title: The essential role of social theory in qualitative public health research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define the role of social theory and examine how research studies using qualitative methods can use social theory to generalize their results beyond the setting of the study or to other social groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  The assumptions underlying public health research using qualitative methods derive from a range of social theories that include conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge and feminism. Depending on the research problem, these and other social theories provide conceptual tools and models for constructing a suitable research framework, and for collecting and analysing data. In combination with the substantive health literature, the theoretical literature provides the conceptual bridge that links the conclusions of the study to other social groups and settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While descriptive studies using qualitative research methods can generate important insights into social experience, the use of social theory in the construction and conduct of research enables researchers to extrapolate their findings to settings and groups broader than the ones in which the research was conducted.
authors.affiliation: School of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania. K.Willis@utas.edu.au
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Willis
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kealy
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: Glenda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koutroulis
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011634:Public Health; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012942:Social Sciences