Qualitative Research Methods Group announcements

Are you developing a Cochrane protocol in which your effectiveness question may be informed by qualitative research? The Qualitative Research Methods Group (QRMG) guidance for question formulation is being reviewed by the Steering Group, and you can access it on our website.Click on 'Using qualitative research to frame effectiveness questions'.

The guidance will be presented as part of the next Evidence Synthesis of Qualitative Research in Europe (ESQUIRE) Workshop, to be held in Sheffi eld, U.K., 7-9 September 2010: here

This course, involving three of the Co-Convenors of the Qualitative Methods Group and Faculty from the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), will follow the systematic review process as it applies, and is adapted to, qualitative evidence syntheses. The Program Faculty will take participants through the stages of defining and exploring scope, conducting literature searches, quality assessing studies for inclusion, synthesising data and writing up and presenting the product of the synthesis. Participants will be provided with practical experience of key stages in the review process.

The course will conclude on 9 September with Issues and Challenges for Qualitative Research in Evidence Synthesis (InCQuiRES), a one-day methodological update providing an excellent overview of current developments in qualitative evidence synthesis. Those interested can book on the  INCQUIRES update separately here. This methodological update will rehearse the major issues and challenges for the main steps of the systematic review process as it applies, and is adapted to, qualitative evidence syntheses. The Presenters, drawn from the Qualitative Research Methods Group and involved in producing methodological guidance,  will examine the specifi c challenges as they take participants through the stages of defi ning and exploring scope, conducting literature searches, quality assessing studies for inclusion, synthesizing data and writing up and presenting the product of the synthesis.

The new guidance will also be presented at the joint Cochrane/Campbell Colloquium in Keystone, Colorado. A three-day systematic review course was organized in Leuven, Belgium (3-5 June 2010), including a full day on methods of qualitative evidence synthesis. Thanks to the Belgian Campbell Group for hosting this event, which attracted researchers and practitioners from at least fi ve different
countries. We are looking forward to participating in the June 2011 edition of the course.

The work of the QRMG will also be presented in a poster session on the conference organised by the educational effectiveness special interest group from the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. The event takes place 25-27 August 2010 and this year's focus is on Models, Methods and Applications. The aims of the QRMG contribution entitled 'Beyond effectiveness: the (potential) contribution of qualitative evidence to effectiveness reviews' are:

1. to present the results of a review on published qualitative evidence syntheses in public health literature
2. to provide an overview of the different methodologies of qualitative evidence syntheses that have been developed in the last few years, and
3. to outline ways in which fi ndings from qualitative research might be used to inform, enhance, extend and supplement effectiveness reviews.

Karin Hannes
Qualitative Research Methods Group
Karin.Hannes@med.kuleuven.be