Narrative as a research method

The purpose of this core paper is to explore narrative research methods. In particular it considers them as a tool for research in the area of nurse education and researching the experiences of nurse educationalists. Narrative derives from a long history of litererary tradition and is increasingly used as a research method. Narrative in essence is the stories of our lives and the stories of the lives of others. Narrative is open to interpretation. This interpretation develops through collaboration of researcher and respondent or story teller and listener. Narrative, explored through interpretive research allows access to the respondent reality via their socially constructed stories. As a term it is a many sided concept. This paper considers the distinct features of narrative, highlighting the potential for overlap within the terms of life history, life incidents, story telling, biography and autobiography. The paper concludes by outlining the possibilities available for collecting and presenting narrative data

From past to present: the changing focus of public health

Key sections include: Environment, infectious disease, locating public health, the enlightenment, the Sanitarians, national provision of services, the inception of the National Health Service, ‘crisis in health’, The New Right, The Third Way, new public health. Public health, the new ideology may be taken to mean the promotion of healthy lifestyles linked to behaviour and individual responsibility supported by government action; whereas traditionally the description tended to relate more to sanitary reform and ‘healthy conditions’. The chronological development of public health is mapped out, supported by the outlining and discussion of the emerging themes and influences pertaining to the study of public health. The approach to public health is positioned alongside the health of the population and the prevailing political/societal influence at the time. Public health is impacted on by poverty and environmental factors. Presently government policy to improve public health is delivered in a strategy that recognises the need for health improvement at times when the greatest impact on health is poverty and exclusion. The evidence reviewed demonstrates clearly that poor health without appropriate resources or intervention is cumulative and that the ‘right’ form of intervention can bring about long term health gains. Intervention from a national agenda needs to include individual’s health and the health of the community brought about through joint partnerships and multi-sectorial working

Managing research - how to write your research proposal

The writing of a research proposal is generally understood to be a part of the process for registering for a higher degree or PhD with an educational establishment. There are other reasons why a proposal may be written for example, such as an academic exercise, as an application for funding or simply, as an educational exercise. The purpose of writing the proposal must drive the way in which the proposal is set out. The proposal must therefore be tailored to the audience to secure the appropriate approval. The aim of this particular guide is to consider the research proposal as a part of the process of registering for a higher degree of PhD

An exploration of narrative as a research method

Narrative derives from a long history of literary tradition and is increasingly used as a research method. Narrative in essence is the stories of our lives and the stories of the lives of others. Narrative is open to interpretation. This interpretation develops through collaboration of researcher and respondent or story teller and listener. Narrative, explored through interpretive research allows access to the respondent reality via their socially constructed stories. As a term it is a many sided concept. This paper considers the distinct features of narrative, highlighting the potential for overlap within the terms of life history, life incidents, story telling, biography and autobiography

Using narrative in nursing research

Narrative is a term used in everyday life and whilst it can relate to the narration, the telling of a story, it is also an increasingly popular research method. This article explores where narrative can be located within nursing research and practice, and goes on to evaluate the use of narrative as a research method

Microlensing events in the Galactic bulge

For the first time we detected microlensing events at zero latitude in the Galactic bulge using the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV) data. We have discovered a total sample of N = 630 events within an area covering 20.7 sq. deg. Using the near-IR color magnitude diagram we selected N = 291 red clump sources, allowing us to analyse the longitude dependence of microlensing across the central region of the Galactic plane. We thoroughly accounted for the photometric and sampling efficiency. The spatial distribution is homogeneous, with the number of events smoothly increasing toward the Galactic center. We find a slight asymmetry, with a larger number of events toward negative longitudes than positive longitudes, that is possibly related with the inclination of the bar along the line of sight. We also examined the timescale distribution which shows a mean on 17.4 +- 1.0 days for the whole sample, and 20.7 +- 1.0 for the Red Clump subsample.Comment: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Marcel Grossman Meeting on General Relativity Edited by Elia Battistelli, Robert T. Jantzen, and Remo Ruffini. 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Open access e-book proceedings World Scientific, Singapore, 201

Towards an understanding of career progression for female professors of nursing: a small scale study

The aim of this study was to generate knowledge of career progression for women professors of nursing, an under researched topic, in order to understand how their professional and personal experiences may have influenced their aspirations and opportunities for career success. This qualitative study gave voice to a small group of women professors of nursing through individual narrative semi-structured interviews, a relatively under-used methodology. The findings are anticipated to have currency in providing new perspectives on women professors of nursing and are presented as professional influences and social capital factors. This study introduces individual participant narratives, examining and considering these to explore if the career progression may have been affected by professional influences and social capital. The data is analysed using narrative analysis, a method examining both form and content and the findings are interpreted thematically as barriers or opportunities and categorised as adverse and advantageous factors to career success. From this a relationship map is developed with these factors drawn together and the resulting knowledge illustrated through a framework towards career progression for women professors of nursing. In generating theory about key factors in career progression, current discourses gain some illumination, such as mentoring, social change and equal opportunities in the workplace. The multiple roles of a nurse academic are expounded upon, with focus on the functions of teaching, research and administration. Opportunities for revisiting strategy and reinforcing equal opportunities in the workplace are identified. There are also implications for the redevelopment of formal role modelling and mentorship schemes. The study makes tentative claims to the development of new knowledge in the area of women professors of nursing, contributing to the broader discourse around recruitment and career development in higher education. The study illustrates the interplay between professional influences and social capital in achieving career success for these women professors of nursing