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Winner of the 2022 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize.
Critical realism, as a toolkit of practical ideas, helps researchers to extend and clarify their analyses. It resolves problems arising from splits between different research approaches, builds on the strengths of different methods and overcomes their individual limitations.
This original text draws on international examples of health and illness research across the life course, from small studies to large trials, to show how versatile critical realism can be in validating research and connecting it to policy and practice.
To meet growing demand from students and researchers, this book is based on the course at UCL, first taught by Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism.
“No doubt, students, researchers and others interested in critical realism and health will find the insightful discussion of this difficult, yet important, topic very useful." Ebenezer Durojaye, University of the Western Cape
“This is a clear and comprehensive exploration of health from a critical realist perspective. A rich resource for students of the topic, whether they are lecturers or students." David Wilson, University of Liverpool and University of Southampton
Introduction
Rethinking theories: the basis of practical research and problems with paradigms
Basic critical realist concepts
Structure and agency: making connections
Health and illness research: value-free or value-laden?
Four planes of social being: more connections
Researching transformative change over time
The point is to change it: connecting research to policy and practice