The Test Your Memory cognitive screening tool: sociodemographic and cardiometabolic risk correlates in a population-based study of older British men.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the association of Test Your Memory (TYM)-defined cognitive impairment groups with known sociodemographic and cardiometabolic correlates of cognitive impairment in a population-based study of older adults. METHODS: Participants were members of the British Regional Heart Study, a cohort across 24 British towns initiated in 1978-1980. Data stemmed from 1570 British men examined in 2010-2012, aged 71-92 years. Sociodemographic and cardiometabolic factors were compared between participants defined as having TYM scores in the normal cognitive ageing, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and severe cognitive impairment (SCI) groups, defined as ≥46 (45 if ≥80 years of age), ≥33 and <33, respectively. RESULTS: Among 1570 men, 636 (41%) were classified in the MCI and 133 (8%) in the SCI groups. Compared with participants in the normal cognitive ageing category, individuals with SCI were characterized primarily by lower socio-economic position (odds ratio (OR) = 6.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.00-9.46), slower average walking speed (OR = 3.36, 95% CI 2.21-5.10), mobility problems (OR = 4.61, 95% CI 3.04-6.97), poorer self-reported overall health (OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.79-3.87), obesity (OR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.72-3.91) and impaired lung function (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 1.47-3.45). A similar albeit slightly weaker pattern was observed for participants with MCI. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors as well as adiposity measures, lung function and poor overall health are associated with cognitive impairments in late life. The correlates of cognitive abilities in the MCI and SCI groups, as defined by the TYM, resemble the risk profile for MCI and Alzheimer's disease outlined in current epidemiological models. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Validity of a novel computerized cognitive battery for mild cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND: The NeuroTrax Mindstreams computerized cognitive assessment system was designed for widespread clinical and research use in detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the capability of Mindstreams tests to discriminate elderly with MCI from those who are cognitively healthy has yet to be evaluated. Moreover, the comparability between these tests and traditional neuropsychological tests in detecting MCI has not been examined. METHODS: A 2-center study was designed to assess discriminant validity of tests in the Mindstreams Mild Impairment Battery. Participants were 30 individuals diagnosed with MCI, 29 with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 39 healthy elderly. Testing was with the Mindstreams battery and traditional neuropsychological tests. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to examine the ability of Mindstreams and traditional measures to discriminate those with MCI from cognitively healthy elderly. Between-group comparisons were made (Mann-Whitney U test) between MCI and healthy elderly and between MCI and mild AD groups. RESULTS: Mindstreams outcome parameters across multiple cognitive domains significantly discriminated among MCI and healthy elderly with considerable effect sizes (p < 0.05). Measures of memory, executive function, visual spatial skills, and verbal fluency discriminated best, and discriminability was at least comparable to that of traditional neuropsychological tests in these domains. CONCLUSIONS: Mindstreams tests are effective in detecting MCI, providing a comprehensive profile of cognitive function. Further, the enhanced precision and ease of use of these computerized tests make the NeuroTrax system a valuable clinical tool in the identification of elderly at high risk for dementia

Monitoring the early signs of cognitive decline in elderly by computer games: an MRI study

BACKGROUND: It is anticipated that current and future preventive therapies will likely be more effective in the early stages of dementia, when everyday functioning is not affected. Accordingly the early identification of people at risk is particularly important. In most cases, when subjects visit an expert and are examined using neuropsychological tests, the disease has already been developed. Contrary to this cognitive games are played by healthy, well functioning elderly people, subjects who should be monitored for early signs. Further advantages of cognitive games are their accessibility and their cost-effectiveness. PURPOSE: The aim of the investigation was to show that computer games can help to identify those who are at risk. In order to validate games analysis was completed which measured the correlations between results of the 'Find the Pairs' memory game and the volumes of the temporal brain regions previously found to be good predictors of later cognitive decline. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: 34 healthy elderly subjects were enrolled in the study. The volume of the cerebral structures was measured by MRI. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed by Freesurfer. RESULTS: There was a correlation between the number of attempts and the time required to complete the memory game and the volume of the entorhinal cortex, the temporal pole, and the hippocampus. There was also a correlation between the results of the Paired Associates Learning (PAL) test and the memory game. CONCLUSIONS: The results gathered support the initial hypothesis that healthy elderly subjects achieving lower scores in the memory game have increased level of atrophy in the temporal brain structures and showed a decreased performance in the PAL test. Based on these results it can be concluded that memory games may be useful in early screening for cognitive decline

