing Realist Research’ is available to buy on Amazon
