Principles of Social Research

Public health problems are increasingly those of human behaviour: encouraging healthier lifestyles, understanding social determinants of health, and barriers to effective public policies, including health care policies. This book introduces some of the principles of social research as applied to public health. It is aimed at those with some understanding of health and health care but little exposure to social research. It introduces some of the social science disciplines that have turned their attention to health and health care such as medical sociology, psychology and anthropology. The book examines:Social science conceptsResearch design Interviewing and focus groupsAnalysing qualitative dataQuestionnaire and survey design