title: Qualitative methods: beyond the cookbook.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Qualitative methods appear increasingly in vogue in health services research (HSR). Such research, however, has utilized, often uncritically, a 'cookbook' of methods for data collection, and common-sense principles for data analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper argues that qualitative HSR benefits from recognizing and drawing upon theoretical principles underlying qualitative data collection and analysis. A distinction is drawn between problem-orientated and theory-orientated research, in order to illustrate how problem-orientated research would benefit from the introduction of theoretical perspectives in order to develop the knowledge base of health services research.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Care, St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gantley
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D006113:United Kingdom