Automated tests for diagnosing and monitoring cognitive impairment: a diagnostic accuracy review

Background Cognitive impairment is a growing public health concern, and is one of the most distinctive characteristics of all dementias. The timely recognition of dementia syndromes can be beneficial, as some causes of dementia are treatable and are fully or partially reversible. Several automated cognitive assessment tools for assessing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia are now available. Proponents of these tests cite as benefits the tests’ repeatability and robustness and the saving of clinicians’ time. However, the use of these tools to diagnose and/or monitor progressive cognitive impairment or response to treatment has not yet been evaluated. Objectives The aim of this review was to determine whether or not automated computerised tests could accurately identify patients with progressive cognitive impairment in MCI and dementia and, if so, to investigate their role in monitoring disease progression and/or response to treatment. Data sources Five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science and PsycINFO), plus ProQuest, were searched from 2005 to August 2015. The bibliographies of retrieved citations were also examined. Trial and research registers were searched for ongoing studies and reviews. A second search was run to identify individual test costs and acquisition costs for the various tools identified in the review. Review methods Two reviewers independently screened all titles and abstracts to identify potentially relevant studies for inclusion in the review. Full-text copies were assessed independently by two reviewers. Data were extracted and assessed for risk of bias by one reviewer and independently checked for accuracy by a second. The results of the data extraction and quality assessment for each study are presented in structured tables and as a narrative summary. Results The electronic searching of databases, including ProQuest, resulted in 13,542 unique citations. The titles and abstracts of these were screened and 399 articles were shortlisted for full-text assessment. Sixteen studies were included in the diagnostic accuracy review. No studies were eligible for inclusion in the review of tools for monitoring progressive disease. Eleven automated computerised tests were assessed in the 16 included studies. The overall quality of the studies was good; however, the wide range of tests assessed and the non-standardised reporting of diagnostic accuracy outcomes meant that meaningful synthesis or statistical analysis was not possible. Limitations The main limitation of this review is the substantial heterogeneity of the tests assessed in the included studies. As a result, no meta-analyses could be undertaken. Conclusion The quantity of information available is insufficient to be able to make recommendations on the clinical use of the computerised tests for diagnosing and monitoring MCI and early dementia progression. The value of these tests also depends on the costs of acquisition, training, administration and scoring

Resting-State Multi-Spectrum Functional Connectivity Networks for Identification of MCI Patients

In this paper, a high-dimensional pattern classification framework, based on functional associations between brain regions during resting-state, is proposed to accurately identify MCI individuals from subjects who experience normal aging. The proposed technique employs multi-spectrum networks to characterize the complex yet subtle blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal changes caused by pathological attacks. The utilization of multi-spectrum networks in identifying MCI individuals is motivated by the inherent frequency-specific properties of BOLD spectrum. It is believed that frequency specific information extracted from different spectra may delineate the complex yet subtle variations of BOLD signals more effectively. In the proposed technique, regional mean time series of each region-of-interest (ROI) is band-pass filtered ( Hz) before it is decomposed into five frequency sub-bands. Five connectivity networks are constructed, one from each frequency sub-band. Clustering coefficient of each ROI in relation to the other ROIs are extracted as features for classification. Classification accuracy was evaluated via leave-one-out cross-validation to ensure generalization of performance. The classification accuracy obtained by this approach is 86.5%, which is an increase of at least 18.9% from the conventional full-spectrum methods. A cross-validation estimation of the generalization performance shows an area of 0.863 under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, indicating good diagnostic power. It was also found that, based on the selected features, portions of the prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and parietal lobe regions provided the most discriminant information for classification, in line with results reported in previous studies. Analysis on individual frequency sub-bands demonstrated that different sub-bands contribute differently to classification, providing extra evidence regarding frequency-specific distribution of BOLD signals. Our MCI classification framework, which allows accurate early detection of functional brain abnormalities, makes an important positive contribution to the treatment management of potential AD patients

Reseña: Udo Kelle (2007). Die Integration qualitativer und quantitativer en Methoden der empirischen Sozialforschung [Integración de métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos en la investigación social empírica: Fundamentos teóricos y conceptos metodológicos]

