Pranee Liamputtong

Qualitative Research Methods

Despite the fact that there are many Hmong living in the West (especially in the U.S., France, and Australia), their voices are generally not heard. This is particularly true for Hmong women. Health and welfare professionals complain that there is a lack of knowledge about Hmong women's lives, history, health needs, and reproductive customs. This book is an important resource for those who treat Hmong women.

Hmong Women and Reproduction

Douglas Ezzy

Qualitative Research Methods: A Health Focus is a practical guide to conducting qualitative research, with an emphasis on health-related examples. Methodological issues confronting qualitative researchers are dealt with in general chapters on sampling and rigour, the use of theory, dataanalysis, and writing research proposals and reports. Established qualitative methods such as in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and ethnography are reviewed alongside chapters on more innovative and complex methods such as narrative methods, memory work, and participatory-action research.Detailed examples of each method are provided to illustrate the research process. It is increasingly being accepted that qualitative methods play an important role in health-related research. This book is a comprehensive and accessible guide to qualitative methods for health care students and health professionals.

A Health Focus

Researching Vunerable People takes as its starting point the particular considerations and sensitivities of being a researcher faced with a subject group at the margins of society, and explores the ethical, practical and methodological implications of working with such groups. Pranee Liamputtong is an experienced textbook author, and in this book she attempts to explore qualitative methods using examples, drawn from around the world, from the wide variety of contexts that might count as 'researching the vulnerable'. Numerous salient points for the conduct of research within vulnerable groups of people, including ethical and moral issues, are considered, and discussed in the context of sensitive and innovative research methods.

A Guide to Sensitive Research Methods

Researching the Vulnerable

Up until now, many articles have been written to portray stigma and discrimination which occur with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in many parts of the world. But this is the first book which attempts to put together results from empirical research relating to stigma, discrimination and living with HIV/AIDS. The focus of this book is on issues relevant to stigma and discrimination which have occurred to individuals and groups in different parts of the globe, as well as how these individuals and groups attempt to deal with HIV/AIDS. The book comprises chapters written by researchers who carry out their projects in different parts of the world and each chapter contains empirical information based on real life situations. This can be used as an evidence for health care providers to implement socially and culturally appropriate services to assist individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS in many societies. The book is of interest to health care providers who have their interests in working with individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS from a cross-cultural perspective. It will be useful for students and lecturers in courses such as anthropology, sociology, social work, nursing, public health and medicine. In particular, it will assist health workers in community health centres and hospitals in understanding issues related to HIV/AIDS and hence provide culturally sensitive health care to people living with HIV/AIDS from different social and cultural backgrounds. The book is useful for anyone who is interested in HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in diverse social and cultural settings.

A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS

Child-rearing practices in every society occur in accordance with the cultural norms of the society. In most societies, however, child-rearing practices share a common value: the preservation of life and maintenance of the health and well-being of a new-born infant. In this volume, the authors bring together salient issues regarding cultural beliefs and practices and social issues regarding infant care and child-rearing and infant feeding practices as well as early motherhood in different societies. They show that traditional practices surrounding infant care and child-rearing continue to live despite the fact that many societies have been modernised.

A Cross-cultural Perspective

Childrearing and Infant Care Issues

Carolyn Westall

Globally, postnatal depression (PND) is a growing public health problem. PND affects 10 to 15% of women in Western society. It caused by a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. Two models have attempted to define and explain PND; the biomedical and the sociological models. The traditional biomedical model views PND as a medical condition which implies there is individual pathology and abnormality. Whilst the biomedical model has been the dominant model in treating PND, it has been criticized by feminist sociologists and psychologists for its rigidity in defining and explaining PND. In contrast, the psychosocial model of health acknowledges the biological factors that impact on emotional well-being, but places more emphasis on the personal and social factors that impact on emotional well-being, but places more emphasis on the personal and social factors that contribute to depressive symptoms such as gender, poverty, social disadvantage and social class. The central argument throughout this book is the importance of support before and after the birth for women's emotional well-being. This book will also include women's journeys through pregnancy, childbirth, motherhood, postnatal depression, and resolution. To date, literature has focused on women's lived experiences of PND rather than their personal journeys through pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. Additionally, the adjustment to fatherhood has received less attention. For example, little is known about the impact of postnatal depression on the partner, what support partners offer when women with the intention to fill the gap in knowledge of cultural and social issues relating to pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood for woman who were diagnosed with, and had resolved, PND.

Narratives of Women and Their Partners

Motherhood and Postnatal Depression

Lenore Manderson

Pranee Liamputtong Rice

This collection examines enduring and topical questions in sexual and reproductive health in a range of contemporary Asian cultures. Beliefs and practices surrounding conception, pregnancy, birth, and confinement are studies in culturally specific contexts in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Important and widely applicable health issues are also addressed, including the perception and management of HIV/AIDS, experiences of menopause and the interaction of cosmopolitan ("western'') medicine with traditional healthcare.

