Suggested Readings
The following papers, blogs and websites have been suggested by the Wellbeing, Health and Communities team. These are reading that we have found interesting and useful and reflect the broad range of interests in this group. They also provide more depth to support the training we provide.
To complement ethics training
Kara, H (2018) Research Ethics in the Real World. Policy Press
Creative methods training
Kara, H (2020) Creative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Second Edition. Policy Press
‘Back to basics’ quantitative research
Breakwell, G.M., Smith, J.A. & Wright, D.B. (2012). Research methods in psychology (4th Edition). London: Sage.
-
- Chapter 5: Surveys and Sampling
- Chapter 6: Questionnaire Design
- Chapter 7: Psychometrics
Field, A., Hole, G. (2003). How to design and report experiments. London: Sage
If you are new to quantitative research, this book gives a very readable (and fun) overview of how quantitative methods work and the logic that underpins them. It also advises on how to design studies and how to analyse quantitative data
The Conversation
If you don’t already, read this, the Conversation is highly recommended https://theconversation.com/uk This contains short articles written by academics related to different topics including health and society.
The Marmot Review
Ten years on from the original Marmot report ‘Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/the-marmot-review-10-years-on
The original Marmot report recognises the importance of social and political factors in patterning ill-health and health inequalities in society. It raises the profile of these social determinants and encourage greater policy attention to the creation of social environments that promote and protect health, particularly for the most disadvantaged.
Wellbeing blog
https://whatworkswellbeing.org/blog/
This blog explores some of the issues that need to be considered when undertaking multi-disciplinary research in a global setting. It refers to a specific sources of funding for global research but the issues discussed are more broadly relevant.
Alliance 4 Useful Evidence
https://www.alliance4usefulevidence.org/about-us/aboutus/
There are several articles that may be of interest to some of you on the Alliance 4 Useful Evidence website. This network champions the use of evidence in informing social policy and practice.
COVID
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32000-6/fulltext ‘COVID is not a pandemic’ Discussion about the incidence of COVID as a ‘syndemic’ and the link with non-communicable and inequalities embedded into society.
The Community Life Survey
The Community Life Survey is also a good resource, as it tracks trends associated with volunteering, civic participation etc: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-survey-2017-18
The UK data service
The UK Data Service collection includes major UK government-sponsored surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, UK census data, international aggregate, business data, and qualitative data available for researchers to access https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/
Mental health research The King’s Fund is an organisation
Mental elf blog. This website will help you find just what you need to keep up to date with all the important and reliable mental health research and guidance. The parent site of this (national elf service) does the same for health research in general. You can volunteer to review research for the site which would be great on your CV
https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/
Debate stimulating podcasts
In these podcasts, American Actor, Dax Shepard talks to experts from a range of disciplines and brings specialist debates to a lay audience. Really useful for stimulating ideas in academic areas (moral philosophy, developmental psychology, sociology, politic and the family are a few of the topics explored).
https://experts-on-expert-with-dax-shepard.simplecast.com/
The King’s Fund is an independent charitable organisation working to improve health and care in England. On the site they have blogs and animations that explain and examine a lot of topics and issues in health and social care
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/