Udo KELLE adds to the debate on integrating qualitative and quantitative methods by going beyond epistemological and pragmatic arguments and placing a stronger emphasis on the area of research and the actual research questions addressed empirically in social science. The fact that social scientific research mainly involves middle-range theories poses specific methodological problems for each of the two research traditions and makes their combination inevitable. The integrative methodological program the author develops can be understood as a new guiding program for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative as well as quantitative methods and for deciding in which area of research and for which research questions each methods is best suited. The book provides a wealth of arguments for a theoretical and methodological integration of the two research traditions but these arguments could have been made more accessible by including more examples from actual research projects. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs080386Die Debatte über die Integration qualitativer und quantitativer Methoden wird von Udo KELLE sowohl aus einer einseitig epistemologischen als auch einer einseitig pragmatischen Betrachtung herausgeführt und stärker inhaltlich, d.h. bezogen auf das jeweilige Gegenstandsverständnis weiterentwickelt. Strukturen begrenzter Reichweite als Gegenstand der empirischen Sozialforschung führen zu jeweils spezifischen Methodenproblemen für beide Forschungstraditionen und erfordern daher ihre Kombination. Das entwickelte methodenintegrative methodologische Programm ermöglicht die Einschätzung der jeweiligen Stärken und Schwächen qualitativer und quantitativer Verfahren und die Entscheidung darüber, in welchen Gegenstandsbereichen und zur Beantwortung welcher Fragestellungen welche Methoden am besten geeignet sind. Das Buch bietet eine Fülle an Argumenten für eine theoretisch-methodologische Integration beider Forschungstraditionen, zusätzliche Beispiele aus der konkreten Anwendung in der Forschungspraxis hätten diese jedoch leichter zugänglich gemacht. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs080386Udo KELLE contribuye al debate sobre la integración de métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos al ir más allá de los argumentos epistemológicos y pragmáticos al poner mayor énfasis en el ámbito de la investigación y las preguntas de investigación formuladas empíricamente en las ciencias sociales. El hecho de que la investigación científica social consista principalmente en teorías de rango medio plantea problemas metodológicos específicos para cada una de las dos tradiciones de investigación y hace que su combinación sea inevitable. El programa de integración metodológica que el autor desarrolla puede entenderse como un nuevo programa de orientación para evaluar la fortaleza y debilidad tanto de los métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos como para decidir en qué área de investigación para qué preguntas de investigación cada uno de los métodos es el más adecuado. El libro ofrece una gran cantidad de argumentos para la integración metodológica y teórica de las dos tradiciones de investigación, pero estos argumentos podrían haber sido más accesibles mediante la inclusión de más ejemplos de proyectos de investigación. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs08038

"Aufbruch" between the lines? The "Fall Scheringer" in the advertising strategy of the Communist Party to win the National Socialist voters and members

