Choosing Methods in Mental Health Research develops a new framework for mental health research. It is concerned with how to choose the most appropriate mental health research method, not only to address a specific question, but to maximize the potential impact on shaping mental health care.

Mike Slade and Stefan Priebe focus attention on the types of audience that the researcher is seeking to influence, the types of evidence each audience accepts as valid, and the relative strengths and limitations of each type of methodology. A range of research methodologies are described and critically appraised, and the use of evidence by different groups is discussed. This produces some important findings about the interplay between research production and consumption, and highlights directions for future mental health research theory and practice.

The findings presented here will be relevant to mental health service users and professionals who use research evidence to inform decision-making. It will also prove an invaluable resource for students and researchers in the field of mental health.

'This book fulfils an undoubted need, with clear descriptions of different research methods written by informed enthusiasts'. - David Goldberg, from the foreword

'This book fills a significant, and hitherto invisible, gap in the literature on psychiatric research. Because of its philosophical depth and its awareness of the political dimensions of mental health research, it deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who seeks to answer questions about mental disorder.’ - Dr Mark Salter, Barts and The London Chronicle, Spring Volume 9, issue 2

‘Bracken and Thomas’s account of the inherent difficulties in trying to move mental health services from a modernist to a post-modern perspective should be compulsory reading for all researchers and clinical staff.’ – Lesley Warner, Mental Health Today, July/August 2007

‘There is a lot to like in this edited book. The chapters are well written, with little unnecessary overlap between them (…) The authors point out limitations as well as listing research areas where qualitative methods can be uniquely valuable. A particular strength is a detailed look at specific projects such as a conversation analysis of consultations between psychiatrists and people with psychosis’ – Dave Peck, Clinical Psychology Forum 184, April 2008

Mike Slade is Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Health Services Research Department at the Institute of Psychiatry and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Rehabilitation, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust

Stefan Priebe is Professor of Social and Community Psychiatry at Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London. He has published widely on concepts, therapeutic processes and outcomes in mental health care.