Maternity and Reproductive Health in Asian Societies

Cross-cultural research is rife with ethical and methodological challenges but, despite the increased demand for such research, discussions on 'culturally sensitive methodologies' are still largely neglected. Consequently, researchers often find themselves faced with difficulties but lack information on how to deal with them. This text provides an in-depth discussion on how to perform qualitative research in cross-cultural contexts with an emphasis on a more ethical, sensible and responsible approach. Pranee Liamputtong suggests culturally sensitive and appropriate research methods that would work well with cultural groups. She offers thought-provoking perspectives and diverse cultural examples which will be of value to both novice and experienced cross-cultural researchers. Throughout the volume there are references to the excellent work of many cross-cultural researchers who have paved the way in different social and cultural settings.

Performing Qualitative Cross-Cultural Research

Focus Group Methodology is an introductory text which leads readers through the entire process of designing a focus group study, from conducting interviews to analysing data and presenting the findings. It also includes discussions on cross-cultural and virtual focus group. Liamputtong presents clear, practical advice in simple terms which will be appropriate for undergraduate and postgraduate students who are undertaking research, making this an ideal starter text for anyone new to focus group research. Like her previous book, Researching the Vulnerable, Liamputtong's latest work pays close attention to research ethics and will also be of great interest to researchers who are working with different social groups - such as women, men, older people, children and ethnic groups - and anybody who is engaging in cross-cultural research. Illustrated with case studies and examples throughout, this is a perfect introduction to focus group methods for students and new researchers alike.

Principle and Practice

Focus Group Methodology

This book focuses on the issues encountered by children and young people who are living with HIV/AIDS. It examines their lived experiences associated with HIV/AIDS, and studies groups of children and youngsters from around the globe. Connecting empirical information with real-life situations, the book brings together results from empirical research that relates to these children and young people. Its chapters can be used as evidence for health care providers to implement socially and culturally appropriate services to assist individuals and groups of children and young people who are living with HIV/AIDS in many societies. Many of these young people are from the most marginalized and vulnerable groups; and many have been orphaned by the death of their HIV-positive parents. Marginalized young people such as refugees, migrants and street children are most at risk due to the use of illicit drugs, their exposure to unprotected sex (in exchange for food, money and protection), and stigma associated with their marginalized lives. The impact that HIV/AIDS has on the opportunities for these young people to be able to lead healthy adult lives is considerable. This book gives a voice to these children and young people and advances our understanding of their lived experiences and needs.

Children and Young People Living with HIV/AIDS

Conducting cross-cultural research is rife with methodological, ethical and moral challenges. Researchers are challenged with many issues in carrying out their research with people in cross-cultural arenas. In this book, I attempt to bring together salient issues for the conduct of culturally appropriate research. The task of undertaking cross-cultural research can present researchers with unique opportunities, and yet dilemmas. The book will provide some thought-provoking points so that our research may proceed relatively well and yet ethical in our approach. The subject of the book is on the ethical, methodological, political understanding and practical procedures in undertaking cross-cultural research. The book will bring readers through a series of questions: who am I working with? What ethical and moral considerations do I need to observe? How should I conduct the research which is culturally appropriate to the needs of people I am researching? How do I deal with language issues? How will I negotiate access? And what research methods should I apply to ensure a successful research process? The book is intended for postgraduate students who are undertaking research as part of their degrees. It is also intended for researchers who are working in cross-cultural studies and in poor nations.

Ethical and Methodological Perspectives

Doing Cross-Cultural Research

Research is defined by the Australian Research Council as “the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies, inventions and understandings”. Research is thus the foundation for knowledge. It produces evidence and informs actions that can provide wider benefit to a society. The knowledge that researchers cultivate from a piece of research can be adopted for social and health programs that can improve the health and well-being of the individuals, their communities and the societies in which they live. As we have witnessed in all corners of the globe, research has become an endeavor that most of us in the health and social sciences cannot avoid. This Handbook is conceived to provide the foundation to readers who wish to embark on a research project in order to form knowledge that they need. The Handbook comprises four main sections: Traditional research methods sciences; Innovative research methods; Doing cross-cultural research; and Sensitive research methodology and approach. This Handbook attests to the diversity and richness of research methods in the health and social sciences. It will benefit many readers, particularly students and researchers who undertake research in health and social science areas. It is also valuable for the training needs of postgraduate students who wish to undertake research in cross-cultural settings, with special groups of people, as it provides essential knowledge not only on the methods of data collection but also salient issues that they need to know if they wish to succeed in their research endeavors.

Pranee Liamputtong

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