Erst nachdem die KPD-Führung Anfang der 30er Jahre akzeptiert hatte, dass es der NSDAP gelungen war "ja sogar z.T. Arbeiter um sich zu scharen" (Rote Fahne, 29.06.1930) und einen Wahlerfolg nach dem anderen zu feiern, begann sie sich widerwillig der neuen innenpolitischen Herausforderung zu stellen. Bis zuletzt wurde die Notwendigkeit, sich mit der NSDAP zu befassen, grundsätzlich in Frage gestellt. Galt die Ausrichtung des antifaschistischen Kampfes auf die Nationalsozialisten, da sie die Kräfte in Nebenkriegsschauplätzen vergeuden würden, doch als kontraproduktiv. Einzige Aufgabe des Faschismus sei es schließlich, dem bedrohten Kapitalismus eine populäre Massenbasis und schlagkräftige Söldnertruppe zu verschaffen. Während die Funktionäre der NSDAP zu Marionetten in den Händen des Großkapitals degradiert wurden, erklärte sich die KPD-Führung den Anschluss von sozial deklassierten Kleinbürgern und Arbeitern, von denen in wirtschaftlichen Krisenzeiten ganz selbstverständlich ihre Linksradikalisierung erwartet worden war, mit deren gezielter Verwirrung durch eine pseudosozialistische Propaganda. Obwohl die KPD-Führung davon überzeugt war, dass mit der Liquidierung der Puppenspieler zugleich auch das Problem des Nationalsozialismus gelöst werde, meinte sie nicht auf Teile der vermeintlich revolutionären Anhängerschaft der NSDAP verzichten zu können. Diese Gruppen, von deren sozialistischen Sehnsüchten sie fest überzeugt war, sollten durch sozialpolitische Aufklärung in die Reihen der einzigen Arbeiterpartei geführt werden, die die soziale Befreiung erkämpft. Um die Fehlgeleiteten erreichen zu können, wurde als propagandistisches Einfallstor die "nationale Frage" und insbesondere die lautstarke Verurteilung nationaler Abhängigkeiten gewählt, was zu einer opportunistischen Anknüpfung an den vermuteten Zeitgeist führte. Neben gewalttätigen Auseinandersetzungen ist die Umwerbung des Wähler- und Mitgliederpotentials der NSDAP, wie die zwei Seiten einer Medaille, ein unabdingbarer Bestandteil ein und desselben Konkurrenzkampfes, im Zuge dessen der politischer Gegner zersetzt und zugleich die eigene Partei gestärkt werden sollte. Ideales Zugpferd für dieses Unterfangen war der durch den Ulmer Reichswehrprozess bekannt gewordene ehemalige Offizier Richard Scheringer. Der nationalsozialistische Hochverräter wechselte während seiner Haftzeit spektakulär die Fronten und setzt sich nun offensiv für die KPD und die bolschewistische Revolution ein. Die KPD reizte, nicht zuletzt aus Mangel an vergleichbaren Fällen, den Frontwechsel Scheringers propagandistisch aus. Sie stilisierte ihn zum Symbol und beispielhaften Vorbild eines geläuterten nationalsozialistischen Dissidenten, der durch Aufklärung (und logisch folgender Einsicht) überzeugt worden war. Unter der Ägide des parteieigenen Nachrichtendienstes wurde in Scheringers Namen die Zeitschrift "Aufbruch" herausgegeben, in deren Redaktion alle bürgerlich-nationalistischen Dissidenten, über die die KPD verfügte, zusammengefasst wurden. Der "Aufbruch" unterhielt als einzige KPD-Organisation Diskussionszirkel in verschiedenen Städten ("Aufbruch-Arbeitskreise"), die die Kontaktaufnahme zu wechselwilligen Nationalisten und Nationalsozialisten erleichtern sollten. Ihre Hauptaufgabe aber war die nachrichtendienstliche Auswertung der spärlichen Kontakte ins entgegengesetzte politische Lager. Eingangs der Arbeit wird, aus dem Blickwinkel des Konkurrenzkampfes um das selbe Wähler- und Mitgliederpotential, die Wahrnehmung und Beurteilung des erneuten Aufstiegs der NSDAP durch die KPD-Führung sowie ihre Reaktionen und die daraus folgende Generallinie untersucht. Im Anschluss wird der "Fall Scheringer" als exemplarischer Modellfall für die praktische Umsetzung untersucht. Der dritte Abschnitt der Arbeit widmet sich dem "Aufbruch" und den dazugehörigen Arbeitskreisen. Als Initiator und Träger wird kurz der Nachrichtendienst der KPD beschrieben. Neben der Schilderung der Entwicklung konzentriert sich die Darstellung auf die Strukturen des "Aufbruch"-Projekts und die Arbeitsweisen der unmittelbar beteiligten Protagonisten. Eine Inhaltsanalyse des "Aufbruchs" schließt diese Arbeit ab.Only after the KPD leadership had accepted in the early 30s that the NSDAP had succeeded in winning even Workers and celebrated one election victory after another, the officials reluctantly approached the new domestic political challenge. But the need to deal with the Nazi Party was constantly called into question. Focusing the anti-fascist struggle on the NSDAP was considered as a side issue and therefor counterproductive. The KPD leadership was convinced that the sole task of fascism is to gain the threatened capitalism a popular mass base and powerful mercenaries. While officials of the NSDAP were downgraded to puppets in the hands of high finance, the KPD leadership had expected that the socially declassed petty bourgeois and workers would turn during an economic crisis to the radical left. Their annexation to the Nazi Party was explained with their confusion by pseudo-socialist propaganda. Although the KPD leadership was convinced that with the liquidation of the puppeteers the problem of Nazism would be generally resolved at the same time, the officials were still willing to win parts of the supposedly revolutionary supporters of the Nazi Party. These groups, by their socialist aspirations, the officials were still convinced, had to be guided by socio-political education in the ranks of the KPD, the single workers' party that fights for true social liberation. To reach the misguided the "national question" was chosen as propaganda gateway. In the course of this strategy the repeated vociferous condemnation of national dependencies was an opportunistic attempt to connect with the suspected zeitgeist. As regarded the two sides of the same coin, the courtship of the voters and members of the NSDAP is in addition to violent confrontation an indispensable part of the same competitive struggle. The KPD tried to decompose the political opponent and strengthen the own party at once. Ideal leading force for this endeavor was the former Reichswehr officer and NSDAP fellow-traveller Richard Scheringer, who became generally known through the Ulm Reichswehr process. Scheringer, who had tried to win other officers for Nazism and to manipulate the Reichswehr, was convicted for treason. During his detention he spectacularly changed his allegiance and supported abruptly the Communist Party and the Bolshevik Revolution. Not least due to lack of comparable cases, the communists’ propaganda exhausted Scheringers change of front. He became a symbol and exemplary model of a purified Nazi dissident, who had been convinced through enlightenment (and logically following insight). Under the aegis of the party's own intelligence service the KPD published in Scheringers name the magazine "Aufbruch" [i.e. decampment or departure]. For the editorial department the KPD concentrated all bourgeois nationalist dissidents who followed the Communist Party. The "Aufbruch" also maintained discussion circles in different cities. Their official task was to facilitate contact to change-willing nationalists and National Socialists. Their main task, however, was the intelligence analysis of the scanty contacts to the opposite political camp. The dissertation is examining the perception and evaluation of the rise of the Nazi party by the KPD leadership from the perspective of competition for the same potential of voters and members. It also describes reactions of the communist officials and the consequent general line. In the following the "case Scheringer" is examined as an exemplary model for the practical implementation. The third section of the work is devoted to the "Aufbruch" and the related working groups. As the initiator and provider the intelligence service of the KPD is also described. Besides the description of the development this part is focused on the structures of the "Aufbruch" project and the working methods of the involved protagonists. A content analysis of the "Aufbruch" concludes this work

