Quality Criteria Under Methodological Pluralism: Implications for Conducting and Evaluating Research

Abstract

Many community psychologists adhere to a methodological pluralist orientation to research; however, it is often unclear what such a position means in practice. This paper draws out the practical implications of methodological pluralism for community research. It proposes four sets of criteria for how research might be appraised under a pluralistic ethos: criteria applicable to all research, research-relevant community psychology values and principles, criteria specifically applicable to quantitative research, and criteria specifically applicable to qualitative research. The paper also addresses how pluralistic community research may be conducted, at each of three levels: integrating methods within a single study, using different approaches within a research program, and pluralism in the field as a whole.

‘Between a rock and a hard place’: family members’ experiences of supporting a relative with bipolar disorder

“…In line with good practice guidelines for qualitative research (Barker & Pistrang, 2005;Elliott et al, 1999;Santiago-Delefosse, Gavin, Bruchez, Roux & Stephen, 2016), a number of methods were used to ensure the credibility of the results. A consensus approach was employed throughout the process of data collection and analysis.…”

“…In accordance with good practice guidelines (Barker & Pistrang, 2005;Elliott et al, 1999), the author's perspective is outlined, in order to aid the reader in and that manic episodes might be particularly challenging.…”

Mutual Help Groups for Mental Health Problems: A Review of Effectiveness Studies

“…Our own position is a pluralist one: we believe that multiple sources of evidence are important and valuable for addressing this issue (Barker & Pistrang, 2005;Humphreys & Rappaport, 1994). However, for the purposes of this review, we adopt a more specific focus, namely, that which Humphreys (2004) has labeled the "treatment-evaluation" perspective.…”

The Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health Context (CQ-CMH): A measure inspired by the capabilities approach and constructed through consumer–researcher collaboration.

“…The SC therefore attended a training session: a researcher from the academic team presented the capabilities approach and Nussbaum's list. The list was then translated into Portuguese and used as the interpretive framework (Barker & Pistrang, 2005) to structure the items logically: each of the 104 items previously chosen was fitted into the most appropriate capability. The matching of the consumers' testimonies collected through the focus groups with Nussbaum's list took 12 meetings.…”