Background

Methodology is broadly defined as the systematic study of methods. This theme has been created to expand and widen the scope of the original theme of narratives of cancer and life-threatening illness.

Research in supportive and palliative cancer care is methodologically challenging. Patients are often very unwell, and they, and their families, may understandably experience periods of emotional fragility. Participating in research may be the last thing they want to do, and clinicians sometimes want to protect their patients from the burden of taking part in studies. Common methodological problems faced by researchers in this area include recruitment, outcome assessment, and study adherence. The methodology theme has been established to help address these challenges.

Aims

The aim of this theme is to study the suitability of methods used in supportive and palliative care research, and to provide evidence that contributes to improving the research process and outcome. We will facilitate the development of a programme of research that:

• performs comparative studies of different research approaches and instruments
• provides critiques and evidence on the utility of different methods

This covers a broad range of issues relating to any quantitative or qualitative research methods. Examples include:

• recruitment and retention of research participants
• selection or development of appropriate outcome measures
• participant understanding of research design or terminology
• involvement of service users
• use of innovative methods or approaches

Methodology team