A qualitative study

0.1. Deckblätter 0 0.2. Abstract 3 0.3. Inhaltsverzeichnis 6 1\. Einleitung 9 2\. Klinische Aspekte von Depression 12 3\. Dyadische Aspekte von Depression 29 4\. Depression aus Angehörigenperspektive 44 5\. Fragestellung und Konzeption der Untersuchung 60 6\. Methodische Basis und Durchführung der Untersuchung 64 7\. Depression und die Auswirkungen aus Partnerperspektive 86 8\. Dimensionen der Krankheitsbewältigung aus Partnerperspektive 109 9\. Stresserleben und Entlastungsstrategien der Partner 128 10\. Diskussion 139 11\. Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse 158 12\. Literaturverzeichnis 160 A. Anhang - Fallanalysen 187 B. Anhang - Auswertungsbeispiel 265 C. Anhang - Erklärung 273Ziel. In der klinischen Forschung sind die Paarbeziehungen depressiver Patienten vorrangig unter dem Aspekt der Ätiologie, des Verlaufs oder der Therapie von Depression untersucht worden. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, zu rekonstruieren, welche Veränderungen Ehe- und Lebenspartner depressiver Patienten in ihrem partnerschaftlichen und familiären Zusammenleben im Verlauf der Erkrankung erleben. Methode. Die Dissertation basiert auf der qualitativen Analyse der narrativen Interviews zur Erfassung der Situation der Studienteilnehmer (n=54), die im Rahmen der Längsschnittstudie "Gesundheitliche und ökonomische Belastungen von Familien mit psychisch kranken Angehörigen" geführt wurden. Diese Studie wurde an der Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie der Universität Leipzig unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. med. M. C. Angermeyer durchgeführt. Ergebnis. Partner nehmen die Depression als Lebensereignis mit weitreichenden Folgen für ihre Beziehung und ihren Alltag wahr. Die Bewältigungsformen in der Partnerschaft können entlang der Dimensionen "Involviertheit" und "Einflussnahme" der Partner systematisiert werden. Akute und langandauernde Folgen von Belastung machen spezifische Entlastungsangebote für Partner notwendig. Schlussfolgerung. Im klinischen Kontext sollten gemeinsame aktive Bewältigungsformen, d.h. Bewältigungsformen mit starker Involviertheit und Einflussnahme der Partner gefördert werden. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung plädieren für eine größere Sensibilität für partnerschaftliche Themen in der Behandlung depressiver Patienten und die Notwendigkeit der Entlastung ihrer Partner.Aims. To date clinical research on the couple relationships of depressed patients have focused mainly on the aetiology, course or treatment of the depression. The aim of the present study was to reconstruct the changes in marital or partner and family relationships experienced by the spouses and partners of depressed patients. Methods. The dissertation is based on a qualitative analysis of narrative interviews carried out to establish the situations of the study participants (n=54) in a longitudinal study on the "Burden of Caring for Mentally Ill Family Members - Economic and Health Aspects". This research project was conducted by Prof. Dr. med. M.C. Angermeyer at the Clinic and Outpatient Clinic for Psychiatry of the University of Leipzig. Results. Depressed patients' partners experience the depression as a life event with far-reaching consequences for their family relationships and daily lives. The coping mechanisms employed can be categorised under the dimensions "degree of involvement" and "exertion of influence". Specific supportive services are necessary to counteract the acute and long-term consequences of living with a depressed spouse. Conclusions. In the clinical context active, co-operative coping mechanisms, i.e. coping mechanisms with a high degree of involvement and exertion of influence on the part of spouses and partners, should be promoted. The results of the study indicate that greater attention should be paid to relationship issues in the treatment of depressed patients and that supportive measures should be instituted to reduce the burden borne by their spouses and partners

