concepts of evidence-based medicine of information.
It is very affordable, I
and explores the purpose of gaining
an understanding of scientific literature.
Chapter 2, Searching the literature,
gives an in-depth account of how to
search for articles on the Medline
database. Additionally, there are several
sources of other medical databases with
a brief explanation and an explanation
of the Cochrane Library.
The following chapters give an overview
of the types of methodology inherent
in published articles, together with tips
on how to assess methodological quality.
Chapters then detail how to read papers
that are written for different purposes,
for example, papers that report drug
trials; papers that summarise other papers
(systematic reviews and meta-analyses);
papers that tell you what to do (guidelines);
reviewing financial papers (economic
analyses); and how to read qualitative
and quantitative papers.
The chapters conclude with how to
implement evidence-based findings in
clinical practice, together with a
consideration of theories of change and
barriers to implementation. Finally,
several appendixes give checklists for
assessing the impact of a paper; together
with guidelines for implementation.
This is a first-class publication, packed
full of useful resources and recommendations
for further reading and online sources
volume 11 number 1 NURSERESEARCHER 83
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recommend it to all healthcare professionals
and researchers seeking to implement
evidence-based practice.
Dr Paula Roberts, Keele University, UK,
and Editor, Nurse Researcher
How to Design
and Report
Experiments
Authors: Andy Field
and Graham Hole
Publisher: Sage
No of pages: 400
Price: £18.99
ISBN: 0761973834
Over the years, I have been in a fortunate
position of being asked to review a very
large number of books. These have
included contributions on a number of
areas. As well as the usual research-
focused references, I have been asked
to review autobiographical and historical
works. Generally speaking, books of the
latter category are the easiest read and
contrast with the books on the topic of
designing and reporting experiments.
Thus, when I received this book, I did
not expect many light moments. However,
as the editors say in their preface, they
have noticed that a bit of humour goes
a long way in helping to relieve the
 reviews and round-up
potential stress of the topic. Well, they
have certainly succeeded in providing
a text which is suitably comprehensive
and authoritative, but also easy to read,
without being patronising and written
in an entertaining way. This is the first
time I have ever seen material on
two-way independent ANOVAS, explained
using an example containing references
to country-and-western music, Abba
and Fugazi!
This excellent guide to experimental
design and statistics is divided into
three parts: designing an experiment;
analysing and interpreting data; and
writing up research.
The arrangement of material is logical,
with descriptions of planning an
experiment, the various experimental
designs at one’s disposal, five excellent
chapters on statistics, and, finally, the
writing up of research.
Although the book is primarily aimed
at the undergraduate psychology market,
I think it has a great deal to offer to
both undergraduate and Masters-level
students with a nursing background. Of
course, such students will have covered
many of the basics, but I am sure that
most people entering Masters level will
benefit from an overview of the principles
which underpin statistical techniques
such as analyses of co-variance, various
nonparametric tests and some of the
84 NURSERESEARCHER volume 11 number 1
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key points about writing up research.
Indeed, it did occur to me that many
of the authors who submit manuscripts
to nursing journals would have benefited
from reading the relevant parts of this
book, insofar as, they might have provided
a much clearer account of what they
did, what resulted and why their findings
were important!
My final comment is to say that it is
a shame that there is no similar book
written by authors from a nursing
background and directed to nursing
undergraduates and postgraduates.
Professor Kevin Gournay, Institute of
Psychiatry, UK
How to Study: A
short introduction
Author: Joan Turner
Publisher: Sage
No of pages: 162
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 0761968083
This book, aimed at undergraduates
and students preparing for university
courses, includes in its stated aims the
building of confidence and competence
in academic life by introducing students
to both academic culture and the academic
tasks that will be required of them.
The all-important underpinning norms
and values of academic culture are
identified, and academic tasks and the