Review: Udo Kelle (2007). Die Integration qualitativer und quantitativer Methoden in der empirischen Sozialforschung. Theoretische Grundlagen und methodologische Konzepte

Die Debatte über die Integration qualitativer und quantitativer Methoden wird von Udo KELLE sowohl aus einer einseitig epistemologischen als auch einer einseitig pragmatischen Betrachtung herausgeführt und stärker inhaltlich, d.h. bezogen auf das jeweilige Gegenstandsverständnis weiterentwickelt. Strukturen begrenzter Reichweite als Gegenstand der empirischen Sozialforschung führen zu jeweils spezifischen Methodenproblemen für beide Forschungstraditionen und erfordern daher ihre Kombination. Das entwickelte methodenintegrative methodologische Programm ermöglicht die Einschätzung der jeweiligen Stärken und Schwächen qualitativer und quantitativer Verfahren und die Entscheidung darüber, in welchen Gegenstandsbereichen und zur Beantwortung welcher Fragestellungen welche Methoden am besten geeignet sind. Das Buch bietet eine Fülle an Argumenten für eine theoretisch-methodologische Integration beider Forschungstraditionen, zusätzliche Beispiele aus der konkreten Anwendung in der Forschungspraxis hätten diese jedoch leichter zugänglich gemacht.Udo KELLE adds to the debate on integrating qualitative and quantitative methods by going beyond epistemological and pragmatic arguments and placing a stronger emphasis on the area of research and the actual research questions addressed empirically in social science. The fact that social scientific research mainly involves middle-range theories poses specific methodological problems for each of the two research traditions and makes their combination inevitable. The integrative methodological program the author develops can be understood as a new guiding program for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative as well as quantitative methods and for deciding in which area of research and for which research questions each methods is best suited. The book provides a wealth of arguments for a theoretical and methodological integration of the two research traditions but these arguments could have been made more accessible by including more examples from actual research projects.Udo KELLE contribuye al debate sobre la integración de métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos al ir más allá de los argumentos epistemológicos y pragmáticos al poner mayor énfasis en el ámbito de la investigación y las preguntas de investigación formuladas empíricamente en las ciencias sociales. El hecho de que la investigación científica social consista principalmente en teorías de rango medio plantea problemas metodológicos específicos para cada una de las dos tradiciones de investigación y hace que su combinación sea inevitable. El programa de integración metodológica que el autor desarrolla puede entenderse como un nuevo programa de orientación para evaluar la fortaleza y debilidad tanto de los métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos como para decidir en qué área de investigación para qué preguntas de investigación cada uno de los métodos es el más adecuado. El libro ofrece una gran cantidad de argumentos para la integración metodológica y teórica de las dos tradiciones de investigación, pero estos argumentos podrían haber sido más accesibles mediante la inclusión de más ejemplos de proyectos de investigación